Skunked!

Okay, not literally skunked. My nine-year-old and I hit the LMT for his first backpacking trip this weekend. We started at the Falls and hiked southeast. We had a great hike down to the crossing at Crooked Creek. The Little Mo was way too deep and swift for my son to cross. We watched one group of guys struggle across, and then across Crooked Creek. They hollered from the opposite bank that Crooked Creek was an even more difficult crossing. I bushwacked upstream a bit to try and find a better spot, but no luck. We saw three goups turn back after the first group made it.

We turned back, too, and camped along the trail and made the best of it. My boy can't wait to go again, so I count it as a success.

In y'all's experience, is the water level usually too high for kids? I know it rained hard on Friday, but someone on the trail said it is always like this in the fall.

PD

NO! We have had a unusually wet Summer and early Fall. everything is up! Here is a tread
that you will find interesting: Eagle Rock Loop Thread
go to about the second page and there is a discussion of safe crossing levels. I feel like if you
had crossed it would have only gotten worse. Also go here for a complete list of
river gauges

Hope this helps in the future.

Tom

WOW well my son and I and a friend and his son where set to do the whole Eagle Rock Loop this past weekend and we decided to reschedule. I am sure glad we did, but I cant wait to do the whole loop.

J

It seems that every couple of days, 2 to 3, we seem to be getting heavy rain. Not a good time to be on a trail that has lots of stream crossings!
I am sure that there are other folks that have a different opinion than I do but I tend to be a little more cautious than most esp. with kids.
By the way I live close by the ERL so I know what is happening weather wise in the area.

Another good gauge source

http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?state=ar&map_type=real&web_type=table3

Clif,
Thanks I book marked that one also.
Tom

Thanks everyone. I had checked the USGS site about 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the hike, and saw the level at Langley had spiked to about 7 ft the night before. I checked again when we got back on Sunday, and if I'm reading it right, the water level at Langley was just under 5 ft. at the time we were trying cross at Crooked Creek. Those numbers didn't mean much to me until I read the thread that Tom posted. I'm glad we didn't try it.

On the way out, we passed two scout troops heading south on the trail. I hope they made it okay.


Next time I try the Little Mo with my boys, I'll have a Plan B hike in my back pocket, and check the water levels the night before.

We are always learning. My stream crossing experience came the hard way also. Crossing the Cossotot at a high level.
Very dangerous conditions, that was back in the 70's. I learned the hard way.....

Tom

On the subject of plan B: If one were to hike the Buckeye /Caney Creek loop would it ever be bad to cross at the falls. And if it gets bad does it stay that way long?

As long as you are on the ridges you are ok in the Caney Creek Wilderness. The upper creek area wouldn't be as bad as the lower area of the creek.
It doesn't take as long for the creek to come down. Most of the the time it is just a bolder hop. Remember that there isn't as many creek crossings from Katy Falls to the East trail head as it is going to the West trail head. Don't know if I have answered your question but that creek has gotten WAY high in the past.