If there ever was a perfect canoe day, it was today, August 21st. The morning start held glass-smooth water across three miles of lake. There were few speed boats out early, and the ones that were stayed far from me. It was not as hot today, winds were favorable, and I felt like paddling the distance. It turned into an eighteen mile paddle from Rocky Branch to the dam.

Today, I covered half of the lake’s points: 7, 6, 5 ,3 and 1. Point 2 lies up in Indian Creek Arm, and I will do a follow-up float there and out closer to Point 3.

There was a lot of watchable wildlife to see today. I spotted deer, osprey, Bonaparte’s gull, plovers, and an unexpected sighting of an avocet. The birds are on their southward migration trek and most were in non-breeding season plumage.

I’ll try to update this post with some photos later, but for now there is a longer video (54MB). It’s large and will take a while to load, so be patience. It may play better for you if you download the file by right-clicking and then open it in a media player rather than in your browser. Enjoy.

Beaver Lake Float Day 5 (Video)

© 2012, Scott Branyan

The weatherman promised hot, windy conditions and a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. I packed up my beach front camp and put paddle to the water at first light. I kept paddle strokes light as I warmed up. A single blade paddle allowed me to enjoy the leisure and quietness of the early morning. Following the old river bed from Ventris, I switched to my double canoe paddle and crossed over open water to the first long branch, which was Shaddox Branch. There were already good breezes on the water, but they would come and go.

The arm goes back aways to the point of land where Shaddox Hollow Trail on Hobbs Conservation Area comes down to the lake. There are three intermittent headwater creek arms from three different hollows which intersect there. In the spring, the hollows are loaded with many species of wildflowers in bloom for several weeks, and the creeks flow full after a heavy rain.

Floating past Shaddox Branch, I approached the old Coppermine area, a mining venture gone bust long before plans of a lake were conceived. It is now inundated by Beaver.

My flyrod was rigged from the previous day, and boils of white bass on the surface chasing schools of minnows had me reaching for the rod and the small, white foam popper on the end of the line. I missed two fish right off, jerking too quickly. I allowed the third fish to tug the popper down well below the surface on the next take. When I lifted the rod, it was solidly hooked.

Summer white bass are fun on a fly and pull rather hard. They school and feed on the surface early and late in the day when they readily take a popper or other surface pattern.

Several more pods of bass were working. I passed a little more time throwing the popper in the midst of the boils, mostly without effect. The breezes were becoming stiffer which made it harder to control the canoe for fishing. I paddled on.

Point 9 is on Cedar Bluff, near the present day community of Larue. It is one of my favorite stretches on this float, especially early in the morning, since it’s shaded. There’s a good deal of water here worthy of fishing, when you have the time.

Point 9 is located on Cedar Bluff. There are numerous “Cedar” creeks, bluffs and hollows across the Ozarks. It’s as common a name as “Mill” creek, etc., in Arkansas.

I floated close to the rocks and ate a snack before pushing on toward Point 8. Larue is now on a peninsula formed by the lake which extends out quite far. The rock layers and formations along it on the west side are interesting to observe.

As you round the peninsula, you come to tall bluff on the north side where Point 8 is located. This bluff and others down lake, such as Red Bluff and Indian Bluff, top out about 80 feet above the present lake level, but the old river channel is another 120 feet in depth here. The bluffs are a vestige of their older, more impressive appearance. Much of the natural beauty of an area is lost to man-made reservoirs.

This formation around Ford Creek Arm is locally called “Turtle Rock.” However, on this side, I see a small whale on top–The Sign of Jonah.

As I came to Ford Creek arm, a cloud bank begin to approach. I crossed its twin arm, Cedar Creek, as the wind began to pick up. I tried to make Red Bluff, but gave up and turned to cross over to Rocky Branch Park and my takeout. It was a hard push across a two mile stretch of open water with a strong headwind.

© 2012, Scott Branyan

The float this day was a little different, and I split the day since it was close to home and Sharon could help with a shuttle. I put in at Monte Ne and floated to the Highway 12 bridge by noon, took a break off the water during the heat of the afternoon until 5:30 p.m., and then floated to Ventris where I camped for the night.

Monte Ne arm, where I started, is a long arm on Beaver Lake and extends back almost two miles. It extends past the old Monte Ne amphitheater, which is usually under water, to Phillips Creek. Before the dam, the area had been a resort community. In prior days, it was called Silver Springs. The resort builder, Coin Harvey, renamed it Monte Ne (“mountain spring”). It’s a longer paddle than you would think, and there is an area going through the location of the historic silver springs on the topo map—about two thirds of the way out of the arm—where there is something of a “dead pool.” I always work harder than I wish to get through it. One day I’ll learn to go around it. It’s probably something only the fishermen and the kayakers notice. I arrived at the mouth of the arm just at sunrise and enjoyed the view for a few minutes.

Following the old bed of the White River around Horseshoe Bend is instructive on the geology of the area. It shows how the White River was, and is, a much smaller river than the river which carried the erosive forces and cut the ancient valleys.

One of my favorite spots is the bluff overhang near Joe Creek hollow. It often has a spring dripping water down the bluff, and it is a cool place to hang out for a while (see the video). I made Horsehoe Bend by 9:00 a.m. The marina did not open until 10:00, so I stopped at the day use area and stretched before going on towards my noon stop. Take an annual Corps park pass permit with you, and this will save you any complications from using the day use areas. The lake widens considerably from the park going north, and it becomes harder to follow the old river channel as it meanders across deep cut valleys, which are inundated now.

Across the lake from the marina is the Blackburn Creek arm. If you go up this arm, you will come to Hobbs conservation area and an overlook on one of the multi-use day trails, but there is no lake access. The peninsula which sticks out at the start of Blackburn Creek is the historic area and cemetery of Key. It is now the location of the Arkansas Game and Fish Rearing Pond and is also a wildlife observation area.

Somewhere past the marina and around Esculapia Hollow, on the point around some bluffs, I saw a red fox appear, running ahead of me up the bluff and into tree line. I think it had been sitting there on a rock as I approached—foxes often sit and observe—but I didn’t see it until it started moving off away from me.

As you begin to pass Beaver Shores development on the left, notice the rock features around Standing Rock hollow on the east side and the bluff along the west side before the Highway 12 bridge. Here, bedrock fractures in neat squares and blocks.

I took out at the bridge at noon and returned around 5:30 p.m. It was 97 degrees but starting to cool and a short paddle up to Ventris where I camped for the night. The bluffs of Bear Island are impressive as are the ones along the opposite side of the lake as you follow the old channel north. I explored and fished a little around Alpine Hollow, just past Point 10, but between the wakes of ski boats and the wind, it was difficult to seriously fish. I made camp on the beach at Ventris just at sunset, and it was a calm and peaceful evening with a full moon. I fished a little more but without effect. There was no need for a tent fly. It was hot, and I drained some cooler water onto a bandana and put it on my back to cool off with the slight evening breeze. It made the rest of the night tolerable. After retiring, I heard a small animal walking past my tent on the gravels, but I was entirely too tired to turn over and see what it was.

Photos of Beaver Lake Float – Day 3

Video of Beaver Lake Float – Day 3 (24 MB mp4 file)

© 2012, Scott Branyan

After the night at War Eagle campground, I was ready to start the day ASAP. I got on the water just at sunup. The light this morning was excellent for some bluff photography. The diffused light kept on longer than I thought it would, as there was a band of fog downlake that kept rising and filtering the sun. I took some time to stop and experiment with some shots of the bluffs.

The area around the War Eagle Creek and Pine Creek confluences has to be one of my favorite at this water level. I’ve been here when the lake was near full, but this was nice for canoeing and taking breaks in the shade. It is a long way around the War Eagle peninsula; so I was ready to break and explore the beach a little (see the video).

Heading north, the next break I took was at Hickory Creek Marina. The owner there was talking about four boats breaking loose last night in the storm. They had to play roundup, after the winds blew through the area. I enjoy breaks at the marinas and picking up the local scuttlebutt. The marinas on Beaver generally do not carry much in the way of gear or food. Candy bars, bear claws, soft drinks, chips, ice cream and ice are about it. Some close early, some open late, so don’t rely on them being open when you get there, especially paddling early and late.

North of Hickory Creek is Nelson Hollow. There are a number of exclusive homes in this area. On the point is what used to be the Tyson complex of homes. Don Tyson lived here at times as well as Jim and Dianne Blair. I worked on their pools and spas a few times. After Bill Clinton became president, he and Hillary returned to NWA not long afterward for a few days. I caught word they were staying at Tyson’s place and that their motorcade would be leaving to go to the Springdale airport. My mom had gathered me and my younger brother up one day in Toledo when she heard LBJ was coming down the interstate. We drove up across the Michigan line and waited on an overpass to watch his motorcade go by. I had also watched Air Force One fly into Love Field in Dallas with Jimmie Carter. Not missing the opportunity, I got my son Paul, who was four or five, and drove out to the quickie store I knew they would have to go by coming back into town. We had not been there long before the motorcade arrived. I had Paul in my arms pointing it out to him, as Hillary’s face appeared in the limousine window with a big smile, while she waved enthusiastically at Paul. I don’t know if he remembers, but I do.

The heat was worse today. There was little breeze, and I took a couple more shade breaks before I made lunch time close to the Beaver Lake Water District intake. After lunch I broke again in the shade of Eden Bluff, one of the White River’s historic landmarks. There were a lot of ski boats in the area, and their wakes were forceful along the bluffs. With the high sun, this made for some interesting light reflections on the water. The music from the ski boats is what you hear in the video.

The temperature was in the upper 90s as I rounded Point 11 coming into Monte Ne arm where I ended day two after fourteen miles. Getting closer to the take out, my heart sank as I saw a recent clear cut area at the upper end of the lake arm. Forty acres of mountain top were bulldozed out to a steep mountain side. There were no erosion controls, and there remains the threat of runoff flowing down into Monte Ne Branch creek. Sad.

Photos of Beaver Lake Float – Day 2

Video of Beaver Lake Float – Day 2 (26 MB mp4 file)

Please enjoy.

© 2012, Scott Branyan

I’ve been on most of Beaver Lake at one time or another since 1975, but had never canoed it. This summer looked like an opportune time, and I decided to paddle its length solo. Hot weather and a low lake level meant a little less boat traffic. I paddled on weekdays to avoid the heavier traffic on the weekends.

It took me six days from my start at the old Blue Springs access to the town of Beaver. Blue Springs (not to be confused with Blue Spring) was the first public access where I had enough water to begin my float. There were places I would have had to drag the canoe if I had started at the Highway 45 bridge. Beaver, AR is fourteen miles below Beaver dam and seemed an appropriate place to end, since the lake derives it’s name from that location and its early settler, Wilson A. Beaver. It is also a good transition point into Table Rock Lake.

I did the float in three, two-day segments and camped twice, once at War Eagle Campground and the second time at Ventris Public Use Area. Ventris is a primitive campsite and requires a permit from the Corps of Engineers. I had intended to also camp at Starkey, but the day of the float the weather was pleasant and the mileage came easy, so I paddled all the way to the dam from Rocky Branch access.

Here are a few photos from the first day. This day I paddled from Blue Springs to War Eagle Public Use area, which is about six miles. I started early to beat the heat and arrived at the marina at War Eagle by 11:00 a.m. By the time I walked the canoe and gear up the hill to the campground, had lunch, and rested, my friend Noel Morris surprised me with a visit and also brought some extra snacks and drinks. We discussed my float plans. He hopes to do the float in his kayak in the future. After Noel left, the thunderstorms began to build, and they hung around into the evening. My wife, Sharon, brought some supper out to the campground. That capped off a great day. After she left, I fell asleep in the tent listening to someone setting off Fourth of July fireworks. It was the first good rain the area had had since before the Fourth.

One of the reasons I only made six miles the first day is I anticipated thunderstorms popping up, and I did not want to get caught out on open water. I pulled together the raw video files from the thunderstorm that first afternoon and launching the next morning. For some reason, I took the video vertically that morning. Sorry it makes for a rather small screen! Enjoy. More accounts to follow.

Video – Beaver Lake Float 1

© 2012, Scott Branyan