Later this week the weather is supposed to finally cool down but
today’s forecast is for highs in the mid-nineties so we better go swimming, it
just may be our last chance until next year.
We drive south to St. Joe and turn off Highway 65 at the brown sign for
Baker Ford and Woolum, the plan is to try a different swimming hole near Baker
Ford.
There
are actually three holes in close proximity to Baker Ford: Baker Ford Hole,
Blue Hole (#8), and Greenhaw Hole. At
least ‘on the map’ these all look as though they should be pretty easy to get
to, but ‘you never know until you go’. We park down at the canoe launch area and
explore the bank looking for a route upriver, it appears there may have been an
old road heading upstream once.
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at Baker Ford
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This
isn’t an option thanks to a slough that looks more like a little stagnant
swamp with a very small ‘entrance’ from the river. All along the riverbank and around this
slough it's overgrown with extremely thick ‘jungle’. I walk back downstream and wade out into the
river just far enough to look upstream to where the gravel bar at Baker Ford
Hole is shown on maps, but all I see is a very thin low rocky bank with thick
undergrowth behind. I give up on
swimming at either Baker Ford or Blue Hole #8 which is 500 feet upstream beyond
Baker Ford Hole. This leaves Greenhaw Hole, back in the truck we drive up to
the small camping area near the vault toilet. At the east end of the campground is a cable gate which today is open
thanks to ongoing hay harvesting in two large fields. We stay on the faint roadway through the
first field then down across a small creek and back up into the second hay field where the path completely disappears.
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shady spot near the river
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Through the open field with big round
bales of hay everywhere we park about two thirds of the way across the field at
the south edge. From here Greenhaw Hole
on the river is only about 100 feet south, but the scene looks very similar to that
back at Baker Ford with tall grass and thick undergrowth between us and the
river. I walk the edge of the field parallel to the river but fail to find any ‘opening’ through which we
might reach the Buffalo.
Oh well at
least we tried, on to the ‘backup plan’ Arnold Hole where we went swimming almost a month ago, see: (126 The Real Deal...). Back up Baker Ford Road to Fantail Road
where we turn right then a half mile later, right on Gladiator Road. Another half mile brings us to a gate, which
today is closed. I won’t open a closed
gate, especially one with ‘private property’ signs on it, that would
just be asking for trouble, instead we turn around and head out to backup #2, Woolum and Robertson Hole at river mile 79.  |
in Robertson Hole
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We weave our way back to the west eventually to Woolum Road, we turn
left (south) and in around 1.4 miles pass the old Pine Bluff Church. Another approximately 1.4 miles is Jamison
Creek where Woolum Road is closed. As
near as I can find out, Woolum Road has been closed now for almost a year,
because of continual erosion along High-banks. This area has always been a ‘problem’ with the river slowly eating away the bank between river and
road. We’ll just have to wait and
see if this road ever gets repaired, I think the road is a lost cause and
should be abandoned, let nature take its course. Turning right at the ‘Road Closed’ barricade
we head up Jamison Creek on Oakland Road, which crosses the creek four or five
times. After a sharp curve to the
left into Bull Hollow just briefly, before climbing up to a ridge, and finally
reaching N. Woolum Road after a total of four miles. Left on N. Woolum, and we’re almost there.
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downriver view of Robertson Hole
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At Woolum we turn left into the huge field with Woolum Campground along
the south side of the road. Near the end
of the campground at the last outhouse we turn right down the ‘ramp’ onto the
gravel bar of Robertson Hole and park in the same little shady spot we first
discovered two years ago, see: (66 Boat Hole and Robertson Hole). This is
still a great spot, but the gravel bar here is nothing like I remember it. The gravel bar at Robertson Hole is like a
‘chaparral’ of tangled shrubs and brush along with lots of small sycamore whose
roots cling in the gravel to prevent being washed away. This is not the wide open, barren gravel bar
typically seen on the Buffalo River. All
that being said, this is a great spot, once again we just drop the tailgate and
setup camp near the water and in the shade.
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lounging in the shallows
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After all the driving today, it’s nice to finally be ‘in camp’ on a
swimming hole, we head straight in the water.
The entrance into the water isn’t like it was two years ago either, back
then this was muddy into the river, well not today. Just small gravel, from our beach chairs all
the way down into the river no mud whatsoever. I’m amazed how much can change in just a
couple years, but Robertson Hole itself doesn’t seem to have changed any.
This is still a big deep hole, from
the exit shoal about 100 yards downstream Robertson Hole gradually curves
westward at the end of the bluff and slowly gets shallower until it ends, around 2000 feet long and 50-70 feet wide. About 30 feet in front of the bluff I repeatedly try to reach bottom, but can’t do it, and I’m wearing swim-fins. I’m going to estimate Robertson Hole is
at least 15 feet deep, this may be the deepest hole we’ve been to. The slope from shore into deep
water is a little steep too, thirty feet out I can barely touch bottom.
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the shady day-camp
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Back in camp we kickback for a while before going for a walk around
the gravel bar. We pretty much stay on
the paths made by motorists meandering around to numerous dead-ends. There is a small launch area, but most
of this gravel bar is either tall grass or dense brush, we don’t get far and
soon return to camp. In our beach chairs
we admire the bluff across the river, according to maps it’s Robertson Hill, no
mention of a ‘bluff’ which is probably just under 100 feet high with the top
half hidden in trees.
Swimming back out
for a closer look it’s a smooth bluff that extends straight down into the
water. At the upstream end a small creek
enters through a deep gully, where I’m able to climb out of the water. This dry creek bed looks pretty clear of
undergrowth and possibly could be a route up to the top but I only go far
enough to have a look then return to the river.
I swim back across to the beach, as I’m coming out an
Arkansas Game and Fish officer walks into our ‘camp’.
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a visit from the AGFC
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This young AGFC officer is making his rounds and stops for a short
visit, after some ‘small talk’ I ask about river access down many of these old
roads, using Gladiator Road as an example.
I explain the whole scenario: a few weeks ago we drove through the open
gate and on down to Arnold Hole, but today the gate is closed. Isn’t that road a public access to the
river? He thinks so, since the road is
on most maps then it ‘probably is a public thoroughfare’. I give him the details on the location of
this ‘gate’ he heads out to go check it out after saying that a lot of property
owners put up gates because they are sick and tired of people throwing trash
out as they drive by. I surely
understand this as I’m picking up people’s trash along the road at the front of
my property all the time, some people are real pigs.
Since we arrived here late after all the driving around this
morning, time catches up to us and we pack up to go. You would think being right at the Woolum
Campground there’d be folks all over the place.
But our AGFC visitor was the only person we saw all afternoon, so a
score of 4 for popularity, and maybe that’s being a little stingy. Amenities here are pretty awesome, a
great swimming hole with deep clean water, shade is pretty sparse though other
than this little spot in the small sycamore ‘grove’.
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a portion of Robertson Hole upriver
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The beach is mostly small gravel, the one
sandy area we found is in the direct sun right where we parked, the chaparral is nice giving beachgoers some privacy.
All that considered, a generous 4 for amenities. Due to the closure of Woolum Road, accessibility
isn’t what it used to be, don’t get me wrong we had a great time driving the
back roads particularly Oakland Road, but it sure did take
some time. None of the roads
travelled today are all that bad, they’re not that good either, so let’s say a
3 for accessibility. A total for Robertson Hole: 11, and a good time on
possibly the last ‘swim day’ of the season.
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