Upper, Upper Mulberry

Run: Mulberry Fork of the Warrior River

Section: Hwy 278 to CR10 (many others)

Class: I (II) Put-In: Hwy 278 (or various)

Gradient: ~8'/mile Take-Out: CR10 (or various)

Length: 22.4 miles Precip. Gages: Arab Realtime

Shuttle: Hwy 278 / Hwy 231 / CR26/ CR10 Delorme Gazeteer: P. 25 D8/E7

Water Q: Primary Gage: Mulberry (USGS/Old Hwy 31 Bridge)

Links: TOPO MAP Required Level: 5.7'/1.5' (USGS/Old Hwy 31 Bridge)

PICTURES Indicator Gage:

TRIP REPORT Required Level:

Notes:

If Hwy 67 to 278 is the upper upper, and CR10 to old Hwy 31 is the upper, what is this long stretch between them from Hwy 278 to CR10? The upper 1.5? I don't know, but I've been really lazy about listing it in the guide. It has some rapids, and some long flat parts as well. Except for a couple short bits at high water following feed creek runs, I've never paddled this part of the Mulberry. Most people that I know that have run it have done the first 6 miles or so from 278 to CR51. Intermediate access points include CR55, CR51, and CR747/47.

Ben Styles offers the following: My wife and I took our 14 ft. tandem open canoe on the "Upper, upper" run (the level was 6.25'). We decided that we had time to go past 278, so we went down to County Rd. 55. We didn't know whether to expect - boring flatwater or a continuation of the consistent shoals/rapids of the "upper, upper." We were pleasantly surprised to discover that with the exception of a couple of 5-minute paddles, it was a good run. There were approximately 20 shoals/rapids, with 3-4 being strong class twos with high waves (we had to dump the canoe out twice) at this water level. Today (Friday), we went from County 55 to County 51. While the level was much lower (4.8'), we still had a good run with little flatwater and few rocks. A couple of rapids would have swamped us for sure at Monday's level.

While the "Upper, Upper" is still our favorite, at least the first 6 miles below 278 is nice for intermediate level canoeists like us for whom the class threes of the Locust are about the max (we survived it).

From Ryan Stephens: The run from 278 to 51 is a true whitewater run class I-II and did not have excessive flatwater at all. The section that starts at 51 and goes to CR10 is all flatwater - the kind of flatwater that is pooled up and has the consistancy of syrup, except for two nice class II rapids at the "shrine."

The USGS Garden City gage is roughly 3.9' higher than the 31 bridge gage at the required level.
For more accurate correlations:
To get the bridge painted level from the USGS reading multiply the USGS reading by 0.75 then subtract 2.9 [Bridge = (0.75 * USGS) - 2.9 ].
To get the USGS level from the bridge painted level add 2.9 to the bridge level then multiply by 1.333 [ USGS = 1.333 * (Bridge+2.9) ].

View Upper Upper Mulberry in a larger map


Run:	Mulberry Fork of the Warrior River
Section:	Hwy 278 to CR10 (many others)

Class:	I (II)	Put-In:	Hwy 278 (or various)
Gradient:	~8'/mile	Take-Out:	CR10 (or various)
Length:	22.4 miles	Precip. Gages:	Arab Realtime
Shuttle:	Hwy 278 / Hwy 231 / CR26/ CR10	Delorme Gazeteer:	P. 25 D8/E7
Water Q:		Primary Gage:	Mulberry (USGS/Old Hwy 31 Bridge)
Links:	TOPO MAP	Required Level:	5.7'/1.5' (USGS/Old Hwy 31 Bridge)
	PICTURES	Indicator Gage:
	TRIP REPORT	Required Level:
Notes:
If Hwy 67 to 278 is the upper upper, and CR10 to old Hwy 31 is the upper, what is this long stretch between them from Hwy 278 to CR10? The upper 1.5? I don't know, but I've been really lazy about listing it in the guide. It has some rapids, and some long flat parts as well. Except for a couple short bits at high water following feed creek runs, I've never paddled this part of the Mulberry. Most people that I know that have run it have done the first 6 miles or so from 278 to CR51. Intermediate access points include CR55, CR51, and CR747/47. Ben Styles offers the following: My wife and I took our 14 ft. tandem open canoe on the "Upper, upper" run (the level was 6.25'). We decided that we had time to go past 278, so we went down to County Rd. 55. We didn't know whether to expect - boring flatwater or a continuation of the consistent shoals/rapids of the "upper, upper." We were pleasantly surprised to discover that with the exception of a couple of 5-minute paddles, it was a good run. There were approximately 20 shoals/rapids, with 3-4 being strong class twos with high waves (we had to dump the canoe out twice) at this water level. Today (Friday), we went from County 55 to County 51. While the level was much lower (4.8'), we still had a good run with little flatwater and few rocks. A couple of rapids would have swamped us for sure at Monday's level. While the "Upper, Upper" is still our favorite, at least the first 6 miles below 278 is nice for intermediate level canoeists like us for whom the class threes of the Locust are about the max (we survived it). From Ryan Stephens: The run from 278 to 51 is a true whitewater run class I-II and did not have excessive flatwater at all. The section that starts at 51 and goes to CR10 is all flatwater - the kind of flatwater that is pooled up and has the consistancy of syrup, except for two nice class II rapids at the "shrine." The USGS Garden City gage is roughly 3.9' higher than the 31 bridge gage at the required level. For more accurate correlations: To get the bridge painted level from the USGS reading multiply the USGS reading by 0.75 then subtract 2.9 [Bridge = (0.75 * USGS) - 2.9 ]. To get the USGS level from the bridge painted level add 2.9 to the bridge level then multiply by 1.333 [ USGS = 1.333 * (Bridge+2.9) ].