This year’s base camp was a Spring River Oaks campground where paddlers end up occupying two separate areas.  One area was occupied by those with campers, and the other side was used by tent campers.  The campground was well maintained, although it’s worth mentioning it is located right next to a very active railroad track.  When we say active, we mean trains are running all hours of the day and night.  Another thing to note is the campground’s electrical hook-up policy. Some of the tent campers camped in the area that provides an electrical service.  Their web site clearly states, “Most campsites have electric and water hook-ups, there is a $10.00 per night charge for this service.” leading you to believe the charge is optional. Nevertheless, they charge the $10 fee whether the electrical service is used or not.

The good thing, the weather was perfect so there was no need for electric fans or heaters. You will need a 30 AMP plug converter should you choose to use the service. I believe offices have those available.

The temps Friday and Saturday dropped to low 50’s, which had made it for a perfect night of camping, but as luck would have it, it started to rain, which lasted off and on the entire night.  We placed a lot of trust in the weather report that promised us the abundance of sunshine starting around 9:30 AM on Saturday.   They were not wrong.   Saturday morning paved the way for an adventurous beginning.

Day 1 – Dam 3 to Spring River Oaks Campground   

Our shuttle began with consolidation of all of our boats into two vehicles, a pickup truck and Susan’s boat trailer that is equipped to handle up to 7 boats. Our first adventure began when we left the campground and drove 1.8 miles on the gravel road toward Hwy 63.  We decided to stop before getting on the highway to tighten the tie-downs.  A car pulled up next to us to inform us that we had lost a boat about a mile back, so we had to go back and retrieve it.  It was Frank’s boat that thankfully did not get damaged and was successfully secured back on Susan’s trailer.

We finally made it to a Dam 3, unloaded and “set the sail” at 10:50 AM.  There were 8 kayaks and 1 canoe. The current was not disappointing, and we had fun tackling frequent rapids, drops and patches of slow-moving deep waters that gave Bethany plenty of opportunities to practice rolls in her whitewater kayak.  We saw plenty of turtles, blue Herons, river otter and someone claimed they spot an Eagle. We made several stops along the way.   Saddler’s Falls did not disappoint and as often happens, left one paddler with bruised knees and equally bruised ego, but thankfully the boat and gear were recovered. 

We took out at Spring River Oaks, our campground, at 2:25 PM, after paddling 6.57 miles, according to Igor’s GPS. 

We chose to dine at Wood’s Riverbend Restaurant where we were seated at the outdoor patio.  The food was delicious and plenty of food scraps were shared with a cute little groundhog who was patiently waiting about 20 feet below the deck for Veronica and Bethany to feed the little rascal. After dinner the group took a stroll to view a magnificent Mammoth Spring.  A small group end up at the Biggers for a round of drinks and live music.   It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Day 2 – Dam 3 to Spring River Oaks Campground   

We chose to do the same run the next day.  Jennifer and Gary did not paddle with us, but we were joined by Denise and Amber, so the boat count was the same – 8 kayaks and 1 canoe.  This time we made sure that Frank’s boat was secured on Susan’s trailer. As we began our shuttle, we found a paddle in the middle of the road.   Of course, we stopped and picked it up.  Of course it was Frank’s paddle.  Frank was not having much luck on day 2.  As we continued down the gravel road, we made another stop.  Yes, we stopped to pick up a second paddle, which also belonged to Frank.  Thankfully, we did not lose Frank.

We started our paddle one hour earlier then the previous day – at 9:47 and surprisingly covered the same distance as the day before. We had another swimmer on the second day of paddle, and thankfully were able to recover the boat and no fishing gear was lost. We did stop at the Deadman’s curve to cool off and take a few pictures.   During the paddle we were also greeted by a Great Snowy Egret, a truly magnificent bird.

We finished our paddle at 1:10 PM and several of us packed up our gear and tents and headed back home while few stayed behind for an additional day of camping.

The temps were in the mid-80’s on both days with an abundance of sunshine.  Neither day was busy with paddlers, and we only encountered several large groups, one of which was boy scouts.  We met a couple from Memphis who were using a raft and promptly invited them to come and visit us during the next meeting.

The gauge at Hardy recorded 3.02 ft .