Floods in my favoriet campground

[Natch]

We had heavy rains in SW Arkansas overnight, and one of my favoriet campgrounds in the Ouachita (pronounced wash-a-taw) NF went under water. Currently 16 confirmed dead and a couple dozen missing.

Every spring I teach a backpacking & wilderness canoeing course through our continuing education college at my university, and most years we camp at Albert Pike campground for a night, then head in on a stretch of the Ouachita Trail to the Winding Stairway on the Little Missouri River. Apparently this was the heart of the flood area. From midnight to 5:30 AM the Little Missouri rose over 20 feet, and it's a very steep, narrow gorge in that area, so scrambling up-hill isn't always an option.

My friends that live in the area said that the river rose so fast that many families in their tents didn't notice until their cars and access roads were already unusable. I think of all the times I've had groups or been packing solo in this area and camped right next to that beautiful river, it makes me grateful that last night wasn't my time. Please keep these grieving and exhausted families in your thoughts, and please remember (as I often forget myself!) to camp on high ground.

Natch

 

[mark]

Sad that so many trying to enjoy the outdoors got caught up in this disaster.

 

[Ol'Dawg]

A real tragedy! Though I never camped there, I enjoyed visiting that part of AR when I lived in Ozark.

Jim

 

[Centurian 803]

Deeply moved. Glad you weren't there my Brother.

 

[Justpipes]

It is a terrible situation and my heart and prayers go out to those folks over there!

 

[pipemaker]

Jeff,
That's always sad news, more so when it happens close to friends and family.
Thanks for letting us know that you are ok.

Mike

 

[ftrplt]

Makes all those news articles just a bit more personal, doesn't it!!! Thanks, Natch, for letting us know what's really going on! I feel for ya'. FTRPLT

 

[Carlos]

All the best for the families and hopefully they can narrow down the actual missing. The park records, sign in sheets were lost in the floods. I was wondering if this was part of your neck of the woods.

 

[Natch]

Our local paper described a fantastic rescue that probably won't make the national news. A couple built a cabin near the Little Missouri on stilts, and the husband got up around 3:30 AM to put on a pot of coffee and keep an eye on the river. He woke his wife and was preparing to evacuate the cabin on the up-hill side, as it had risen over his porch on the stilt side (about 10 feet above the ground, which was about 10 feet above the river). He noticed an RV floating down the raging river, and it crashed into (and apparently lodged) into his cabin. The couple inside the RV were able to hand their granddaughter out through the window and then climb themselves into the cabin and were saved. They couldn't get out of the cabin, and the water came through the windows, reaching about mid-chest high by sunrise when it started to recede. Imagine going to sleep in your RV with you grand-kid along, and wake up bobbing down a raging river, only to hit a cabin and have to climb out the window?

Death rate is at 16 right now, but 20 known missing and who knows how many were not registered in the campground, or were packing along the river and aren't known yet? Perhaps it was fortunate that it occurred mid-week, as on a weekend the numbers would be several fold what it was that night.

Natch

 

[Anonymous]

Sad news indeed. Sorry to hear about this tragedy!

 

[TallSmoke]

I saw this news and was saddened by it. We are RV campers, and know that in most campgrounds there are lots of long-time friends and family there. Truly a tragedy.

 

[Irene Adler]

Wow. That is incredibly sad. I can't even begin to imagine. My heart goes out to the families affected by the tragedy.