Outdoor Adventures in the Ozarks

     We’re going back to Woolum for more swimming, we were here just three days ago and were pretty impressed with Robertson Hole.  Today though we want to check out Boat Hole which is upstream from Woolum Ford at river mile 78 .      To get there from the main Woolum parking area we continue south towards Woolum Ford and turn right (west) on a narrow muddy road about 100 feet before reaching the river.  This short road is in the floodplain of the Buffalo (impassible during high water), at its end is a steep little bank up and over onto the gravel-bar.      Parked on the gravel-bar we notice this is a small beach made up mostly of ‘softball’ size river rock.  ‘Small’ is maybe an understatement, it’s tight just getting the truck turned around, but at least we’re parked right at the hole.  Or maybe not, walking the 20 foot or so on uncomfortable river rock to the water we can’t see anything but ‘shallow whitewater’ for 100 feet upstream, a shoal.      The bottom end of Boat Hole is at le

   The route to Cane Branch Hole starts out the same as when we went to Mt. Hersey, south off Highway 65 near Pindall, but stay straight (south) at the fork to Mt. Hersey.  From the fork the road stays up on the ridge and is good for about another mile.  Then as we head downhill into Sweet Gum Hollow the road gets pretty bad, and the last 100 feet or so ‘ really  bad’.      This road ends in a tight spot right on the bank of the Buffalo River at the confluence of Cane Branch.  At one time this road turned here heading up Cane Branch,  but the creek has washed-out the road, now just a narrow footpath above the steep bank into the creek.  Here right on the edge of the muddy banks of creek and river it isn’t easy to get turned around.  After a 3-point turn (more like 5) I get the truck pointed back up the steep rutted trail called a road, and we get out to have a look around.   Here at the upstream end of Cane Branch Hole, which is just upstream of river mile 74 , there is no beach or gra

    Today we’re going back to Mt. Hersey Hole, but this time we will come in from the north.  Turning south off Highway 65 west of Pindall it’s a little over 5 miles down to Mt. Hersey at river mile 70 .  This dirt road is not very good,  but I’ve seen a lot worse, as with a lot of these river access roads, this one gets worse the closer we get to the Buffalo.      Mt. Hersey boat landing is wedged between Davis Creek and Mill Branch on the Buffalo River and has limited parking for 8-10 cars, a vault toilet and a couple good sized (unofficial) campsites.  When unoccupied these campsites are used for additional parking, this is where we park. Mill Branch      We head upriver crossing Davis Creek, which is mostly dried up, here the mouth of Davis Creek is pretty wide open and covered with gravel.  This spot could be used for a day- camp,  but we continue upstream around some deadwood on the bank to a tiny sandy spot wedged between the river and a steep bank.   Although small, only about

     Having made our way back from the Lower Buffalo Wilderness and Cedar Creek (see: 62 Cedar Creek Hole ) to Highway14 we turn south on Caney Road.  This is paved for a while and follows on top of a broken ridge before heading downhill and across Water Creek.  Near this bridge the pavement ends but the road is still good until the left turn at Maumee, onto North Maumee Road.      From here the road gets steadily worse as we head down into Maumee Hollow and eventually Maumee North canoe landing near river mile 111 .  Don’t be confused by the name Maumee North, which is south of Maumee South across the river to the north.  The names are actually in reference to the direction from which you approach these two river access points.      Maumee North consists of a big parking area and a vault toilet along with the canoe launch ramp.  There is no designated camping.  After some scouting of the ramp,  which is very steep with some extremely deep ruts, Kat stays at the bottom to act as my ‘s

       At river mile 132 Cedar Creek Hole is right at the edge of the Lower Buffalo Wilderness, if you’re looking for it on a map, it’s at the tip of the beak (bill) on the 'Duck Head'.  To get there we drive south on Hwy.101 through Rea Valley then Hand Valley and finally Old Buffalo.  At some point the state highway ends and in Old Buffalo which is nothing more than a few scattered houses the road changes names to Hathaway Road and turns to the southwest.      Heading up Hathaway Hollow this good dirt road is on the north boundary of the Lower Buffalo Wilderness with a couple wilderness accesses along the way.  At the top of the hollow at a 4-way intersection you should have a high clearance vehicle with 4-wheel drive to continue, we go straight and down into the Cedar Creek drainage.      The road now is literally and figuratively ‘going downhill fast’.  Soon the ‘road’ enters the little creek and mostly stays there until its confluence with Cedar Creek.  Now heading south