Duck River: Milltown Rd. to Hardsion Mill

Duck River - Milltown Road to Hardison Mill

 Estimated Length:  5.9  Miles                

Date: Sept. 23, 2012

Weather: Sunny and in the 70’s

Time on River:  2 and 1/2 hours

River Conditions:  Class I            

Distance from Nashville: 1 & 1/4 hours

Close By: Columbia and Henry Horton State Park

Put-In: Center Milltown Road

Take-Out: Hardisons Mill

Highlights:

What a great day to be on the river!!! The sun was shining, the summer crowds have gone back to school and best of all there was water in the river. Lex and I could not have asked for a better day.

At Milltown Road you can pull your car right up to the waters edge, making it easy to unload all the gear. From here you can look up river and see Lillard Mill Dam.

Lillard Mill Dam

 If anybody knows the best side to portage Lillard Mill Dam I would love to hear from you. I have been trying to figure out how to make the run from Henry Horton State Park to Milltown Rd. without killing ourselves.

While putting in we ran into some Austin Peay students. The Duck River mussels continue to be of interest to biologist and conservationist . Right below Lillard Dam is the richest habitat of the endangered mussels on the Duck.

Austin Peay Students

The Duck was running a bit high leaving many of the gravel bars under water, so we did not find a lot of places to stop along the way. The scenery was typical of the Duck with rocky bluffs and forested hillsides. Lots of turtles were out sunning themselves today but no other wildlife was spotted.

The take out at Hardisons Mill was not as accessible as Milltown Rd. with a very narrow rocky dirt road taking us close to the river but we managed. Down river from the take out is some Class II water, lots of kayakers were playing in the water this afternoon.

Again, what a great day to be on the water!!!

 

On the Duck tomorrow 9/23/12

Sometimes life just takes over and the best laid plans have to be put on hold. That is what happened to Lex and I this summer. We had all kinds of great paddles mapped out for this spring/summer but first the low water levels kept us off the river. We waited and waited for the spring rains and we all know how that turned out.

Next was our big move. Lex and I sold our house!!! With only 6 weeks to find a new place to live and pack up our house, finding time for a canoe trip was impossible.  Our frustration level was growing we needed some river time.

The last stumbling block was our youngest son’s move to NYC. Getting him settled in NYC was a bit more complicated then I thought it would be. But we are back on track now: we have had some rain, we moved (the canoe even fits in our 1 car garage) and hopefully my children will not need me for a while.

Even with the cool weather we are planning a trip for tomorrow; Sept 23, 2012. This will be on the Duck River starting at Milltown Rd. (below Lillard Mill Dam) and we will take out at Hardisons Mill. If any paddles would like to join us you are more than welcome. Our estimated time to get on the river is about 10:30am and we are packing a lunch. I can be reach at 615-708-0657 if you have any questions.

See you on the river!!!