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    • Tragedies & Memoriam
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  • Home
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    • Best place to buy one?
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    • 1884 Jacks Fork Accident
    • 1896 Current Drowning
    • Welch Spring Tragedy
    • 1913 Jacks Fork Drownings
    • 1957 Fremont Devastation
    • 1966 Rescue
    • 2019 Jacks Fork Rescue
    • 2020 Brewer Tragedy
    • Disasters on the River
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    • Mayor Jim Anderson
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2022 Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry Gravel Bar Survey

SURVEY DETAILS:

 The Missouri Scenic Rivers project needs your support: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/moscenicrivers  


I have been wanting to document all of the gravel bars on the river for some time.  I know that these will change with time and I will update changes every one or two years.   This Cedar Grove to Akers Ferry stretch on the upper Current River took me almost 7 hours to document them all.   I found 33 gravel bars along this stretch and I ranked them 1-10, with 10 being the best end of the scale.   The bars are labeled by two sets of numbers and 2 letters.  The first number set is the year surveyed and the second number set is the order at which they come while going down river.  The 2 letters on the end of the 2nd number set is the location (i.e.  AP means Akers to Pulltite, CA means Cedar Grove to Akers).  Some higher ranked bars will be given a name that I will denote, since I feel they are worthy of more than just a number, but also a name too.  I do not list any bars that are less than 10' wide, since I don't feel they are worthy for any extended stay.   Also, the composition of the bars can vary from gravel, rock (which is larger), sand, dirt or grass.  The one that I put first in order is the main content, and lesser will be after (i.e.  Rock/Gravel/Sand vs. Sand/Gravel/Rock).  All of my stop times have bene taken out of the below data, so what I state floating minutes that denotes how many minutes on the average the bar is located if you were to drift/paddle without any stops from the put in point.  On this trip I drifted about 30% of the time and paddled about 70% of the time.  In July 2022 I did the Akers Ferry to Pulltite gravel bar survey which can be found here.    I know the rivers will change every year, so I will update this data accordingly every year or two.

NOTE:  THIS SURVEY BEGINS AT THE END OF CEDAR GROVE WHERE BIG CREEK FLOWS INTO THE CURRENT RIVER.

22-1CA

Island 19 floating minutes after pushing off from the low water bridge at Cedar Grove and located just after where Big Creek enters the Current River on the right (which is at the furthest southern end of Cedar Grove).  This was not an island in 2021.   Size=200 long x 60' wide, Open (No Shade), Composition=Rock/Gravel, Channel to right is better to float, Rank=3

22-2CA

Bar on right 20 floating minutes from the start and just past island 22-1CA.   Size=200 long x 20' deep, Composition=80% Gravel & 20% Sand, Rank=3

22-3CA

Bar on right 25 floating minutes from the start.   Size=300 long x 60' deep, Current in front, Composition=Gravel, Rank=4

22-4CA

Bar on right 32 floating minutes from the start.   Size=600 long x 100' deep, Open (no shade), Composition=1/3 Gravel & Sand & 2/3 Rock, Rank=5.

22-5CA

Bar on right 33 floating minutes from the start.   Size=100 long x 20' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=2.

22-6CA

Bar on left 33 floating minutes from the start.  Located around a bend.   Deeper hole.  Small but nice.   Bluff across from it.   Size=50 long x 20' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=4.

22-7CA

Bar on right 39 floating minutes from the start.   Size=300 long x 100' deep,  Composition=Rock, Rank=2.

POWER/PHONE LINES CROSS RIVER 1 MINUTE PAST LAST BAR.  TREE ACROSS RIVER.

22-8CA

Bar on right 46 floating minutes from the start.   Size=100 long x 20' deep, Composition=Gravel/Rock, Rank=1.

22-9CA

Bar on right 48 floating minutes from the start.   Horse tracks.   Trees for Hammocks.   Size=100 long x 40' deep, Shade, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Rank=5. -- PHOTO 1 -- PHOTO 2

Fact: The closest outfitter to Cedar Grove is Jadwin Canoe

22-10CA

Island across from 22-9CA 48 floating minutes from the start.   Gravel, Rank=2.

22-11CA

Bar on right at bend to the right in river 50 floating minutes from the start.  Current in front, bluff across.  Size=200 long x 100' deep, Some shade, Composition=Gravel/Rock, Rank=5.

22-12CA

Bar on right 52 floating minutes from the start.   Somewhat connects back to 22-9CA.   Current in front knee deep.  Big boulder in river just below this spot.  Bluff across.   Size=800 long x 100' deep, Open (no shade), Composition=Gravel/Rock, Rank=4.

22-13CA

Bar on right 59 floating minutes from the start.  Knee deep current in front.  Signs of horse tracks.   Size=400 long x 100' deep, Open (no shade), Composition=4/5ths Gravel/Rock & 1/5th Sand, Rank=5.

22-14CA

Bar on right 1 floating hour from the start.   Size=75 long x 100' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=1.

22-15CA -- (Flying W Upper Bar & BLUFF)

Bar on right 1 hour & 14 floating minutes from the start.  Deep hole.  Popular stopping place to jump off of bluff.   Flying W bluff can be accessed via vehicle above bluff too (see part 1 of the video at this link).  This location can get crowded during peak season weekends.  I don't recommend camping on this bar unless it is off season and a weekday due to it being a popular stopping spot.  Size=100 long x 50' deep, Composition=Gravel/Sand, Rank=6.

22-16CA -- (Flying W Lower Bar)

Bar on left 1 hour & 15 floating minutes from the start and just below 22-15CA.  Popular stopping place to jump off of bluff.   Flying W bluff can be accessed via vehicle above bluff too (see part 1 of the video at this link).  This location can get crowded during peak season weekends.  I don't recommend camping on this bar unless it is off season and a weekday due to it being a popular stopping spot.  Size=200 long x 100' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=4.   Power/phone line crosses river.

22-17CA

Island 1 hour & 26 floating minutes from the start.  Part weeded.  Current knee deep.  Size=200 long x 100' deep, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Rank=1.   

22-18CA

Bar on right 1 hour & 27 floating minutes from the start.  Part weeded.  Current knee deep.  Size=200 long x 100' deep, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Rank=1.   

MEDLOCK SPRING ON RIGHT (BACK IN COVE AT BEND IN RIVER)

On right 1 hour & 37 floating minutes from the start.  Big boulders in the river at river bend to the left just after the cove which will be on the right.  Medlock Spring is a beautiful cascading waterfall spring.  What is the temperature of this spring compared to the river?  See here.   --- VIDEO

22-19CA

Bar on left 1 hour &  38 floating minutes from the start.  Located across the river from the Medlock Spring cove.  Wooded & open.    Size=800 long x 200' deep, but it is hard to get a true measurement, Composition=Grave/Rock/Sand, Sandy area on southside of bar.  Trees for hammocks on south end and back area.  Deep hole.   Has a drive in access point to from Flying W gravel/dirt road off of hwy K (see part 2 of these videos here).  Rank=9 for the south end which is the best.  -- PHOTO

FACT: The river temperature ranges between 62-68 degrees

22-20CA

Bar on left 1 hour &  39 floating minutes from the start.  Connected by 22-19CA, Has a drive in access point to from Flying W gravel/dirt road off of hwy K (see part 2 of these videos here).   Has a south end too which is less desirable and looks like vehicles have crossed river at south end via sand road.  Size=1000' long x 400' deep, Composition=Sand/Gravel, Lots of trees for hammocks, Shaded.  Rank=7.  -- PHOTO 1 -- PHOTO 2

22-21CA

Bar on right 1 hour &  42 floating minutes from the start.  Accross from south end of 22-20CA,  Sand road connects on this side.  Size=75' long x 20' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=2. 

22-22CA

Bar on right 1 hour & 46 floating minutes from start.    Size= 200 long x 60' deep, Open with no shade, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Some weeds, Rank=2

Power/Phone Line Crosses River

22-23CA

Bar on left 1 hour & 47 floating minutes from start.    Size= 150 long x 15' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=2

22-24CA

Bar on left 1 hour & 58 floating minutes from start.    Size= 100 long x 30' deep, Composition=Rock, Rank=1

22-25CA

Bar on right 2 hours & 11 floating minutes from start.    Size= 200 long x 10' deep gravel bar area by water and a HUGE NICE 500' long x 400' deep shaded area above, TREES FOR HAMMOCKS, bluff across with deep hole,  upper area has a small dirt road in, but not a normal vehicle type of dirt road. This is located just before Welch Spring where water rushes in from the spring into the Current River on the left.   Welch is on the OTHER side of the river just 1 minute down river from this location.    Rank=8 -- PHOTO 1 -- PHOTO 2

Welch Spring & Old Hospital Ruins

 

On left 2 hours & 12 floating minutes from start.   What is the temperature of this spring compared to the river?  See here.   Over the years, Ozark springs have been used as campsites, power supplies for grist mills, tourist resorts and even hospitals.  Hospitals? Yes, hospitals. Back in 1913, an Illinois doctor named C.H. Diehl bought Welch Spring for eight hundred dollars. Dr Diehl believed that the spring water had healing properties and that cool, pollen free air coming from the adjacent cave would be beneficial for people with asthma, emphysema, and tuberculosis, which together were called "consumption" at the time. He said that it worked for him, helping him with a chronic case of hayfever. To tap this clean air resource, Dr Diehl built a hospital over the mouth of the cave. Welch Spring, which flowed from the cave, was dammed up so that water would close off the entrance. This was to force more air out through the cave opening into the hospital. In today's terms, it might be better called a "health spa" since there wasn't much in the way of formal medical treatment, just an invitation to breathe the fresh air of the cave.  Dr Diehl was not blind to the scenic values of the region either. He hoped to run a thriving campground resort to supplement his medical fees with tourist dollars. In time his healing resort expanded to a few small cabins, a campground, a show cave and he even had an electric generator running off the spring. Visitors came from the local area and from as far off as Oklahoma and Illinois, but times were hard and travel to such remote places still difficult.  Unfortunately, the hospital and resort were not a big success. Roads in the Ozarks were rough and unpaved, making it difficult to get into the Current River Country. Few tourists were willing to make the trip. The good doctor died in 1940, and his family did not have much interest in keeping up the resort afterwards, which soon fell into ruin.  Was Dr Diehl just a man ahead of his time? In time, tourists did discover the Current River, over a million come to canoe, camp, hike and fish every year. As for his medical ideas, he wasn't out of step with his times. Many people at the time believed in the healing qualities of cave air and spring water. It was almost a cliché for people to take a vacation to "take the waters" at one spring centered resort or another. This was the heyday of the healing spas at Hot Springs, Arkansas among others. Years earlier a tuberculosis sanitarium had been built in Mammoth Cave, some three hundred feet underground.  The hospital is a ruin today, but still stands next to the beautiful Welch Spring. It is located between Cedargrove and Akers on the Upper Current. It is best reached by canoe. You can drive to it also, go north from Akers on Route K. Turn left on the first gravel road past the Akers Group Camp. At the end of the road, park next to the river and walk a trail north along the river for about a half mile. At the end of the trail you will be able to see the hospital, although you will be across the spring from it.  Please do not wade in the spring, metal debris from the hospital period may injure you. Springs are also delicate biologically and wading and swimming can cause damage.  -- Bill O'Donnell  -- PHOTOS -- SPRING VIDEO -- VIDEO 2 -- BACK IN THE DAY PHOTO.

22-26CA -- (Welch Beach)

Bar on right 2 hours & 12 floating minutes from start.   Located directly across from where Welch Spring flows into the Current River.  Partly shaded.   Stunning view of spring!   Size= 100 long x 40' deep 100% PURE SAND!!!    Rank=10 if you are a sand lover. -- PHOTO 1 -- PHOTO 2 -- PHOTO 3 -- VIDEO

22-27CA

Bar on right 2 hours & 18 floating minutes from start.  Located above river by about 4 foot.  Some shade. Knee deep gentle current.   Size= 200 long x 50' deep, Composition=Gravel/Sand, Rank=6

22-28CA

Bar on left 2 hours & 21 floating minutes from start.    Known as Welch access gravel bar.  You are 2.5 miles from Akers Ferry at this point.  This is a popular spot to put in a tube to float down to Akers Ferry since a short run.  NO CAMPING. Sporadic weeds and some young trees.   This is where the road to Welch Spring from hwy K ends.  There is a trail that goes along the river up river where you can walk to see Welch Spring.  Do NOT wade in the spring.   There is a trail that goes over the top of the spring above the bluff to get to the hospital ruins.   Size= 1000' long x 400' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=5

Power/Phone Lines Cross River (SEE HISTORIC MAGGARD CABIN)

At 2 hours & 23 floating minutes from start and just a minute or two below Welch access gravel bar are power/phone lines that cross the river.   On the right side where the power lines go up is a trail (may be shelted by weeds, but it is there) that takes you up on the below to see historic Maggard Cabin.   The bluff overlook is a site to see in itself besides Maggard Cabin.   -- VIDEO/PICS

Only 3 of the 45 Missouri rivers are Federally protected

22-29AC

Island at 2 hours & 26 floating minutes from start.  Size= 200 long x 40' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=5

22-30AC

Bar on left 2 hours & 35 floating minutes from start.    Size= 200 long x 50' deep, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Rank=4

22-31AC

Bar on right 2 hours & 45 floating minutes from start.  Half weeded.  Size= 300 long x 30' deep, Composition=Rock/Gravel, Rank=2

22-32AC

Bar on right 2 hours & 49 floating minutes from start.   5 Foot above river.   Deep area to swim.  TREES FOR HAMMOCKS.  Party shaded.  Size= 200 long x 50' deep, Composition=Gravel, Rank=7 -- PHOTO 1 -- PHOTO 2

22-33AC

Bar on left 2 hours & 56 floating minutes from start.  Horse trail in back of upper portion.    Deep hole.   Size= 75 long x 10' deep lower water side, larger 75'x75' upper area, Composition=Gravel/Dirt, Rank=7

AKERS FERRY GROUP CAMPSITES

On left at 3 hours & 1 floating minutes from start.   Dirt/Grass located 10 ft. above river.  Pay sites you must reserve.  Click here to reserve.

FACT: Ozark National Scenic Riverways began in 1964

AKERS FERRY TAKE OUT

On left at 3 hours & 23 floating minutes from start is Akers Ferry.  If you take out here and are using Akers Ferry Canoe Rental for the rental, then take out on the southern gravel bar on the left below the ferry.  If you are using Carrs Canoe or Jadwin Canoe or another outfitter, then take out above the ferry at that northern gravel bar.

Continue down river to Pulltite!   Click here.

 The Missouri Scenic Rivers project needs your support: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/moscenicrivers 

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