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Falling Water Creek kayaking
6/1/2013
Recent rains had many creeks and rivers rolling in Arkansas on this Saturday morning. I decided to paddle rather than hike and the decision was a good one. By the time arrival was made to the Richland Creek area it was raining again...but that's a good thing. Falling Water Creek was marginal at first but within an hour or so it rose nicely to a comfortable level. I dumped my boat and gear near the low-water bridge and drove a little ways past Six Finger Falls and parked. The hike back up the road was short and by 7:30 my boat was afloat and and the the river and I were one.
The water level was near perfect with the Richland gauge reading near 6.5'. Many small side waterfalls added to the flow and the rain continued to fall making the morning even more beautiful. This is a decent class 3 run with plenty to keep me happy. The scenery is great and feels very wild even though the road is not far off. The temp was around 70 or so. Six Finger Falls was still a bit rocky as I bounced on past it and within a mile and a half my vehicle was in site. This was a fantastic little run aside from the water being quite turbid. The last time I paddled this creek was in 1987 and I remembered very little about this stretch. It was still raining as my crap was loaded up and I managed to leave behind my helmet and some good shoes.........damn! I then drove down to Richland Campground and observed Richland Creek at a lovely level. A few hearty campers were set up there and I know the next day there was a fine one and worth the wetness.
