Lets face it…accidents happen. You DON’T want to get caught out somewhere without water. Many water filters are relatively inexpensive, easy to pack and don’t weigh a lot. We have one that we keep tucked away in our vehicle for emergencies.

Be safe and enjoy the beautiful outdoors when you can. August in Arkansas is definitely one of those months when indoor activities are generally preferred because of the heat and high humidity. If you do get out, think ahead and pack for accordingly and you should be fine.

I certainly have no problem with that, but let me tell a little story from the last time we floated the Buffalo River earlier this year. It was a pretty hot day, and several of us had decided not to float. Instead, we stayed behind and shuttled vehicles & canoe trailers for those that did float. When you stay at camp, there are certain things you can expect to do. Clean up the mess from breakfast, relax and cool your feet in the river, then start preparing dinner for everyone once they get back from floating.

On this particular day, a few of us had crossed the river at Wollum to show some of the newcomers how the temperature of Richland creek was quite a bit colder than the Buffalo. As we stood in the water at the intersection, a couple of kayaker’s came floating in. We exchanged, “hi…how yall doin” greetings. The couple told us they were headed quite a bit further down river, (they were obviously camping along the river as they went), and asked if we knew where they might get some ice? Their coolers were left with nothing but cool water, and they had a lot further to go. We explained that there was really no place “local” for them to get ice, but we had made a trip into St. Joe earlier in the day and had several extra bags of ice. We offered the young couple a bag and they were very grateful! You can imagine what it would be like to be traveling that far, and not have relatively easy access to ice? It’s not like they could stop somewhere, jump in a vehicle and head to the nearest store. Turns out the couple was from Chicago, and my guess is that they expected they would be able to get ice & supplies somewhere along the way as they traveled.

Well everything worked out OK as far as we know…and the couple probably still remembers meeting us on the river and getting that ever so precious, bag of ice. Here is my question/issue….is there “anywhere” along the river were someone can stop and get supplies? I realize the National Park Service wants to protect the environment by not allowing commercial businesses along the river, and I can respect that. But I think it would be really cool if every 15 miles or so, there was a very small station type area, where people could at least get ice and water. It wouldn’t have to be anything big and commercial. I understand this probably presents a whole new set of problems and issues with staffing or vandalism (caused by those that don’t respect the river and it’s surroundings), but I think it would be such a welcome addition to floaters that are traveling a long way.

Now….my experience on the Buffalo River is very limited compared to some folks. Maybe there are areas such as what I’m describing, and I’m just not aware of it? If so…I would love for those reading, to comment and let us know if something is available! I seem to recall the Gilbert store being “relatively” close to the river, but thats only useful if you’re floating that part of the river. Perhaps there are other stores that aren’t on park land, but are close enough to the river to be able to walk to and get some basic supplies?

If you can help here by commenting, please do so. Thanks!