Adventure Canoe Forum » Topic: Eleven Point River Trip

Adventure Canoe Forum » Topic: Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton Canoe Camping & River Tripping Discussion en-US Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:35:52 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/search.php Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-693 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:51:41 +0000 ozarkpaddler 693@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Yes, I remember trying to walk through those rocks on the Black once in the '80's, it was no fun! TW Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-688 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:18:59 +0000 davbak 688@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Very interesting, thank you for the education ozarkpaddler!    When the water is low enough and the crowds are drunk enough, the shoals on the Black can be down right dangerous.  There situations where there is just not a good way through and there's not a good place to walk it with the security guards barking at anyone who steps foot on the lodge's beach.   Here's how it looked just a few weeks after the Taum Sauk resevoir let go.   <img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/3926189161_cb8ed45daa_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" /> Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-686 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:55:46 +0000 mello01 686@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ I remember MD shoals was more of a challenge (or at least an event) when I was a kid, but 2 decades later it is nothing. My father talks about the dangers of the shoals everyime we go and I pretend I dont believe him, I am sure 50 years ago things were much different. Its great to be able to go back year after year to see the changes. Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-667 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:19:44 +0000 ozarkpaddler 667@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Rivers change a little every day. Floods bring about more changes. Decades ago mary Decker had a volume similar to Hall's Bay Chute. Over the years, it has silted in and the river seems to have widened a bit further decreasing the volume. If you go too far left, you can STILL get into trouble at Mary Decker most years due to strainers washing into that area; therefore, I still include a description when I give people advice on the Eleven Point. I remember when Richards canoe rental used to display canoes wrapped at Mary Decker. As for the shoals at Iron Bridge on the Black, I agree wholeheartedly. That is one FUN stretch of water. I've never got a good pic of the ones UNDER the bridge, but I've got a few pics of the smaller drops at the beginning. I've never figured how to post a pic here, but will try to post a link to that and Mary Decker the other day for comparison. I could do that Black River run every day! But I have pics from 5 years ago and MD has mellowed even in the last 5 years. If you look at the last pic, the boulders are further out of the water. There's a little stream called Big Creek near our place. There are some nice run's there, one I called "The Bridge Rapid." The last pic is that little run. Now, it's completely gone, flat as a pancake. That's the nature of a river, they change constantly which makes it hard on the writers of river guides. TW <img src="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/114160412.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/117244921.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/56094055.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/55599866.jpg" alt="" /> Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-666 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:55:34 +0000 davbak 666@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Nice pics!  I too have wondered why Mary Decker Shoals gets a mention as anything more than a landmark in most of the guide books I've read on the Eleven Point.  Heck, the big rocks on the Black River right at the Peola Rd. bridge are more of a challenge than MD Shoals! Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-664 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:10:58 +0000 barry 664@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ James, neat pics.  Yeh MD Chute is like "what th heck, I thought this was gonna be hard"..  I have fun rating the rapids on 11 point, picking out the 11 best ones..   I guess MD would be one, but barely.  Did you camp at the rope swing ?  looks like where we camped back in early August.  Never paddled above Greer, but I suspect it would be very pretty, gradient is not as good as Greer to Rivertion, I dont think.  I bet it would compare to Jacks Fork, but likely not as scenic or swift. There are a couple of special sights to see if you go back.  At Winona, on Hwy 60, if you ever go that way to put in, ck out Jacks Liquor Store, unbelievable  general store, with dog in doorway, block ice, clothes, food, liquor, holes in parking lot, the whole 9 yds.  only thing missing is a chicken or 2... Yeh, Halls Bay is best on left side, right off bank.  First time you run it, ez to miss that better part.  It is kinda hard to eddie out over there however, fast current coming in from river left as you come thru there.  11 Point has some long pools for sure.  Not too bad, unless you got a hog boat like I do (flat bottom Tanana) or inflatables, (we had 2 orange torpedos )...  But we really enjoy our annual trip... see you later     Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-662 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:57:24 +0000 ozarkpaddler 662@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Yes, you CAN line up that right side (left going upstream) and run it again. My nephew did that last year, once wasn't enough! As for the "Upper" sections, I've never paddled above Hwy 19. My friend who used to lead trips on Ozark rivers says there are a lot of strainers in the Cane Bluff to Hwy 19 stretch. He would be the one to give you imfo. He replied to your thread on P.net (Bob.com) and would be happy to tell you about that stretch. Enjoying your website here! TW Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-661 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:00:44 +0000 James 661@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ TW- I had a little pucker over Halls Bay. We were a little further to the right than we should have been and hit a submerged rock. The 20lb dog jumped towards the low side of the canoe and we almost dipped the gunwale. I kind of wanted to run it again but there was a guy with a john boat anchored right in the way of dragging the boat back up. We got there at about 8:30 and it was a bit cold for an unintentional swim as well. Next time if we have more boats with us I'm sure we'll get some photos and run it a few times. The far river right looked pretty easy to yank the canoe back up with a line and ferry across with a paddle or pole to the good side. There were quite a few fast and fun sections on the river though. Overall we loved it. How do the upper sections compare the the Jacks Fork above Alley Spring? Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-660 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:36:32 +0000 ozarkpaddler 660@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Nice report and pics. My wife actually mentioned "Mary Decker isn't anything like it used to be is it?" As for Hall's Bay, it still makes ME pucker up! That paddler is my friend Bob from Camdenton, MO. He's known as "TheBob." He's probably paddled the Eleven Point a couple hundred times compared to my paltry couple dozen. Funny, I always used Huffstedders, but this time my friends procured the shuttle from Richard's on Hwy 19. They were equally good! Hopefully meet you on the river some day! TW Eleven Point River Trip - Greer Spring to Riverton http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-trip-greer-spring-to-riverton#post-657 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:54:48 +0000 James 657@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Everyone who follows this forum probably saw the post of the <a href="../topic/san-juan-puerto-rico-trip-photos" target="_blank">photos from Puerto Rico</a>. My wife, Cate, got a new job and in between we took a vacation. The Puerto Rico trip became the second honeymoon and it was our anniversary thing. We did the blow out super trip with fancy hotels, the beach and poolside cocktails so we were trying to plan something fun for our actual one year wedding anniversary on September 13th. Cate suggested that we go canoeing and I was all over the idea. We waffled a little about going back to Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, where we got married, but settled on a trip down the <a href="../topic/eleven-point-river-i-need-suggestions" target="_blank">Eleven Point</a>. I have the best wife ever. So, Friday night after work we loaded up the wagon and headed down to <a href="http://www.hufstedlers.com/" target="_blank">Hufstedler's</a> with the canoe. The customer service at Hufstedler's was awesome. I called to see if they had any cabins available and the man on the phone said sure. He told us we could just pull in and they'd leave the door unlocked and the lights on. You can see some photos of the inside of "the party house" a bit later. So we make the long drive down to Southern Missouri. Route 67 is currently under construction and there are multiple 30mph lane switches. The GPS is going crazy because it thinks we're on the service road and is telling us to make u-turns and to head down country roads. We ignore it for the most part and get off at Highway 60. After a bit on the nice 4 lane divided highway we turn right on 21 because we're looking for a beer. We end up at some American Legion post where ordering a Captain and Diet is a great production of finding the rum. The bartender regales us with a story of how her fathers land was seized for moon shining and how they lived in a tent for five years. She has no idea where Riverton is and asks another bar patron. "Twenty miles on 160, you'll see 'em on the left," is the response from a ridiculously drunk man at the bar who now wants to talk to us about his canoeing exploits. These include running Buck Hollow Spring in a stolen canoe with the rangers chasing him and getting busted by Federal Agents for smoking weed. He tells us that they had been smoking but weren't when they got arrested so they shoulda just let him go. There was some other stuff about being careful and watching out for river patrol if we were going to throw bottles in the river. We leave quickly. We finally arrive at Hufsteder's and as promised the sign out front is glowing. It was more of a reflective paint thing than an actual glow but close enough. The house also has the lights on and the door unlocked. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-01.jpg" alt="" /> The 'cabin' is actually quite nice compared to the surroundings. We later learn there was a fire at the office and it looks like the got a deal on pine wainscoting because the kitchen and bathroom are covered in it. They floors are all brand new Pergo or some knock off. It is immaculately clean even if some of the ceiling tiles are pealing. It's much more inviting than the scary house just behind it. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-02.jpg" alt="" /> This is the scary canoe graveyard house. I'm glad we didn't have to stay there. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-03.jpg" alt="" /> Riverton is one of those strange Southern Missouri towns that has the name of the town on the front and back of the same sign. I wonder how hard it is to incorporate your front yard into a town. It shows up on Google Maps but not the latest version of Garmin City Navigator. If you're looking for <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hufstedlers&sll=36.698150,-91.397400&sspn=0.007100,0.013000&ie=UTF8&filter=0&update=1&ll=36.651102,-91.196501&spn=0.007127,0.01296&z=16&iwloc=D" target="_blank">Hufstedler's</a> then follow this link. The address Google has is actually their PO box in Alton. These are the coordinates if you want them. N36 38.876 W91 11.767 It's not hard to find but if you rely on a GPS to get you around you'll need them. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-04.jpg" alt="" /> Another view of the cabin. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-05.jpg" alt="" /> The Prospector got pampered with its very own trailer to haul it to the Greer Springs put in. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-06.jpg" alt="" /> The clear water had and interesting mix of a sandy and rocky bottom. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-07.jpg" alt="" /> Getting ready to hit Mary Decker Shoal. It was really sort of a let down. I had assumed it would be difficult and require some maneuvering. We could have drifted though it from where this photo was taken. Most of the fast riffles in between were more entertaining. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-08.jpg" alt="Mary Decker Shoal - Eleven Point River" /> Mary Decker from down stream...yep that's the whole thing. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-09.jpg" alt="" /> Cate checking the brochure/map to gauge our distance. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-10.jpg" alt="" /> Fat Tire beer in cans. Kept cold by a <a href="http://www.twitter.com/fatpaddler" target="_blank">@FatPaddler</a> beer coozy. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-11.jpg" alt="" /> A sort of messy campsite. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-12.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-13.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-14.jpg" alt="" /> Somehow this one reminded me of when Mister Rodgers put his cardigan on...yes I know weird <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-15.jpg" alt="" /> There were several places where it felt like paddling a large narrow lake. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-16.jpg" alt="" /> This is about the happiest way I can imagine spending a one year anniversary. Just Cate and I alone on the river. There was no one there to disappoint us, no mediocre food at some supposedly fancy restaurant and no distractions. Just the beautiful quiet and solitude watching the herons take off with wing tips kissing the placid water and the song of the paddle gliding down the river. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-17.jpg" alt="" /> The canoe took some abuse running Halls Bay. I didn't take any photos of the rapid because it was a little disappointing and there was a john boat parked on the beach. We ran it a little to far to river right and bounced through some small underwater rocks. None of these show on the inside of the boat but the Royalex Lite is pretty soft. I'll probably just leave them or maybe try some heat and see if they pop back out. Here is a photo of someone in TW's (<a href="http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/eleven-point-river-i-need-suggestions#post-652" target="_blank">OzarkPaddler</a>) group running it the same weekend. The rest of his photos are here <a href="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/117251466" rel="nofollow">http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/117251466</a> <img src="http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/117251466.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="605" /> We hit the line about halfway between the bottom of the photo and the boat... Not as clean as the this paddler. I probably should have lined the boat back up and run it again for some pics...oh well, we'll do it next time. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-18.jpg" alt="" /> After paddling the 19 miles from Greer to Riverton we we're tired and needed a shower. The friendly folks at Hufsteder's told us they hadn't cleaned the cabin yet so we could go back up there to take a shower. I snapped some photos. This place is worth $20 a night per person. <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-19.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-20.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-21.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-22.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-23.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-24.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-25.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-26.jpg" alt="" /> Driving home on highway 19 <img src="../../image/eleven-point/eleven-point-river-27.jpg" alt="" /> Yes, that is a Geo Metro with stomper wheels on it... I think the Samurai sacrificed some parts. Over all it was a good trip. I'll post some more commentary later.