>
> Looking forward to it! My wife used to lead canoe trips out of Illinois
> State in the 70's and she's the one who wants to go to this river. I
prefer
> the north (Minn, Mich, etc.) but the more I learn about it, the better it
> sounds.
>

A good choice.  The Current is one of the prettiest and most pristine rivers
in Mo.  When I was 12 years old, we would drink out of it.  Not any more,
since I know Giardia is transmitted by animals.
>
> Ingenious! Did you also invent the toaster?  :-)
>

No, but my company did, in 1925.  No kidding.

>
> Where is the Spring river?

Straight south of Columbia on Highway 63, just across the arkansas border.
Nearest town in Hardy, Arkansas, which purportedly has a decent bed and
breakfast.  I'd say the Spring is not as good as the Current on scenery, but
ranks high for interest, challenge, and trickiness.  All of it starts at
Mammoth Springs, and goes immediately through an old abandoned power dam.
This makes the river very tame, always at the same level, kind of a feel of
a european brook.  Yet it runs over falls and chutes every mile or so.

You should also try the Eleven Point river.  About 30-40 miles South of the
Current, it is equally scenic.  Most of the Eleven Point boils out of the
ground at Greer Springs, a privately owned area you are welcome to hike in.
It is worth the hike.


The Eleven point runs through the Irish Wilderness, a 30 mile square area of
complete and total wild land, either national forest or state conservation
area.  Despite that, it is not an arduous trip, with several spots to get in
and out, some outfitters, and so on.   Two areas of class II rapids, the
rest is swift but not challenging.   One actual waterfall about 3 feet high,
just before the take-out at Riverton.

>
> I saw your earlier post about Saddler Falls. Pam and I just recently
started
> canoeing again, so we picked the Current partly because it would be a
little
> more challenging than what we've been used to, but not to hard for
> semi-novices.
>
> BTW, what kind of canoe do you use? We've got a standard Grumman 17 ft
that
> was given to us; it's in perfect condition, but we're leaning towards a
> Clipper Tripper canoe. Friends of ours have one and it's fast. durable,
and
> good for multi-day trips with lots of gear. Just finished (I think...)
> spending lots of money this week on gear for the trip.

I'ver got a coleman plastic canoe, also 17 foot.  It's OK for river camping,
but I'm looking to get something more maneuverable for whitewater.

>
> Also, what do you usually pack for food on a multi-day trip? We've got our
> plans, but any input would be useful.
>

Well, my wife has an odd medical diet, nearly vegetarian with no dairy
products, so we have a pretty wierd menu.  Breakfast is Granola and Soy
Milk, lunch might be "Cheez" (some stuff we make in the blender that is
cheese-like in flavor, high in protien, no dairy products) sandwiches on
whole wheat, apples, peanut butter sandwiches,  dinner is okra, tempeh,
tomatoes and corn on the cob.  Sunday breakfast we go all out, eggs, toast,
jelly, maybe pancakes

For more than one day, we freeze a lot of things ahead, and store everything
in the fridge or freezer the night before, wrap the cooler in an insulating
pad, use two coolers one for day 1-2 and one for day 3-4.  Don't open the
second cooler except to replace ice until day 3.   Wrapped in a sleeping bag
and an insulating ground mat, our coolers will generall last a couple of
days.

We freeze ice in old milk jugs to avoid the mess in the bottom of the
cooler.  By day 4, we're probably onto canned foods, soups, canned green
beans, dried granola, and so on.  Generally we haven't gone on extended
floats though.




> >
> > -- Lawrence  Lile
> >
> > Columbia, Missouri
>
>
> Been there a few times. We've got friends in Fayette.
>
> Mark
>

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