The Case Of The Missing Swimming Hole
Tuesday, May 25th was a fine morning. The forecast was warm and sunny. I wanted to go for my first swim of the year down on the Buffalo National River. One of our favorite early season swimming places is the hayfield swimming hole, I called David and asked if he wanted to go and he said yes..so that morning we headed out. A cooler in the back with drinks, lunch and snacks...swimming trunks, towels, extra clothes and shoes in the backpacks.
We drove down to the park and then over to the swimming hole. We walked down the access trail and discovered that our spot had been washed away. The recent very heavy rains had completely changed the landscape. There was no way down because the river was up. We could climb straight down into the river and wade out, but we decided against that. I have included a few pictures from some years ago for comparison. So we sat for a few minutes and then came up with plan B. Take the back way round, stopping along the way to check out a few of our favorite creeks that feed into the river, and then try and drive over the Erbie Low water slab and around to the new campground.
We drove down to the park and then over to the swimming hole. We walked down the access trail and discovered that our spot had been washed away. The recent very heavy rains had completely changed the landscape. There was no way down because the river was up. We could climb straight down into the river and wade out, but we decided against that. I have included a few pictures from some years ago for comparison. So we sat for a few minutes and then came up with plan B. Take the back way round, stopping along the way to check out a few of our favorite creeks that feed into the river, and then try and drive over the Erbie Low water slab and around to the new campground.
The creek we stopped at was really flowing nicely. We parked and made our way along the creek for a short stretch. It was fun to walk along, sandwiched between the green canopy and the green tint of the water. It was very quiet. Returning to the trunk we headed towards the low water slab at Erbie, hoping we could make it across.
We don't recommend crossing low water slabs unless you are quite sure it is safe. We have both crossed this slab many hundreds of times but we still stopped and inspected the crossing. Both of us thought it would be ok so over we went. The water was up to the running boards but driving slowly we made it over. We left a nice wake behind us.
We don't recommend crossing low water slabs unless you are quite sure it is safe. We have both crossed this slab many hundreds of times but we still stopped and inspected the crossing. Both of us thought it would be ok so over we went. The water was up to the running boards but driving slowly we made it over. We left a nice wake behind us.
Over the rocks and making the turn we pulled into the old Erbie access and campground (now an empty field). It is a beautiful spot, one of my favorites. You can access the Buffalo River Trail here also. The hike to Kyles is a very enjoyable way to spend a couple hours.. We noticed that the path to the trail which is usually kept cut had not been mowed. We then drove to the Parker Hickman homestead which had also not been mowed and decide to drive up to the Cherry Hill Cemetery. That was a mistake since the further up the road we went the more the narrow road became washed out. Eventually we were forced to turn back. I don't recommend driving up that road anymore. A short distance down the road we turned into the new Erbie campground.
We decided to sit up on one of the concrete structures which hold the river bank in place at the access ramp. You can see in the pictures how the river had scoured the bank, removing some of the protection. It was a great spot to spend a few hours. We had our chairs, cooler with drinks and lunch and a shade tree to boot! After a while we spotted a canoe coming round the bend, then another, and a few more. The first three went on downriver but the last two decided to take a break. The new Erbie campground is an excellent rest stop for folks making longer trips on the river. We visited with them for awhile. They asked about the weather for the next two days. We gave them the thumbs up, and they said they had their weather radio with them. Their exit spot was Gilbert and the trip was a 4 day event. With big grins on their faces they set off again. Sure looked like they were having a blast! We finished up our lunch, stayed and watched some more river rats go by, chatting with them as they passed. In the early afternoon we headed back to town.