This trip was a last minute decision made on Sunday evening. We both had Memorial Day off work and we didn’t have any kids so we decided we needed to go kayaking AND that we wanted to try somewhere new. When Lea suggested the Huzzah I was a little hesitant as I associate the Huzzah with drunken college kids and party crowds. But we found somewhere on the Huzzah that would shuttle our kayaks that had an open reservation so we took it. My expectations were low with it being Memorial Day and the Huzzah being known as a “party” River. Luckily, I turned out to be wrong. The Huzzah is beautiful, with crystal clear water and we had a really good time.
In this episode of what did Michael learn the hard way about kayaking is in regards to transporting the vessels. The previous few times we have hauled the kayaks, once we get the car up to 60 mph the noise from the kayaks would be unbearable. Even with the radio blasting it would not drown out the awful noise. I happened to mention this to my cousin because I legitimately thought with all the noise the kayaks were trying to fly off. He said try twisting the straps, it’s probably the wind vibrating off those. Sure enough, the simple trick of twisting the straps made it go from space shuttle launch loud to so quiet I forgot the kayaks were up there. It’s the little things.
Our put in today was about an hour and a half from home. We did not know anyone in the area to take our car like we did for the last float. Luckily for us, Ozark Outdoors offers a shuttle service for kayaks. We showed up at the end point, they loaded our kayaks into their bus, and took us 10 miles up stream to the put in place. First off, having a bus makes it so easy to load a kayak. Just opened the back door on the bus and slid both kayaks in. There is a fee to use this shuttle but it did take all the hassle of figuring out transportation which was nice.
This trip was a 10 mile float. The Huzzah was up a bit and moving pretty fast. The other thing I leaned was that the Huzzah is a creek. I always thought it was a river. Learn something new every day.
We put in on the Huzzah at Hwy 8. This is a private launch site and we had to make a reservation and pay a fee as I stated before. We launched with a bunch of large rafts full of people. The good thing about being in the kayaks is it made it pretty easy to zip around the large rafts and enjoy the water.
The first thing I noticed about the Huzzah is that it is crystal clear. No matter if we were in 6 inches of water or 6 foot we could always see the bottom. We saw gars, carp, and what looked like trout. We also saw a large long bright yellow fish that looked completely out of place with the other brown and black fish in the water.
At about the 2.5 mile mark the creek splits in two directions. A group of kayakers were ahead of us and appeared indecisive on which direction to go. We decided to go right. The channel almost looked too shallow to get through but we made a decision. We cleared the swallow area and were rewarded with a section of the river to ourselves. It was a narrow channel with trees on both banks that created a nice canopy over the water. The current was moving fast enough where we didn’t have to paddle and it let us really take in the view.
At about the three mile mark we found a nice gravel bar next to a fast moving portion of the river. We had this bar to ourselves and we ate our lunch there. With the sound of rushing water next to us and surrounded by trees it was the perfect place for a lunch picnic.
Most of the portion of the creek we kayaked was pretty straight except this bend that we stopped at for lunch. Also, since we stopped all the big rafts that we had passed earlier caught back up with us. The big rafts were cumbersome and clogged up the small channel very quickly. But again being in the smaller more nimble kayaks we zipped between the rafts and dodged the submerged trees with ease and got of ahead of the rafts to enjoy the water and scenery.
The five mile mark is where we really put some distance between us and the other rafters. The water was moving fast enough to were we barely had to paddle. With the loud music way behind us it was just nice to lay back, stretch out, listen to the sounds of nature, and take in all the wonderful scenery. It was a very therapeutic experience. It also gave me time to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day and the sacrifice that some of our veterans made so I can enjoy a day like today.
Right before the 6 mile mark we thought the river spilt off to the right. However, after we got into that channel we realized that we were paddling upstream. We found out latter that we were in the Courtois Creek. We got back on the Huzzah and continued to float downstream. A short distance from the confluence of the Courtois and Huzzah is the pull out point for all the rafts. The amount of people in this area was staggering. The creek splits to the right and left. The bus driver had told us about the low water bridge and that it was possible to kayak under it. We decided to give it a try and took the path to the right. The clearance under the bridge is very low and I had to lay completely flat against the kayak to go under it. It was a neat experience and I tried to video it but forgot to hit record apparently. Plus it took all my effort and concentration to maneuver the kayak through the narrow passage.
At the 7 mile mark of the trip is where we saw our first boat. This is also where the Huzzah meets the Meramec. The water was no longer clear but more of a dark green. This portion of the float was a lot slower and required less maneuvering due to the width of being on a river. We were really able to take of time and just let the river take us on this portion of the trip. About the 9 mile mark we found a little cave that we pulled into and looked around. I heard people say there were bats and big spiders in there but I didn’t see any. What I did see a lot of were turtles sunning themselves on the various logs and downed trees in the river.
The trip ended right at 10 miles. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this float. I was worried with the holiday we would get blocked by the drunken tubers and rafters. This was not the case at all. While the water was crowded, the kayaks made it possible to maneuver and dart past the congested areas. I was taken aback by how clear the water was on the Huzzah, it wasn’t something I was expecting. The 7 miles on the Huzzah were also pretty challenging. With the varying speeds of the current, the narrower waterways, and amount of downed trees and stumps it made it a very challenging and fun kayak. In the past I would have said no to a trip to the Huzzah because of the expectations I had built up in my head. But by getting out of my comfort zone and trying something unknown lead me to one of the best times I have had on the water in a long time. The moral of the story, get out there and explore, you never know what kind of experience is waiting for you.
We used Map My Run on the kayak setting again for this trip:
Map of the Huzzah and surrounding areas:
Link below is for Ozark Outdoors, the place we used to shuttle our kayaks. it cost us $85 including tax to have the shuttle take us and our kayaks to the put in spot, leaving our SUV at the take out area. Not something we would want to spend every time we paddle but worth it to explore a new area and not have to take multiple vehicles.