Information on Adkins Cr.
Rating: III-V
TDCR: 7878
Location: Newton Co.; The put-in is reached by taking Dixon Ridge Rd.
west off of Hwy 21 about 1.5 miles north of Fallsville. This
road is the same as the put-in road for the popular Hailstone
Cr. run. About 2.5 miles down this road, just before it
starts to really drop in elevation down to the Hailstone,
there is a small road turning to the right in the middle of
a switchback. This road leads to the Dahl Memorial wilderness
access. You should see a USFS sign-in board located near a
parking turnout. Park here and brushwhack southeast about 1/2
mile to the creek. You're aiming for approx. elevation 1820
feet, where two major tributaries merge. The take-out is at
the Hwy. 21 bridge over the Buffalo R., the standard Hailstone
take-out. In an emergency (such as not having time to
paddle out on the Hailstone), you can pull out at the confluence
with the Hailstone and brushwhack up 500 vertical feet to
a small road that will take you back to the put-in. This
is not a fun thing to do, but if you have to do it, start at the
confluence on the left side of Adkins and try to follow the
spine of the ridge up to the southwest. Always keep climbing
because the point you're trying to reach is at the very top
(elevation 2087 on the USGS Fallsville quad). The foundation
of an old homestead marks the end of the road which leads off
to the southwest and eventually ends up at the Dahl Memorial.
It's best to take along a good topo map and compass. Good luck.
Topo Quad(s): Fallsville, Boxley
Gradient: 150 fpm (2nd mile at 190 fpm)
Length: 15 mi. (2 miles on Adkins plus 13 miles on Hailstone Cr.)
Season: FLOOD
Gauge: Several feet of water over the low water bridge over the Buffalo R.
at Ponca is probably a good indicator. Smith Cr. should also
look very big and muddy at Hwy. 21. Like Smith Cr., putting
on shortly after very heavy rainfall is a must for catching
the creek at a good level. Dragging down to the put-in
when it's too low can be a nightmare. You may be able to
predict the levels using the Buffalo R. rain gauges which are
linked below. The Ponca and Buffalo Tower gauges are the ones
to watch.
LINK BUFFALO NATIONAL R. GAUGES (UPDATED HOURLY)
Hazards: strainers, severely undercut rocks, severe rapids, hydraulics,
etc.
Description: Overlooked and ignored for many years, Adkins Cr. was first
paddled on June 17, 2000 by Dave "Ghost" Reid, Steve "Dog"
Robertson, and Bill "Fish" Herring. Like many Newton Co. creek
runs, a run down Adkins creek can't be adequately summed up
in print. It compares in difficulty to classics like Beech Cr.
and Shop Cr., but like those has a personality all it's own.
Probably the best way to get an appreciation for the creek is
to hike it from the put-in to the Buffalo and back up. The
hike is spectacular and will give you a chance to inspect
the big rocks that form the myriad drops in the creek. When
big rains fall, the creek becomes runnable where two smaller
creeks merge southeast of the Dahl Memorial. Immediately the
paddler is faced with three blind ledges. This is "Gimme Three
Steps", and it is a great start to the day if you avoid getting
surfed in the holes at the bottom of the drops. After some
tree dodging you'll come around a corner and onto a sliding
shelf of rock. Get out quickly to scout "The Last Step". This
big drop is walled in by an undercut grotto, and at moderate to
high levels the water below kicks underneath the river right
wall making for a class V drop. It was not run on the
firost descent, but it may look more user friendly at lower or
higher water levels. Until the hydraulic is probed, it should
be treated as a keeper. Portage is easiest on the right side.
A big slide into a hole follows Last Step, and after this the
creek changes to blind, undercut boulder piles for the next
1.75 miles. The first of these, "Undercut #1" will give you an
idea of what is going to come at you over and over again for the
rest for the trip. There are two particulary nasty spots to
watch out for. One of these is "Ghost's Hole" about 1/8 mile
below Last Step. After dropping over a few ledges the creek
runs underneath an undercut bluff on the left. A pour on the
right can be run, but a mistake may still put you under the wall.
The only good portage option is on the right. The second major
hazard is another nasty undercut trap located maybe 1/4 mile
from the end of the gorge. "Dead Man's Leap" looks just like
many of the other ledge/boulder drops from the top, but all
of the water pours off of the ledge and under a big rock. The
creek is walled in by bluffs and portages are tricky. Although
these are the only drops I'll single out, at moderately high
levels almost every drop is potentially dangerous. Frequent
bank scouting is a must, and moves in front of undercuts are
a fact of life. The average drop involves running a class III+
line to miss class V hazards. For the experienced creeker it
is Nirvana. For anyone not familiar with this type of water
it will not be pleasant. Once you emerge at the confluence
with the Hailstone, you have two options. The best one is to
paddle out, but the Hailstone will be at or near flood, and it
is a continuous, hairy, big-water run at these levels. Huge
keeper holes and pourovers must be carefully avoided. If you
have the time to make it before dark, you can paddle to Hwy. 21 in
around 2.5 to 3 hours. If not, take-out option #2 is a 500
vertical foot climb back up to a small road that follows the top
of the ridge for two miles back to the Dahl Memorial. This is
only a last resort, but it may be less dangerous than trying to
boat flooded rapids in the dark. Adkins is an incredible
wilderness creek run combined with a long, floodstage run-out on
the Hailstone. Trips can quickly become epic and aborting a trip
anywhere in the gorge is about the least fun thing I can think
of. Make sure you're comfortable running this type of steep
creek before you commit yourself to this awesome Ozark gorge.
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