May 19th & 20th, 2018: We had a large group of 22 on the river, consisting of 3 day trippers on the Woolum to Tyler Bend section of the Buffalo River. There were a lot more new faces in the crowd with about an even split of new and common paddlers, which is always great to see! The water level was between 4.40-4.25 ft. according to the USGS 07056000 gauge near St. Joe, AR. In my opinion, it was just right, but I would not have wanted any less water knowing what I now know.
We set shuttle and put on the river at Woolum around 11:45am. The temperatures were very Summer-like, which made for multiple stops of swimming and hydrating on the plentiful gravel bars and cool water swimming holes abound. As the day went on and the sun began its journey westward, We began the search for a suitable camping spot. After our third gravel bar inspection (with pretty bluffs) and shortly after hitting the 8 mile mark on my GPS, we reached a unanimous decision to call it our home for the night.
Our dinner consisted of the group contributing to a river pot luck while I sweated it out grilling and smoking chicken breasts over the coals. No complaints on the chicken or any other dishes, nor was anyone complaining of hunger so I’d say it was complete success!
The next day started quite early, everyone was fed, packed, and paddling on the water by 8:30am. The next few remaining miles went by quickly, the weather looked and felt like rain was just around the next bend but no dice, dry weather remained strong. We reached the banks of Tyler bend shortly after 11:00am.
All in all, the trip was fantastic! Thank you to all that participated and joining us on our journey down river, thanks for providing the side dishes, thanks for staying safe, and best of all, thank you for having fun on the river like one big family.
-David Jackson
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