Charles Lewis Jr

Jun 14, 2019

Arkansas River from Great Bend to Alden 33 miles

My 33 mile over night trip on the Arkansas River Trail was good, bad and in between. The wildlife seen on the river included an eagle, several owls, many deer and an adorable line of baby ducks. There were plenty of sand beaches for camping. I hammock camped but will tent camp next time due to availability of flat sand bars. the run down the river was somewhat challenging due to new debris ( downed trees) in the river from this years extensive flooding. I also took the cheapest kayak you can buy due to its ability to carry gear vs my 20 year old style white water kayak. If you have little to no experience floating rivers I would recommend taking a kayak that is easily maneuverable. I also recommend you get a little experience before attempting to float this river. These recommendations are based on the river conditions I floated under. You can find conditions of the river on a usgs site Great Bend KS. Conditions on June 10th when I entered the river: water level gauge 4.6 feet. Discharge was 700 cubic feet per second. The river at that water level will create many forks in the river, with most reconnecting back to the main river but some ending in a dead end. I finally reached a turn in the river a couple miles before the first Alden bridge access point where the current was too strong for my cheap kayak to paddle across and it pulled me and the kayak into it which forced me to try and hit a gap of about 4 feet in between a downed tree along the bank and another tree mostly sunk in the water except for 2 large branches sticking out. I flipped and struggled to get to the bank with my Kayak due to the fast current and deepness of the water there. I assessed my situation from that point and decided that the risk was maybe a little too much for me in that particular kayak. The kayak I had was very stable but not maneuverable. When I got to the first Alden bridge access point I started to walk up to the road I was lucky enough to arrive the same time the land owner was pulling up in his truck. Great guy, Roy ( last name eludes me). He offered to haul me and my kayak to the coop in Alden where I could wait for my ride. Thank you Roy and the crew at the coop for being so accommodating. Learned from these people that people are taking 4 wheelers and doing other illegal stuff through these access points and causing damage to their properties, I hope these problems get resolved so we do not lose the ability to float this river. Driving home back to KC I realized that I am not done with this river, I will be back with my new knowledge of the river and a better kayak. Stay Calm and Float On.