The 2025 3-day paddle happened one year to the day from last year, with two exceptions: (1) Charles kept his word and changed the paddle from last year’s Friday through Sunday to this year’s Saturday through Monday and (2) it end up being a 2-day paddle mostly due to a smaller group as the majority had to leave to get home on Sunday.  

This was a cooler weekend with pockets of rain and even thundering and lightning, but the weather did not stop this group from keeping their weekend float plans. 

The camping location was new for several of us. Instead of our traditional Flying W Store & Campground, the group chose to stay at the Eminence Cottages and Camp.   The place was clean, each site had water and electrical hook ups, but admittedly, it had very few level sites.  It has plenty of bathrooms and showers on premises and offers fresh free coffee at the office.

The weather Friday night was perfect, but we were greeted with a quick overnight shower which cooled things off and sleeping was quite pleasant even without portable fan.  

Day 1 (July 12) shuttle started at 8 AM. Our first day’s section of the river was Eminence (Joshua T. Chilton Memorial Landing), our traditional takeout on the Jack’s Fork River Paddle to Two Rivers on the Jack’s Fork.  For those who are wondering about the name, the name "Two Rivers" within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways part of Missouri refers to the confluence of the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers.

After completing the quick shuttle, we started our paddle at 10:15 AM.  Our group consisted of 10 paddlers and Becki, who as usual spent more time in the river than in Charles’ canoe.  We did not have any rain on the river, but several heavy clouds followed us off and on throughout the paddle. Paddling through the confluence where Jack’s Form flows into the Current is a neat experience with quite bit of visible underwater whirlpools. The takeout is about 10 minutes from the confluence on the river-right.

The current of Jack’s Fork was pretty swift and even with several stops, we were off the river by 1:30 PM.  Igor’s GPS clocked 8.56 river miles.   The water on the Alley gage was 2.7 feet, which was completely different story the next day, when Jack’s Fork was flooded and I am glad we paddled it on the first day.  

The Day 1 ended with a group dinner at Dos Rios Mexican Restaurant in Eminence, MO. After dinner, several of us end up at the Dairy Shack for much-needed cooldown therapy and the evening ended back at the camp for chilling and relaxation.  We ended the evening early in anticipation of the upcoming rain but overall, it was a fabulous day on the river.  

Day 2 (July 13) weather forecast promised 45% of “liquid sunshine” and that was the day when we got “lucky”.  Our Day 2 track was Pulltite to Round Springs. With a slightly smaller group than the day before, 8 paddlers and Becki got on the river at 9:53 AM, but not before confusion during the shuttle where several drivers end up at the Round Springs Campground River access instead of the one we normally use.  With the lack of cell service, it was little challenging to locate the group, which thankfully did not take long. The lessons learned #1 – follow your trip initiator.  

Ten minutes into our paddle, our first traditional stop was Pulltite Springs, a lovely area that is only accessible by boat.  The springs are beautiful and according to an Ozark National Park Service, have a daily flow of 20 to 30 million gallons.  Next to the Springs there is a historical structure knows as a The Pulltite Cabin. It has a unique design of French style in which the logs are placed upright so as not to have to notch them.  According to a historical marker, the Cabin was built in 1913 and is currently boarded up.  The plans are in place to have this Cabin restored to its original beauty.

After lunch, we got caught in a quick downpour, which only lasted 20+ minutes, but clouds gave way to a partially clear skies for the remainder of our trip. Our second stop was a visit Merritt Rock Cave, located on the River Right at 37°18'45.9"N 91°25'42.7"W. When we visited the Cave last year, we decided that the cell phone lights are simply not enough to conduct Cave exploration.  Reminders were set to bring headlamps along to this paddle, but the lessons learned #2 is do not leave these headlamps in the car. Accessing the cave is also challenging. There is not much room to dock the boats and once docked, getting out is even more tricky. Veronica’s boat was nearly swamped but thankfully the boat operator was ok. Cave is beautiful and there is a steady stream of freezing water running out. We took several pictures and videos from the inside and moved on to the takeout, which was 50 minutes away.

We were off the river by 1:20 PM and packed our boats and headed back home. Igor’s GPS clocked 10.29 miles, which included a quick stroll at the Pulltite Springs and the Cave exploration.  

The gauge at Akers recorded 1.4 ft. 

All in all, it was a successful day on the river and pretty fun weekend with great friends.