|
|
Article: BEST DAMN WEEKEND EVER
- Article from:
- Backpacker
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Active Interest Media Nov 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Paddle Nebraska's Niobrara River
ON HOT SUMMER WEEKENDS, as many as 2,000 tubers bob down north-central Nebraska's Niobrara River. From Berry Bridge to Rocky Ford, near Valentine, it's a Great Plains version of a spring-break flotilla at Lake Havasu. But any other time of the year, you'll find its cool, spring-fed waters empty and idyllic. Fall is prime time, thanks to mild daily highs and no bugs. On a 46mile, two-day paddle from Cornelle Bridge to Meadville Bridge, you'll have the swift current and conifer-covered bluffs all to yourself, save for a few buffalo and elk.
The Niobrara runs east-west through the prairies in an ecological transition zone rich with crossover species. Ponderosa ...