Up Up and Away on the Upper Piney
It’s April 5th and I’m a little wary of the weather forecast for a scheduled float trip on the Big Piney, April 9 – 11. The daytime temps are seasonally ideal in the 65 to 70 range; but the night time temps are going to plunge to a possible low of 36.
Ooooowie! That’s a bit nippy!
I almost quiver thinking about these chilly temps that are usually the seasonal norm, BUT NOT SO in this particularly whacked out year of weird weather. After all, we were in the central Ozarks just a couple of weeks ago and it was close to 80 in the daytime, and a comfortable 45 to 50 at night.
But it’s April Bill! There’s new life on the river, the songbirds will be singing, and the whips up high on the hills will be calling me home.
Bluff on the Upper Piney / April 2012
Bring those extra layers of clothes, find a campsite abundant in wood, and waive to the wuss who wallows in bed.
What’s more,
we’re going to visit a stretch of the Upper Piney that we haven’t floated in almost ten years.
It’s a beautiful stretch of the Piney, but it’s water levels have often been too low(for a canoe loaded for two nights camping), or spring flooding has frequently made it too hazardous.
(check the water levels at: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt )
But this year, we’ll be thanking the river gods for acceptable water levels and plenteous piles of wood.
AND
If memory be a stubborn servant, the beauty of this part of the river will rekindle an old romance that’s enlivened even more by the passage of time and the longing to be closer to it’s source.
lower rockscapes along the Upper Piney
Wow! So glad we finally made it back to this splendorous section of the Big Piney River.
Just up ahead: more photos and new experiences on the Upper Piney…
(We used the shuttle services of Boiling Spring Resort and put in by the new bridge at Baptist Camp access. Great service, friendly people, and a nice resort. Call weeks ahead to inquire about their shuttle services which are likely to change as summer approaches.
