The Little Sandy is Big on Beauty

The Little Sandy is Big on Beauty

Come, canoe on one of Kentucky's breathtaking scenic rivers.  The amazing scenery on the Little Sandy cannot be seen from your car, or even hiking on a trail.  You need to get into the quiet placidness of this river to really appreciate it.  In fact, Kentucky is known as the state with the most navigable rivers, except for Alaska.  Many of these rivers are only navigable from January to April.  However, the Little Sandy River is navigable all year long.

The Little Sandy River in Eastern Kentucky is our favorite.  When introducing friends to canoeing, we enjoy taking them on this river because it is very slow and meandering making it an excellent river to canoe for beginners and families.  The scenery is exquisite with boulders and massive sandstone cliffs at water's edge and around every bend.  From the massive cliffs are overhangs, waterfalls and caves carved from the wind and water.

Introducing my sister-in-law and our brother-in-law, Marcie Lantz Driver and David Driver, to canoeing in Kentucky!

Often as you approach a turn in the river, it appears as if the river is ending, only to see a 180 degree turn back on the other side of the cliff.  The canoeing section of the river begins in Elliot County and flows toward Carter County where the river widens into Grayson Lake.  The US Army Corps of Engineers (Huntington District) has a good detailed map of Grayson Lake.  (We understand you can also pick up a map at the Laurel Gorge Visitor Center.)  There are signposts on the river indicating the bays or streams flowing in that you can explore.  Most of these streams have a no wake speed zone which makes it more peaceful, though we haven't encountered many motor boats.  Another plus for this river are the many well maintained boat ramps along State Route 7, running parallel to the river, which makes it easy to shuttle, putting your canoe in the river and parking a car at the take out point.  Several of these boat ramps also have clean restroom facilities. (Bruin Recreation Center).  The abundance of well-maintained boat ramps allows you options of canoeing for a few hours or taking a more extensive overnight camping trip.

As you canoe on the Little Sandy, listen for the echoes coming off the sandstone cliffs and the grunting and bubbling of the river as it hits the massive cliffs.  Listen for the river talking to you.

    A Switch-Back Turn on the River             Photographer:  Marcie Lantz Driver   

                 

With the steep cliffs along the river there are few places to get out to explore and little wildlife, out of the water, to be seen.  But if you keep an eye out, you may see the busy beaver at work stripping bark off of the small shoreline bushes, or enjoy some of the beautiful birdlife as you go along.  Also, this past month in the fall, we saw floating gelatinous blobs of algae, the size of a baseball, bobbing along.  We examined one and found that underneath the algae looking stuff, it was a clear gelatinous material, but had a hollow interior.  When we investigated on the internet, we found it be a freshwater sponge in the family Bryozoans.  They are native to the United States.  We also saw them attached to the bottom of the river and to branches in the water.  They overwinter in a dormant state called gemmules.

We have canoed this river at various times of the year, even canoeing the last week in November, when the Corps of Engineers had released water from the dam so that the river level was at "winter pool" with large expanses of mud bank exposed.  We put in at Newfoundland Boat Ramp and canoed "12" miles to Bruin Recreation Center, taking 4 hours.  The take out is hidden, past the bridge, turn right into a stream and go another several 100 yards.  The bridge is a welcome sight at the end of an extensive day on the river.

Photos of the Eleven Point

I am learning how to use this blog site.  I couldn't get the photos onto my first blog.  So here they are.

Azul, Our excellent traveling companion

Boze Spring and the remains of the mill

A Crisp Autumn Float on the Eleven Point River

A Crisp Autumn Float on the Eleven Point River

The 11 Point, a class I river, is not for novices as it flows sharply around curve after curve presenting maneuvering challenges! We canoed from Cane Bluff access to Riverton Access at the Hwy 160 bridge, a distance of a little over 26 miles enjoying 2 ½ days of the crisp, clear and cool autumn season.

The 11 Point is a quiet river designated a National Scenic and Wild River on the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest near Alton, Missouri.  There are several canoe rental/shuttle companies in the area with reasonable prices. We chose Huffsteder’s because they are located at the take out point so we didn’t have to shuttle our car anywhere – They shuttled us and our gear in a van to the put in spot.

As we started the trip, we remarked on how quiet the river was and the multitude of wildlife – bald eagles, otters, mink, snakes, and the ever present kingfishers and great blue herons.  By the end of the trip we had even scared up 5 beautiful male wood ducks and watched a deer crossing the river a hundred feet away.  Azul, our Australian Shepherd, made an excellent traveling companion, sitting between Doug’s legs and patiently observing the details of the river without barking at the wildlife.

The banks were forested with sycamore trees.  We don’t remember seeing so many sycamore in one place.  But, a KY native once told us that the presence of sycamores means there’s a spring nearby so we guess you could say there were springs nearby everywhere!  The Eleven Point is famous for its springs.

We basked in the crisp, and bright blue clear skies, but it seemed that we were forever canoeing into the sunrise or sunset. It was only when we realized that the autumn sun would never fully rise overhead; it would always be on the horizon that we understood. That autumn sun played beautifully with the rippled surface, glistening and blinding us as we tried to figure out the best path through rapids.

The river from Cane Bluff to Greer was so shallow that we spent much time dragging our canoe over the pebbly bottom – it felt like hard work and was really slow.  So as we were approaching the place where Greer Springs joins the river, we relaxed into it!  Yeah!  The river’s volume would increase as over 200 million gallons of water flow out of the spring each day!  Greer Springs is the second largest spring in Missouri.   Hopefully there would be fewer places to scrape bottom.  The aquamarine colors were an added bonus to the river at each spot where springs joined the river.  After Greer Spring, we noticed very light green clumps of plant that were sometimes floating and other times secured to the bottom.  It looked very much like iridescent water cress!  Our research proved that it was water cress!! Nasturtium officinale.   The literature says it is often found downstream from springs because of the cold, alkaline properties of the river at that point.  It is also listed as a noxious and invasive species!

We were going to camp the first night at Greer, but the camping area was too far from the river, and after a tiring first day, we didn’t relish portaging all our belongings ¼ mile.  So we kept going and camped probably a mile past Greer on a sand bar, accomplishing just 8 miles that day.  After all her patience in the boat, Azul exploded with energy on dry land; digging in the sand and attacking the briars.  We were glad she could expel that energy before she curled up in a corner of the tent for the night! That early evening several canoers passed our campsite.  Most canoers were also enjoying fishing.

The next day we canoed from our campsite to Greenbriar Float Camp.  As we canoed we reflected that the river was not for novices.  There were many deadfalls across the river diverting the flow. Even though there weren’t many rapids, the stream of the water always seemed to push you into deadfalls, as it flowed sharply through curve after curve. 

The float camps were marked, and were usually on a side stream/gully. They were sometimes pretty mucky and looked uninviting.  Yet, the “boat deck” provided a place to disembark and the ability to unload supplies easily.

Green Briar Float Camp was right on the edge of the 11 Point with a boat deck. We had the camp to ourselves under beautiful huge oak trees.  A fire ring, picnic table and vaulted toilet were provided.  There were camps enough for 4 groups.

The next morning we took a side trip to Boze Spring and enjoyed the power of the water as it flowed over the abandoned mill’s stone dam. The rusty turbine and abandoned mill were evidence of the importance of the river to the early communities in Missouri.  We were only 2 miles from our takeout.   Riverton has a good boat launch right by the bridge and our car was parked just up the road.  

We finished our canoe trip with a steep hike down to Greer Springs, to see where all this water was coming from, with a side visit to the mill (uphill from the springs on private property) which is in the process of being restored.  I cannot think of a better way to spend a few days in October!  Clear flowing water, crisp blue skies, in the midst of natural beauty.

Eleven Point River Map Information:

Missouricanoe.org/river-maps/eleven-point.html  

gives a mile by mile description of where there are access points, springs, and float camps.

Missouriscenicrivers.com/elevenpointrivermap.jpg  

This map was designed by Walden Jost.  It is colorful, has GPS coordinates and a good legend.