My first float trip of the season went very well. We visited Alley Spring in Eminence Missouri and floated the Jacks Fork river. I was really surprised to see the number of people out camping, but I guess I shouldn’t be. We’ve all been cooped up all spring. I think this was my first time to float the Jacks Fork river but I’m not for sure. I floated so many times I can’t keep track now. This was an especially fun river to float with fast moving rapids, plenty of deep spots for swimming and fishing, and beautiful bluffs.
We camped two nights at Alley Spring Campground. There were a lot of people, but everyone seemed to be in a pretty good mood. How could you not be in a good mood when you’re out in nature? I didn’t account for the weather getting chilly at night, however, so I got pretty cold in my hammock. We camped Thursday night, floated Friday, and on Saturday visited some local sites in Eminence Missouri including the Alley, Spring Grist Mill and a small local cemetery.
This is definitely a river I would like to float again, but I wouldn’t encourage beginners. There were several spots that were tricky to navigate and had high potential for flipping a boat. this river is the major tributary of another one of my favorite rivers, the Current River. I hope to come back when the weather is hotter so I can really enjoy that cold spring water. I can’t wait for my next float trip.
