Information on Fern Gulley
Rating: IV-V
TDCR: 9895
Location: Take out on Little Mill Cr. at the low water slab.
Put in is reached by heading north to Fern. Go past
Fern and turn off the pavement on the first gravel
road to the south (this road has a stop sign on it).
Follow the road downhill until the road does a couple
of semi-switchbacks. You'll have already passed
one pretty good road to the right, and you're looking
for the next one past the switchbacks. If you go just
past the road, you'll end up in a wide turn around where
the hunters like to camp, so if you get there, turn
back and take the first left. Follow the steep little
road downhill (4WD only!) until it switches back to the
left at a small creek. Go another 100 yards or so
and look for the rock-lined trail going down to the
right. The creek put-in is about 30 yards down this
trail. If you don't have 4WD, park up at the main
gravel road and walk down from there. An alternate,
but unpleasant, takeout if you're running short on
time is to carry back up the old logging road that
intersects the creek just past Rocket Slide.
(Actually there are old logging roads on the ridgetops
on either side of the creek all the way down.) This
road goes up through a split in the bluff and then into
a clear cut. Bear left and uphill and you can drag
up to the put-in in about 45 minutes. It's a heck of
a climb though!
Topo Quad(s): Mountainburg SE
Gradient: 300 fpm (0.5 mi @ 400 fpm)
Length: 4 mi (2.75 miles on Little Mill Cr.)
Season: FLOOD
Gauge: The Mulberry should be huge (10 feet) and rising on the USGS
gauge at Mulberry to have a chance at Fern Gulley. The
watershed is small and the creek is full of rocks - it
needs a lot of water to make a good run. Little Mill
Cr. should almost be covering all of the concrete of
the slab at the takeout. The best way to find out whether
it will run or not is to drive to the put-in, walk 30 yards
to the creek and check it. Ideally, there should be enough
water to form a rowdy looking hole at the base of the first
6-foot drop and the rocks in the main current should be
mostly covered. Unless it's raining, the water will be
dropping fast, so take this into consideration before putting
on at a really boney looking level. If you just see lots
of huge holes and no rocks, you probably should either wait
for the water to drop or go find another creek!
Hazards: Rapids are big, continuous, and dangerous. This is no place
for the unprepared. Pins are possible almost everywhere. Full-
face helmets and elbow pads are an excellent idea.
Description: Fern Gulley is the name given to the East Fork of Little
Mill Cr. by the local folks in Franklin Co. This creek is
the jewel of steep creeking in the southern Ozarks. When
full of water, it is easily one of the most difficult creeks
in the state. The creek features large, continuous drops with
almost no really good eddies. The run stays at a class IV
intensity level all the way, with no real breaks and some
notable class V interuptions. The lack of good eddies makes
it feel even steeper than its 300 fpm average gradient figure
(if that's possible), throwing at paddlers a constant barage of
steep rapids that seem to blend into each other for long stretches.
The creek begs for bank scouting at every turn, but since
the water level tends to drop out quickly, you can't spend
too much time on the banks. A pre-run hike is very highly
recommended. The first drop is called simply "The Test".
Those who fail to pass this class IV warm up, are urged
to consider walking back up to the car. The next half
mile of water is exactly the same - and then it gets much
tougher. Somewhere in the first quarter mile is a drop
called "Rooster Poot" (IV). This one looks like the rest,
but it ends in an ugly looking rooster tail. Portage on the
right if you can get stopped and don't want to risk a pin, or
try to angle right to avoid getting slammed into the rocks. The
first class V is encountered about 1/3 mile from the put-in,
just past the second major tributary stream cascading in on
the left. "Dumb and Dumber" is an ugly drop where the creek
is split by a big rock. The left side of this eight foot plunge
drops onto a roostertail rock and the right side dumps under a
huge rock. The approach is (as always) almost eddyless -
only boat what you can clearly see after Rooster Poot! At
Dumb and Dumber, go ahead and scout the next big class IV,
"Whack-A-Yaker". This is a big, twisting drop that dumps out
under a tree at the end. This one can mess with you - for
some reason it doesn't run as cleanly as it looks. The creek
lets up a bit at this point to a continuous class III slalom
through trees. When the creek turns back to the left, watch
for a major tree jam that requires a portage. Just past
these trees the creek gets very serious, so you might as well
stay on the banks and scout the next 200 yards. This is the
start of "The Drop Zone", and you won't want to enter it blind.
The left bank is really rocky, but it provides the best
look at the drops. The right bank is much easier for
portaging boats. The Drop Zone consists of a 200 yard
long staircase of fast, tough drops and tricky holes
that run headlong into each other creating a solid
class V rapid. There is no room for error when paddling
this rapid - this author can attest to the beating that
these drops can inflict upon those who are not on line!
The Drop Zone can conceivably be broken down into four parts
seperated by hard to catch eddies. The first part is a long,
multi-stage drop with plenty of rocks and holes. You can
then try to grab one of the small eddies - the last good
ones you'll see for a while - on either bank to stop before
part two of the Zone, known as "The Split". This is a
tough, pushy drop that is sometimes run to the left of
the pillowing rock, pulling hard right at the end to line
up for the three remaining ledge holes. Another unstable
eddy on the right preceeds part three - "Damned If You
Do". The creek twists left and drops about 10 feet
into two big holes before shooting out over a couple
of interesting looking drops around the corner. A small,
last chance eddy then appears just above the final
plunge - "Big Juju". Juju is a massive drop and the
route is complex and dangerous. A diagonal hole sits
between the eddy and the most feasible route on the left,
so expect it to kick you on the approach. If you are one
of the few who choose to test their luck in Juju, try to
precisely boof the first eight-foot drop to avoid the
vertical pin on the left and the pin rocks in the middle of
the drop. Assuming you are still upright and moving forward
after you clear the first rocks, you will hopefully carry
enough speed into the final hole to escape from it. If
you're determined to run the Drop Zone, set up bank support
in strategic locations and scout everything thoroughly. If
you think this is nice scenery but not runnable whitewater,
carry your boat around it high on the right bank. Below
Juju, the class IV drops keep comming. There are a couple
of large trees down in this stretch as well, and they
probably won't move anytime soon. After three or four
tricky class IV drops that should generally be run to the
right, a long slide starts. It's a good idea to get out
after the second drop below Juju and scout it, since
a downed tree near the bottom would likely knock your head
off your shoulders. This one is nicknamed the "Rocket Slide",
because you'll tend to launch into the air off of the
vertical ledges in the middle of the slide. Brace for
the curler as you drop into the funneling plunge at the
end, and don't forget to smile for the camera! Rocket Slide
is not that hard if you can avoid getting upside down (ouch!)
or surfed in the hole at the bottom. It's hard to believe
that any hole will stop you when you're moving 25 miles per
hour, but it is a possibility! The next 400 yards of the
creek is non-stop class III+ through trees. If you haven't
hiked out yet, you shouldn't have any trouble boat scouting
down this stretch. It may look strange, but you'll finally see
a small pool up ahead. Welcome to Little Mill Cr. Stop and
take a few breaths and get ready for nearly three more miles
of powerful class III-IV drops before you reach the take-out.
The first two major drops both feature big, sticky holes at
this level, so stay on your toes. If you run Fern Gulley at
below optimal levels, you may not be too impressed by the rock
bashing and sieve portaging. Running it with too much water
will force you into situations you don't want to be in.
The window for optimal levels is small, and even then, the
creek is no place for those who overestimate their skills. Hike
this one dry, and then follow someone who knows the creek if
you can. Fern Gulley was first run on March 19, 2002 by
Otter (aka Jason Bertschy), Mike Echols, Rob Polan, Danny Smith,
Nick Hobbs, "Crazy" Steve Brandenbura, and Fish (aka Bill
Herring), and they have the pictures to prove it!
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