Information on Sugar Cr.
Rating: III
TDCR: 5543
Location: To reach the take-out, take Hwy 23 south from Booneville
aprrox 1.5 miles and turn left on Jack Cr. Rd. going toward
Grayson and Jack Cr. Campground. Follow the signs for Jack
Creek Recreation Area. The road will eventually turn to
gravel and then you'll come to a four-way intersection. Turn
left (East) onto a paved road. Follow this road downhill to
Jack Cr. Rec. Area and the bridge over Sugar Cr. The recreation
area is the takeout. To reach the put-in, go back the way you
came, uphill, to the four-way intersection and hang a left
(South). After you go back downhill to the creek, you'll
come to the low water bridge at Knoppers Ford Campground.
If water is over this bridge, CHECK IT CAREFULLY before
attempting to cross it! If you can't cross here, the creek
is flooded - turn around and run Jack Cr. instead! Otherwise
cross this low water bridge and keep driving to the next low
water bridge. Stop here and make sure you mark this dangerous
bridge so that you can eddy out well above it. A 10 minute
hike up the bank to mark an eddy can save your life! Then
cross the bridge and drive until you reach the third low
water bridge. This is the ususal put in point. The creek
can be boated above this point in high water, but there's
plenty of action for most folks below this bridge!
Topo Quad(s): Sugar Grove, Freedom Mountain
Gradient: 45 fpm (first 2 miles @ 65 fpm)
Length: 6 mi
Season: RAIN
Gauge: The USGS gauge for the Petit Jean R. at Booneville should
generally be reading over 9 feet for a good run. Dutch Creek
at Waltreak may be an even better indicator: a reading of
5.0 or better usually means there is water in Sugar Cr.
If both of these gauges are looking good, it's a done deal!
There is a hand painted gauge on one of the concrete bridge
supports on the downstream side of the Sugar Cr. bridge at
the take-out near Jack Cr. Rec. Area. 1 foot on this gauge is
a good minimum for Sugar Cr. 1.5 is starting to cook and there
will be some fast class III action. 2.0 is a solid class III
level and quite pushy (also the upstream bridges have some water
over them at this level). If you can't see any marks at all,
the creek will be in flood - rapids will be long, constant
class III to IV with little hope of dodging the trees or
finding eddies. Insane hairboaters may have fun at this level,
but most folks will want to check out Jack Cr. which will
also be pumped way up to class III+ levels.
Hazards: An incredible amount of trees! Also the most dangerous
low water bridge in Arkansas (2.5 miles from the put-in)
and several cables hanging into the creek about 1/4 mile
above Knoppers Ford! Did I mention the trees? Also some
nasty hydraulics at high water levels. And trees.
Description: Maybe the best way to describe the character
of the Sugar Cr. run is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At lower
levels (below 1.4 on the take-out bridge) Sugar Cr. is
a mostly straightforward class II play run with dozens
of anoying trees and willow jungles. Boaters who see the
creek at this level usually come away thinking, "what's the
big deal - it's like a fast version of the Mulberry!" But
at around 2.0 on the take-out bridge gauge the creek leaves
an entirely different impression. At this level, rapids
are often compared to drops on the Ocoee R. in Tennessee.
Holes become things to be avoided rather than surfed. And
the "annoying" trees become serious threats to life and limb.
At high levels, really good boaters can find themselves
blown into, over, and under the myriad trees before they
can get stopped. And there are also the man-made hazards:
low water bridges and old cables hanging in the river.
Luckily, the creek has an automatic system for warning
boaters when they're about to get in over their heads:
if you can't cross the low water bridges to make it to
the put-in, you don't need to be paddling the creek!
The description here is one of the creek at optimal
levels: about 1.4 to 1.8 on the take-out bridge. After
a short pool, the first rapid is a good test for the run.
It's a twisting class III-type drop with an undercut wall
on the right at the bottom. If you have trouble here,
it's probably a good idea to just go load your boat on the
car and go hiking! This is followed by some nice surfing
ledges and then another class III drop which pushes hard
into a big rock on the left. More surfing between short
pools can be had for while before the current picks up
and pushes into a long, class III+ drop. This one
is always memorable - for the safest ride stay generally
left, avoid the holes and pours and then paddle really
hard into the final hydraulic! If you've made it this far
and are having fun, you should be in good shape. If not,
the road stays very near the creek for almost the enitre
run, so walking out is always an option. Eventually you'll
pass a small cabin on the left in a big pool. At the end of
the pool, take the right chute, but watch out for trees -
it's very narrow. After this, you'll have a few holes
and a lot of short, tree-choked spots to navigate. After
a few of these, you'll come to where you've hopefully marked
the eddy upstream of the low water bridge. In 2003 the
eddy on river right was marked with yellow paint on a tree,
but make sure this marking is visible before running
down to the bridge! If you don't get stopped in this eddy
you're likely to run past some bushes and find yourself
heading for the bridge with little hope of stopping. If you
go too far, try to fight through the brush on the river
left side just above the bridge and hit the small eddy
there. People have pinned under this bridge and very nearly
drowned - take it VERY seriously! After you portage the
bridge, you'll be in the middle section of the creek.
Lots of fast class II+ action with lots of trees. When you
are comming down a shallow, open drop into a pool with a
nice big sitting rock in front of you, watch out for
a cable that hangs into the river! After this pool you'll
go through some more rapids with loads of trees (as always)
and there are two more cables. Portage these if they're in
the creek and if you can get stopped in time. Several
folks have taken a cable in the chest when they haven't
stopped - be very careful! Pretty soon you'll see Knoppers
Ford Campground on your right - get out above the bridge on
the right and portage it. Now you're on the bottom section
of the run - flatter water in general with one very notable
exception. When you find yourself having to dodge trees
and run over ledgy shoals at the same time (weird) get
ready! When you see a horizon line comming, eddy out
on the right and you can scout the big drop from your
boat. The hole usually isn't too bad (except at flood
levels) but the drop is powerful and rocky. Good luck!
If the water's extremely high, be careful not to paddle
into the bridge at Jack Cr. Rec. Area, about 1/2 mile
downstream from the big ledge. Otherwise you can paddle
under it and take out at the recreation area. If you
paddle Sugar Cr. at low levels, you're going to think
the creek is overrated. If you hit it with enough
water, you're likely to think this description is quite
conservative! I've glossed over many bad willow jungles,
long rapids, and potentially nasty holes. Just make sure
you would feel confident running the Esses on the Cossatot
with a bunch of trees in it, and you'll probably have
fun on Sugar Cr. at optimum to high water. Or wait for the
creek to drop, and you'll find a creek where an experienced
class II boater will have a good time. Because of the dozens
of trees and man-made hazards, it's always best to paddle
Sugar with someone who knows the creek well.
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