Buffalo National River trip

tradewater

tradewater

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Northwestern Arkansas has one of the true gems of the US and it's a favorite of ours. The nation's first "National River" was proclaimed by an act of congress in 1972 ending the corps of engineers plans to dam it up and ruin a wilderness resource. There are no motorized boats allowed anywhere on the 135 miles of wild and pristine water. A paddler's paradise with miles and miles of trails, caves, waterfalls and wilderness.


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We made the drive down on Wednesday, swung by and set up a shuttle with our outfitter and enjoyed a nice evening at camp.
Found a secluded spot at the Buffalo Point campground for base camp (with some shade) and set up for a few days of exploring.

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Not a bad view out the back door either..

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Camp fire was a piece of cake with the Mighty Machax. The angle of the handle not only makes for a natural chopping motion, it is exceptionally comfortable for batoning.

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Hit the water early for 24 miles of beautiful river. I'm going to post a whole bunch of pictures now....:D There are thousand foot bluffs on this river.

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The temp was in the high 90's so we made several stops.

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This sand/gravel bar was awesome and would make a hellacious camp.

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Kay went swimming to cool off.

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I only went in nut high...the water was cold.

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I did officially proclaim this sandbar "Kabar bar" though.

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Lunch in the shade.

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And what a lunch it was :D. We didn't do anything elaborate because we had some miles to do.

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Found a very cool cave. Hung out there for a while.

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Some vegetation on the bottom gave the water a beautiful color in places.

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Had a great time. We had a hike planned for the next day but opted for another section of river and an 11 mile paddle which we did late in the evening because of the heat. Took our time going home, rode the ferry over Bull Shoals lake and found a neat little resort in Tecumseh, Mo right on the lake.

Next up for us is a circumnavigation of Land Between the Lakes. It will be 165 miles and four or five nights of backwoods camping.

It's always fun to take pictures because we feel like we're taking our Becker brothers along with us. Hope you like them.
 
Looks awesome man. I've never done anything like that before. I don't think I would have cooked anything elaborate either in the high 90's, haha. BTW, nice photos, and I don't say that lightly. I put a lot of time into my photos, and appreciate when others do the same. Photos tell the whole story.
 
BTW, I was over at moms digging up volunteer trees a few days ago, and she mentioned her, the wife, and myself going on a little mini vaca. We did southern Illinois last time, but we're thinking Tennessee this time. Not sure when, or if it'll happen, but thinking about it has been fun.
 
Trade, that looks like a glorious time that was had. The weather sure was hot. Glad to hear you made it through just fine. I am definitely going to have to take you up on your offer to come paddle with you. I have to get my rod from Springfield first.
 
The Warrior said:
Looks awesome man. I've never done anything like that before. I don't think I would have cooked anything elaborate either in the high 90's, haha. BTW, nice photos, and I don't say that lightly. I put a lot of time into my photos, and appreciate when others do the same. Photos tell the whole story.
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Thank you Dubz. That's high praise coming from you. The heat and humidity wasn't that pleasant, but it thinned out the herd. :D
 
tradewater said:
Thank you Dubz. That's high praise coming from you. The heat and humidity wasn't that pleasant, but it thinned out the herd. :D
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No problem man. The outings are my favorite type of thread, and even more so when the photos are nice. It's worth the effort. I have said many times, that I manipulate my photos to make them look better, but you have to have a decent quality photo to begin with. If it's a shot I'm really wanting to get, I may take 10 photos of the same thing, and choose the best one. I may take anywhere from 150-500 photos in a single trip. Over 900 was my record, haha. But that's what it takes sometimes to get the quality shots, and tell the story you're wanting to tell. It's an effort, it really is. It's much more enjoyable to not take photos, and enjoy what you're doing. We make a big deal out of the meals we prepare on the trail. So much faster, and easier just to cook and eat, as opposed to doing the same, and getting a shot of everything. Worth it in the long run though.

I hear ya about thinning out the heard, haha. We love having the areas to ourselves. When we go on our anniversary hikes, it's in January, and you rarely see anyone wanting to get out in the cold. Speaking of which, I'm kind of wanting to get a tipi, and ti stove, for a hot tent, and do some winter camping. Have been wanting to do it for some time.
 
Wow what a great trip report. That's awesome that they've protected the river system like that; even going as far as prohibiting motorized water crafts. It seems like a very pristine and beautiful area to paddle through. The caverns sound especially interesting. Thanks for sharing!
 
I am coming to really enjoy the travel threads such as this one. I am learning that there are a lot of places that I need to go see for myself. Thank you for the motivation.

-Ivarr
 
In the mid 1970s I earned my BSA Fifty-Miler patch on the Buffalo. Spent 5 weeks at BSA camp that summer. Two at Camp Cherokee, two at Brownsea for the Council's Senior Patrol Leaders, and one on a fifty miler canoe trip. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that was ~40 years ago. Sometimes that seems like another life in another time.
 
Very nice I too Love Good Photos and these are Beautiful,
I myself have never been too good at taking pictures, plus its a fine line, it can become a Great photo op at the expense of enjoying where you are at,
Years ago on a trip to Gatlinburg I became so obsessive with my camera my family said I might as well came alone
They always had to wait for me to finish my picture taking before we could go on
Last trip to Death Valley I only took around 25 photos when we were already stopped,,,,,just enjoyed the desert, even flew over the Grand canyon before we left , then to Vagas, my Kids said it was the most fun vacation we've had.
So be sure you balance taking pictures and actually enjoying the moment your in.
Saying all that, everyone Keep taking A Lot of photos, I,m Greedy and want to see it All..:)
And some of these threads,,,,Like this one are truly amazing , Professional Grade :thumbup:
 
Trade, what can I say man. Awesome pics! Thanks for taking the time to take pictures and take us along.

Amanda and I can't wait to see pictures of the next leg of you and Kay's adventure.

Jeremy
 
I love these threads, Tradewater. Ever since I started coming here I've loved looking at them. Looks like it was an awesome adventure.
 
The Buffalo is a beautiful river. I think it great that it has been saved from damming. I enjoyed your photos and your post. Been a while since I have been there. The water looked great, a comfortable float. I hear it is a fair small mouth fishery.
 
Thanks for sharing! We were up there a few years ago and need to get back - especially now that the youngest son can handle extended time on the water.
 
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