Bean’s Creek – February 19, 2005

It was a crisp February morning when at least 30 boaters converged on Falls Mill for Ernie Stewart’s float on Bean’s Creek. After the usual milling in the parking lot, we were treated to a full tour of the mill, including the big waterwheel. After the tour, we headed to the put-in nearby. Just about every form of plastic boat was represented. We had flatwater canoes and whitewater canoes, tandem and solo, whitewater kayaks and a touring kayak. We also had two swimmers of the canine variety.

The trip write-up promised “a swift Class I+ 10.5-mile float on a tributary of the Elk River through scenic hills of the Highland Rim.” Everything was true except for the swift part. The water level was low, so the first few miles were slow. Paddle, scrape, drag. Repeat. I’m sure we left plenty of painted rocks in our wake. The stream was slow enough that a couple of the river-wide strainers could be avoided with the boat limbo. Others required careful maneuvering. Still others got the chainsaw treatment from Ernie.

As soon as the stream became easy enough to paddle, we knew the dam (the scheduled portage) was near. River left offered a straightforward Class II portage. So ended mile 1.

Miles 2 and 3 continued in much the same manner. There were a couple of cascades that looked like they would be fun class I/II rapids with higher water. At our level, bumps and scrapes and occasional walks were the order of the day. We lunched somewhere around the end of mile 3, after Factory Creek (from the mill). Thanks to Ernie, we enjoyed a small campfire during our meal, but with over 7 miles to go, we knew we couldn’t enjoy it for too long. Because of the low water, the large group had split up some already. After lunch, the split became more official.

As more creeks flowed into Bean’s, paddling became easier. There were still plenty of scrape-y sections, but the odds of not having to get out and push increased greatly. The challenge became to read the water well enough to not have to step out of the boat. We were able to maintain a much more brisk pace. Since the chainsaw was behind us, there were two strainers that we decided to line our boats around. Everything else was runnable or scrape-able. Though the approaching sunset was on our minds, we made sure to enjoy the scenery around us. Critter sightings included fish, ducks and a great blue heron.

We saw some fishermen along the banks and asked how far to the bridge, which marked 1.5mi to our takeout. I don’t think they understood us, nor did we understand them, but the bridge turned out to be just around the bend by about a quarter mile. When we reached the bridge, the tension about the approaching sunset evaporated. We knew we had plenty of time to get there, and the groups behind us did, too. The bridge merited a stretch break. We reached the confluence with the Elk River and continued another half mile to our takeout. Other groups trickled in behind us. We all agreed, beautiful river but a bit like work to get to the bottom without enough water.