The normally-placid Current River in the Missouri Ozarks.
A quiet evening mist settles over the river at Akers Ferry.
The normally-placid Current River in the Missouri Ozarks.
A quiet evening mist settles over the river at Akers Ferry.
For more than a decade, I've made an annual trek to the Missouri Ozarks to float the Current River. The tradition started during my days at the University of Missouri-Rolla, where my fraternity held annual Spring Floats and Summer Floats. After graduation, my friends and I have continued to float the clear, spring-fed streams of southern Missouri one weekend every June. Our trips have included over a dozen canoes and have drawn fellow floaters from St. Louis, Kansas City, Peoria, Atlanta, and Houston.
Over the years, we've floated through a few storms, but have never cancelled a float due to weather. Until 1998... This is the story of the first non-float.
All photos ©1998 by Thomas M. Roth, Atlanta, GA.