TRIGGER GAP — With a wall of muddy water surging down from the headwaters of the Kings River and a line storm clouds marching in from the northwest, the canoe was moving briskly downstream on a float that was to be either a clear window of opportunity or a sucker’s gambit. "This is really pretty nice,"Terry Fredrick said as we floated under the Trigger Gap bridge on April 22 to enter long, rippling riffles curving against a forested mountainside.
The river flow under the canoe was about a foot higher than normal and rising slowly, but it was still mostly clear and sparkling in the sun shining from a clear, blue sky.
If all went according to plan during the fivemile float from Trigger Gap to Baines Crossing, we would stay ahead of the muddy surge behind us and would be off the river before storms swooped down.
The time and place seemed the best option out of many other paddling prospects that had been considered and discarded during a 48-hour period of highs and lows for rivers and streams in Northwest Arkansas.
The decision process of choosing a float suited for a standard 17-foot canoe had started on April 20, a Tuesday, with reconciling our paddling preferences.
Fredrick is well-known for leading hikes for the Ozark Society, but he gets around quite a bit as a paddler. He has floated most stretches of the Buffalo, Kings and Mulberry rivers and Big Piney Creek, as well as lesser-known areas of War Eagle Creek, Frog Bayou, Illinois Bayou and Lee Creek.
He prefers some whitewater with challenges up to Class III. He also appreciates a wilderness setting where other paddlers are few and far between.
My preferences include beautiful water and fine scenery along with the opportunity to fish for smallmouth bass.
Accordingly, our first choice was the Big Piney in the area of Long Pool Camp. "That’s real whitewater up to Class III,"Fredrick said approvingly.
A second option was the upper Kings River from Marble to Marshall Ford. The 11-mile stretch has some mild whitewater, good scenery and plenty of fish. It also doesn’t get much canoe traffic.
Unfortunately, the upper stretches of the Big Piney and Kings were too shallow on that Tuesday. The same low-flow conditions also applied to the most popular float stretches of the upper Buffalo and upper Mulberry.
In fact, since the start of spring, low flows had been the problem more often than not on most float streams of the region, keeping many floaters at home.
The stay-at-home paddlers, however, missed some good options available along the middle and lower stretches of rivers where flows can be ideal when the upper stretches are too shallow.
The middle Buffalo River in the Tyler Bend area comes to mind first, but the area can also be crowded.
Other rivers, however, can offer options that are often overlooked for easy floats with fine scenery and good fishing, along with more solitude.
On Wednesday, Fredrick and I had shifted to consideration of such options.
Our first focus was on two stretches of the middle Mulberry River — one from Turner’s Bend to Campbell’s Cemetery and the second starting at the cemetery. The latter got the nod. "I floated that last spring not expecting much but it turned out to be nice and, geez, there was no one else on the river,"Fredrick said.
Another worthy option could have been the lower Kings River. Several float stretches between Berryville and the Missouri border offer good water, OK scenery and the possibility of big bronzebacks. Paddlers tend to be few.
Then the deluges hit Wednesday night, and suddenly the streams were awash with runoff.
By Thursday morning, Fredrick and I were checking readings of river gauges on the Internet and calling one canoe outfitter after another.
The Mulberry and Big Piney rivers and the smaller creeks were washed out for everyone except for daring and skilled kayakers and solo canoeists. The Buffalo was getting that way in a hurry.
Nevertheless, we still hoped to salvage a float.
The only remaining options came down to timing.
For a float that could get under way in a hurry and still meet our preferences, only the middle stretch of the Kings seemed to offer any hope, according to Ernie Kilman with Kings River Outfitters at Trigger Gap on Arkansas 221. "The river here is up about a foot and rising slowly, but the water is still pretty clear,"Kilman said. "The lower part of the river is already muddy, and I’ve heard that the line of high and muddy water is coming down from the upper river but it could take several hours to get here."
The most popular float on the middle Kings is the seven-mile stretch from Rockhouse Creek to Trigger Gap, with the next most popular being the 12-mile run from Trigger Gap to Berryville.
However, besides the approaching muddy water, we had another constraint. The fierce storms of the night before were forecast to be back with a vengeance as early as midafternoon.
We needed a short float. "Why don’t you just do Trigger Gap to Baines Crossing,"Kilman suggested. "That’s only five miles."
Among paddlers familiar with the Kings, Baines Crossing is known as a private access limited to outfitters and their customers and is normally used as a put-in for guided fishing trips ending at Berryville seven miles downstream.
The five-mile stretch above Baines Crossing is not only short enough for a quick morning or afternoon float, but it also has other worthy features.
It’s a friendly float with the primary obstacles being the occasional log in the channel at normal water levels, and shuttle service between put-in and take-out can be accomplished in 20 minutes or so.
The scenery is above average, too. "The stretch includes the last extension of the big hills and bluffs along the river, so the scenery is comparable to the upper parts of the river,"Kilman said.
The short run generally sees fewer fishermen but has the potential to produce quality smallmouths because it’s in a so-called "trophy area"where the minimum length limit is 18 inches. "I kind of try to save the stretch for my good fly fishermen,"Kilman said.
Other features included an eagle’s roost, a blue heron rookery, the site of an old gristmill and a good mix of pools, riffles, runs and wide gravel bars.
Within two hours of talking to Kilman on the telephone, we were paddling under the Trigger Gap bridge and on our way downriver.
Fredrick was intent on making the most of the opportunity. He noted the varied wildflowers blooming along the banks, as well as the various types of trees in either budding or blooming stage, including the pawpaws with their purple, bell-shaped blossoms.
He also frequently noted sightings of avian wildlife, including ospreys, wood ducks, herons and indigo buntings.
Glimpses of rocky crags were often visible along the forested shores. More than once the views were dominated by high hills rearing up dead ahead on the river.
The pools tended to be long and wide, but gravel-bottom riffles and chunk-rock runs were more common.
Fallen trees of large size were common along the channel and would have required maneuvering dexterity a time or two. The higher water level, however, allowed us to completely avoid the trees.
The current was such that we had to constantly remind ourselves to slow down, which we did at scattered gravel bars to more thoroughly cast lures among trees and rocks in the channel.
If there was any disappointment, it was over the slow fishing action.
Perhaps, the smallmouth were turned off by the rising water or disturbed by the leaves and twigs being picked up in the increasing current. More than likely, we were just fishing too fast or not letting our lure get down in the current.
Within an hour of being on the river, white clouds had covered the sky. An hour and a half later, the clouds had grown gray and swollen with rain.
By then, we were safely on the road back to Trigger Gap bridge, getting there just about the time the muddy rise arrived from upriver. Where we launched earlier was already underwater.
The rain that would fall that evening and through the night would swell the Kings River and most other streams of the region to flood stages, not to mention dangerous levels for paddling.
As it turned out, among all options considered that Wednesday morning, a narrow window of opportunity had saved the day.
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