Another Memorial Day weekend, another last minute decision to hit the waters. Lea and I had kayaked the Huzzah a few years ago and really enjoyed it. See previous blog post Huzzah Creek to Meramec 10 miles. On that trip we accidentally started kayaking up the Courtois (pronounced Coort-a-way ) where it merges with the Huzzah. We said back then we need to check it out. We were also looking for clear water and no boat traffic. The Courtois fit both of those bills.
From our house it is about 100 miles. Lea and I don't mind driving and sometimes you have to put in some extra miles to see the really good places. A cool thing about the drive down there is we went through Steeleville. I also like the small towns Main Street. I like looking at the older buildings and all the various small businesses. It just relaxes me for some reason.
We booked through Bass River Resorts. We decided to rent kayaks from them instead of transporting ours. There wasn't much of a price difference and since we booked last minute it saved us time. The booking process was easy and the wait time was not long for our van to take us to our put in spot. They also have cabins, teen and RV sites. It looks like a good place to stay and Lea and I talked about taking the kids there sometime for a weekend trip.
We decided we wanted a challenge and decided to do the 13 mile trip. We put in at Berryman. It's right under the bridge. The first thing I noticed was how clear the water was. Could see straight to the bottom. The second thing I noticed was how shallow it was. Our driver said the water was down quite a bit and we may drag the first few miles. He said after about a mile our two it opens up. That was pretty accurate as we got stuck about 5 times the first mile and a half. We had to get out and push a few times.
At around the second mile I had a first in kayaking. I flipped my yak. Lea was in front of me. She was going down a narrow channel and got spun sideways. I was following too close and hit her kayak and mine flipped. I also found out my iPhone 14 is waterproof. Would make a great add for the company as the phone was underwater for about 5 minutes. Luckly it didn't go too far and with a red case and crystal clear water I was able to recover it.
Our pace for the first 2 miles was right under an hour. With all the twist and turns, low water areas, and having to push occasionally really slowed us down. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. We had the creek to ourselves. It really made it possible to take in all the scenery and just absorb the peace and quit. The sound of running water, birds singing, and frogs croaking there really isn't anything like it.
The first 5-6 miles is really techinical. It really pushed our kayaking skills to the limit with the twist, turns, narrow channels, water depth changes and obstructions. It was very challenging and very enjoyable stretch of water. There is also a slow section at about mile 4 that slow, a bit wider and about a foot and a half deep. It is just deep enough not to drag, and with the crystal clear water and the blue sky it really felt like we were floating on air. A very cool experience.
About the halfway point there is a low water bridge. When we first got to check in the guy said that sometimes the water is too high and we may have to portage around it. At this point he also said that if we made it here and didn't feel like going any farther that we could use a pay phone located there and call them to pick us up. Thankfully the water was low enough to go under the bridge and stopping wasn't an option for us. We continued on and passed an area with a lot of rafts. The Bass Resort offers a 6 mile float and this must be where the put in spot for that is. There must have been over 30 rafts on the shore.
Up to this point of the trip we hadn't seen anyone else on the water. We had seen people on shore but no other boaters. That changed quickly as we came around a bend. There was a meme I saw on Facebook about floating on Memorial Day. It showed a river channel full of rafts. Couldn't even see the water. While there wasn't quite that many as the meme there certainly were a lot of rafts, kayaks and loud music. Luckily we were in the kayaks and did our best to speed through. However it did not help that in some of the narrow channels people would stop or have there kayaks turned sideways. It took us about a mile of maneuvering and hard paddling to get through the mass of rafts and boats.
Eventually we were able to make it through the gathering of all the rafts. With the water being so clear we could look down and see all the fish swimming. We also saw a few swimming snakes, a turkey, one deer and a baby turtle. Finally we saw this neat looking blue bird with orange feet. Not sure what kind it was, I had never seen one like that before.
The last few miles were uneventful. We ran into sporadic rafts and other kayakers. When we know we are getting close to the end we really slow down and try to soak everything in. When my phone was underwater after I flipped the track my mileage stopped on map my run. But we were told it is 13 miles from start to finish. We got out at the Bass Resort. It is easy to see and would be hard to miss. Overall it took us about 5 hours.
This was a really enjoyable trip. This was also probably one of the more challenging trips I have been on. The twist, turns, narrow channels, quick changing depths, and beautiful scenery makes this a perfect float. I wouldn't recommend this for people that are new to kayaking as there were a lot of challenging areas. I would also recommend to check water levels before going as I imagine during the dry months of summer the water levels would be much lower and may not be as floatable as with higher levels. We had a great time and would recommend this section.
Pros: No boats
Challenging areas to kayak
Crystal clear water
Multiple sand bars and areas to stop
Cons: Distance from home
Some sections can get really crowded with rafts and kayakers
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