Big Creek

After exploring the frozen shut-ins we made our way over to the creek bank to inflate our boats. I was using my older boats at the time so I modified the seating for him a bit to better fit within it. This also meant I was carrying roughly 40 lbs of gear on my back with the weight and bulk of the 2 older packrafts - further reenforcing my decision to keep the hike short. Nicholas and I got into our drysuits and started paddling down the river. I kept him close above me on the river but within this shortened route there are only a few riffles to go thru. One of the shoals had a tree down blocking a majority of the river which we portaged. Around this same time, it started to get a bit cold for Nicholas. With only about a 1/4 mile of river left to go, Nicholas tucked his hands under his life jacket and let me paddle our boats thru the final remaining flat water.

Once we got back to the truck, I cranked the heat up high and we defrosted fingers with a chai tea latte at The Station in Fredericktown on the drive back. Nicholas loved his first time on moving water but requested a bit warmer weather for the next outing.

For our next trip to Big Creek - Nicholas and I chose a Friday in the spring with temps right around 75 for a high. He completed another session of paddling in the pool with the Missouri Whitewater Association and had a pretty consistent sweep stroke developed. The night before, we discussed our planning options and he decided that he wanted to attempt a 3 mile hike to 3 mile paddle back loop. On this route, we will gain roughly 1,000 feet of elevation in the hike before we drop back down into the creek. From there, we will need to cross Mudlick Creek and make our way to the banks of Big Creek just above a small class 2 shut in on the creek. Once we run this shut in, the creek turns into a class 1 paddle the rest of the way with shoals, towering bluffs, rock outcroppings, and gravel bars typical of an Ozark stream. There is an option to hike another mile further upstream which will allow you to paddle 3 more class 2 shut in features and likewise extend your paddle to 4 miles back to the parking lot as well but we decided for our first longer trip to keep things simple.

We packed our bags the night before in the garage after a small rock climbing session. Now using our new boats from Alpacka Raft, I am able to easily carry both packrafts due to the smaller pack down sizes and weights. By using the new rafts we shed roughly 15 lbs and the space of an entire backpack. In Nicholas pack I had him carry both our packraft floors, his drysuit in case water/air temps were too low, some dry layers for him, and his PFD, paddle, and helmet on the exterior. In my bag I also had my needed PFD, helmet, paddle along with the 2 packrafts and 2 water bottles, snacks, first aid, Rocky Talkie waterproof radios for on river communications, and a camera. I didn’t weigh his backpack but I knew worst case I could carry it along with mine if needed.

We arrived to Sam A Baker the next morning with the parking lot empty - always a good sign. The USGS gauge within the park was reading about 2.4 ft and falling, which anywhere between 2-4 ft is great paddling conditions. Any less than 2 ft means you are walking - any more than 4 ft you may encounter some of those class 2 shut ins more at a class 3 level. We quickly set off on the trail - making easy and quick time for about the first mile. We saw a lot of animal prints in the mud and a lot of broad-headed skinks along the way. As we entered the shut in and adjoining switchbacks, Nicholas remarked how much quicker time we made compared to when it was snowing the previous trip. He was excited to leave behind familiar territory and venture further on the trail than he did before. He was also fascinated with how trails are designed to climb hills. We talked about erosion, trail design and planning, and what he thought would be important when your making a trail. His answer - cool stuff to see and protecting nature. Pretty solid answer if you ask me. After a steep climb where we gain a majority of the 1,000 feet along the hike and find our first of 3 covered huts to take a short rest at. These shelters were built out of stone with wooden roofs by the Civilian Conservation Corps and make you wonder how they hauled in the materials needed to do this roughly 100 years ago. We share a bag of cheez-its and get some much needed water. We look at the map on my phone and he tells me it looks like we are about a 1/3 of the way along our hike. I tell him I agree and we continue on. At this point the trail starts to widen out almost into the remnants of an ATV trail. It is used by horse riders sparsely and follows sweeping ridge lines that pass two more shelter huts, each one in worse disrepair than the previous but each providing us a short break to drink some more water and catch our breath. After the 3rd hut, the trail takes a sharp left while we take the shut ins trail downhill to the right, starting our descent into Big Creek. This section of the trail is one of my favorites due to the towering pine trees along it and the ever growing sound and anticipation of the creek ahead of you. As we make our way to the bottom, we make a small water crossing along Mudlick Creek and end up following it out to the gravel bar on Big Creek where it outputs to setup our packrafts and get on the water.

As we started to inflate our boats along the river, we were visited by a curious spangled fritillary as we unpacked and got the boats ready. We tested all our gear, did a quick communications check with the radio and went over the plan for the very first section of water. It is a great class 2- section of moving water with a great recovery pool below it - which all equals a very nice low consequence environment to try your first bit of moving water in. Nicholas paddled thru it with ease and at the bottom of the recovery pool exclaimed '“the rapids are so much fun!'“. He was hooked.