UPPER MULBERRY
(AKA SURF CITY AND THE STREAK)
21 February 1998
by: Murray Carroll

Saturday, Feb. 21 was an atypical winter's day. Blue skies replaced the constant overcast that is normal for the winter of 1997-1998 and the weather warmed to the mid-60's. A group of eleven HCC boaters ran the upper Mulberry River with a gage reading of 2.0'; I was afraid that would be a little low, but it turned out that this level produces excellent and numerous surfing waves along the ledges of this section of river. While the section below this one, the Garden City to BCC lot, receives the most attention, I feel that this is the far superior run when the level is above 2.0'. We were (as usual) a majority open-boat group with only two kayaks in attendance. A fun day was had by all with nothing other than tired muscles to mark this as any other than an exceptional play day; until three of our female paddlers were "mooned" by a passing auto on the way home. We don't know who the two guys were who did the mooning, but the mooner was heard to shout "How about that, you hens?" as his auto, loaded with two canoes, sped by. The gals nearly wrecked when they were blinded by laughter ."I shouted 'Don't look Ethel', but it was too late, she'd already been incensed."