Canoeing a new stretch of the Duck

Canoeing the Duck Below Normandy

Sawyer wanted to do a canoe trip for his birthday, so we decided to try a new stretch of the Duck below Normandy dam.  I'd seen a few signs along the way pointing to access points but wasn't sure what they looked like or how long it was between each one until I found this great map detailing how to get to each loadout and the time and distance between.

Here we are at the Dement bridge load out.  It has some good parking places and has a nice cement launch pad.  From l-r  are Trevor, Darren, Sammy, Nathan, Scottie and Sawyer

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Going under Dement Bridge.  The journey begins.

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The stretch from Dement Bridge to Three Forks was awesome.  They were letting water out of the dam because of rain the previous day, so we barely had to paddle and the mist coming off the cool water was absolutely beautiful.

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The water was very fast and we zipped along with very little paddling.

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We had a moment of panic when we reached Three Forks Bridge and everyone around was getting out.  

One lady said  it was about 4 hours till  Mullins Mill bridge (which was where the truck was parked).  It made us a little worried since we'd already been on the water for a couple hours and 4 more hours of paddling didn't sound fun.

However, I decided to trust the map Normandy Kayak Rental has on their website which said it was only 3 hours. They turned out to be right.

Here's a shot of the Dement/Cortner bridges

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However, the water definitely slowed down after Three Forks.  We had to paddle a lot more but it made the fishing a lot easier.  It's tough to get in a good cast when the water is whipping by at 4-5 mph.

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Sammy got to be in the queen chair this time and , not surprisingly, she like it.

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After a lot of paddling, Mullins Mill Bridge was a welcome sight. Final verdict? The Dement to Three Forks stretch is awesome and beautiful. It has a lot of riffles and corners that keep it interesting and adds a little challenge. The only downside is it goes by quick if the current is flowing and will only take you a couple hours.

 The Three Forks to Mullins Mill bridge is more typical of a Duck river float. There are more slow stretches but very little sign of human habitation until you get close to Mullins Mill.  A nice feature of Three Forks to Mullins is most people get out at Three Forks, so you pretty much have the river to yourself.

From 2014-08-17

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