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Middle Stouts Creek [ back ] |
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| Location: |
Iron County, appr. 4 miles east of Ironton on hwy. 72 USGS TOPO: Lake Killarney [ map] |
| Difficulty: | Class III+ dropping 80' in one mile with the shut-ins dropping 50' in 1/2 mile. |
| Put-in/Take-out: | The run is located about 4 miles east of Ironton on hwy. 72. The creek empties into Lake Killarney and you can actually finish your run on the lake. You must have prior permission to take out at the Bible Camp! There are public access points next to the lake where you can get out and park your vehicle. For the put-in, you should park along hwy. 72 near the bridge and carry your boat up to the low-water bridge. Please do not park or unload your vehicles next to the low-water bridge! For additional information about the put-in, please read this. |
| Description: |
Slide off the little bridge into the water to get started. The run will start off going straight for a couple of hundred yards with little
challenge. As soon as the creek makes a sharp turn to the right get ready, the fun is about to begin. After making the turn, the bridge will be in plain view. There is a great, a little sticky, 360 hole directly above the bridge. Just eddy out either side under the bridge and that hole will be yours for awhile. Be sure to catch all the eddies and little surfing waves as you continue down. There will be a few nice holes on river right if the level is right there's also some good waves on the left. The last part of this whole rapid complex is a river wide ledge that provides beautiful surfing. In the middle there's usually a nice wave and on river right there will be a great 360 hole. At this point, you can either get out and walk back up to your car if you left it by the bridge, or you can get out make a short walk along the bank put back in under the bridge and do it all again, or continue downriver. The creek narrows considerably after the ledge when it enters the woods. At the beginning of the wooded section there will be two super holes to surf. After this it is basically just a fast roller coaster ride through the trees. Be sure to go right when you see a boulder splitting the river, the left is a dead end. Recently, someone made a low-water bridge across this section - beware this could become an incredibly nasty hole with the right amount of water. Paddle a short distance on the lake past the bible camp and your car will be on the left. Okay here's how to see if there is enough water. Going towards Ironton from Fredricktown, between the hwy. bridge and the low water bridge, there is an opening in the trees where the creek becomes easily visible. In this opening, there is noticeble rock that looks something like the big rock in Cat's Paw rapid. Directly downstream of that rock, there will be a smaller, flat rock. If it is visible, then there isn't enough water. If you're looking at this spot and can't find any rocks, get in your boats and get ready for some great surfing. |