Information on Ben Doodle Cr.
Rating: IV-V
TDCR: 9895
Location: The take-out is at the popular Hwy 220 bridge over Lee Cr.
(the put-in for section 2 of Lee). To get to the put-in
take Hwy 220 south from Lee Cr. (the paved side) until you
almost reach the top of the hill. Turn off on the first
major dirt road to the left. This is the road that goes
from Hwy. 220 to Chester and Hwy. 71. Follow this road for
approx. 5 miles until you reach a four-way intersection
(there is a house with a large cedar fence at the
intersection). Take a left (a 120 degree switchback) and
drive about 2 miles. You'll eventually see a private RV
hookup on the right. Just past this RV hookup, a road turns
left and immediately forks in two directions. (If you get to
a small chruch and cemetery on the left you've gone too far.)
Take the right fork down the hill if you have a 4WD or park
at the camping spot on the left fork and hike down 1/8 mile
to the creek. The first tiny creek that the road crosses is
Ben Doodle Cr.
Topo Quad(s): Rudy NE
Gradient: 350 fpm (1/2 mi @ 550 fpm)
Length: 7.5 mi (counting 5.75 miles on Blackburn Cr. and Lee Cr.)
Season: FLOOD
Gauge: The best way to gauge it is to inspect the put-in. Water
should be filling the streambed and the creek should look
easily boatable where the road crosses it. The big
slide just downstream of the road should be able to be
run without slowing the boat down much on the way down.
Keep in mind that the water you see at the put-in is
basically all of the water you have in the gorge. If
Lee Cr. is at 15+ feet and Clear Cr. at Chester is in
flood you MIGHT have enough water to run Ben Doodle.
Ben Doodle has a much smaller watershed than Hart Cr.,
and it takes a very heavy rain (2.5+ inches) in a very
short time to bring it up.
Hazards: waterfalls, undercut rocks, trees, barbed wire (at the
first rapid), and continous, heavy rapids
Description: Ben Doodle Cr. may be the fastest and most difficult
creek run in Crawford Co. It's certainly the steepest run I
I know of that you can drive to! This tiny creek was first run
at very low levels on April, 5 1999 by Steve "Dog" Robertson,
Zack Smith, Rob Pollan, Mike Echols, and Bill Herring. Quite a
few rapids were not run on the first descent due to the water
level, and those that were run were not at full speed -
much of the creek was shallow class III+ water at the first
descent level. It was attempted again about two years later at
a very high level by Mikle and Rob, but that time high water
made several rapids extremely hazardous. As a result, there
are several rapids in the gorge that have yet to be run.
This tiny creek needs a lot of rainfall to reach runnable
levels, and once it gets there, it doesn't stay there
long. When you get to the put-in, don't put on the creek
at the road crossing. A barbed wire fence hangs into
the creek just around the corner. Carry your boat down 30
yards or so and put in just past the fences if you want
to run the 18+ foot "Doodle Slide" to start off
the run. Be careful to not get washed downstream at
the bottom the the slide because another barbed wire
strand hangs at the lip of the next small fall that
immediately follows the slide. Portage from the base of
Doodle Slide around this next fence. After this portage,
the creek drops over back-to-back class III+ drops
through trees. This is the warmup stretch for the gorge, so
if you have trouble here, it's a good idea to hike out
before you reach the more intense rapids below. About
1/4 mile down you'll run into a brutal drop of twelve feet
nicknamed "The Midget Maker". This rapid has a completely
blind approach - by the time you see the horizon line you
are committed to the drop. There is however a good eddy
that can be used to stop and portage the drop just
above it. Scout ahead dilligently until you get past
this drop! The drop lands on solid rock - a probe
boat dropped over on the first run slammed into the
streambed only one foot under the surface! Portage
Midget Maker on the right. You're now in the gorge and the
intensity just keeps increasing from here down. After
another 100 yards of complex drops, you'll stumble
into "Atom Smasher". Scout ahead at every turn
after Midget Maker to keep from being swept into this huge
drop against your will. This rapid starts as an simple
rock jumble, goes around a corner, drops through some
large twisting drops and then finishes with a big slide.
The total vertical drop between starting and stopping is
over 40 feet. If you come around the first innocent
looking corner, you'll probably be running the entire
rapid, so approach this one with care. Several complex
class III+ to IV drops follow Atom Smasher. There are few
places to stop, so when you do get stopped scout ahead to
the next pool or eddy. The gradient in this stretch
approaches pegs out at over 500 fpm. When you see a
house-sized rock on the left ahead of you, get out to portage
a large deadfall just around the corner. Take this oppoutunity
to scout the next 150 yards. Somewhere in that distance the
creek goes from moderately crazy to completely insane as
it enters the 700+ fpm gradient around Tenderizer and
Masticator. Where Tenderizer actually begins is debatable
It is simply the name for the multiple class IV to IV+
drops that proceed the 18 foot class V drop of Masticator.
Scout this stretch very carefully, as there are many hidden
hazards. If you decide to run it, set plenty of bank support
in strategic places along the way. A blown line here could
result in serious problems. If you make the decision to
portage Masticator, either bank will work well. After
Masticator, you'll get 1/3 mile of more class III to IV drops.
This is not as intense as the section just above, but don't
let your gaurd down too quickly. After that, the creek mellows
to continous class II-III with lots of trees until it
merges into a flooded Blackburn Cr. At these extremely
high levels Blackburn and Lee Cr. can present some serious
hazards as well. Don't play around with these creeks at
these levels. After you merge with Lee Cr. watch for Hart
Cr. to come in on the left. When it does, get to the far
left side of the creek to skirt a huge, deadly hydraulic
that forms across Lee Cr. just below the Hart Cr. confluence.
At floodstage, the 6 mile trip down Blackburn and Lee to
the Hwy. 220 bridge should only take 1.5 hours or so.
Dispite the rather silly name, Ben Doodle is a serious
Ozark creek run. As is typicall of Crawford Co. the rapids
are generally ugly boulder piles often with no really
good routes. The creek is tiny, but that actually works
against a paddler when there is sufficient water, providing
little or no maneuvering room. A pre-run hike is an
excellent idea, but nothing will eliminate the need for
almost continuous bank scouting in the gorge. As a result
it's a good idea to plan on taking three to four hours
to navigate the half mile long gorge. Ben Doodle is a
big step up from its sister creek, Hart Cr. If there is any
doubt, run Hart Cr., which features class III+ to IV+
rapids in a less threatening environment. Both of these are
no place for those who are not absolutely confident of
their abilities on fast, tight Ozark creeks and class IV+
water.
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