FLASH FLOOD on the Little Miami River \ Kayak Camping and thru-paddle Adventure, Ep. 3, the Finale!

The Finale! Mathers Mill ODNR public access to the Ohio River. In this 3rd and final episode I nearly lost it all during a flash flood as water levels rose nearly 8 ft overnight while I slept. It made for some exciting but at times dangerous paddling during my final 28 miles. At the Milford guage water levels reached 15 ft. and 18,000 cfs and just the day prior it was only at 6.5 ft and 950 cfs!

Overall it was a great adventure and so glad I was able to experience this river during a flood. Also, I finally found me a rope swing that was worth doing and stopped at a great site to set up a day camp to dry out some gear and cook some amazing food over the fire before getting overrun by 8 people doing some fishing right in my camp.

You can find part 1 here - John Bryan State Park to Glen Thompson Reserve:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaGKz74g_dQ&t=620s

You can find part 2 here - Glen Thompson Reserve to Mathers Mill ODNR Public Access:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtSb0DGnAZE

Part 3 was from Mathers Mill ODNR Public Access to the Ohio River. I used Four Season's Fuel Dock/Marina as my takeout location.

Location of my campsite on this episode:
39.331889, -84.253032
https://goo.gl/maps/NCVQsSjMT9VEs1r46

Location of my day camp on day two:
39.114078, -84.400164
https://goo.gl/maps/cDQSZmR7s6AhApHb9

The map I used for this trip:
https://ohiodnr.gov/static/documents/parks/streammaps/LittleMiamiScenicRiver.pdf

My excel spreadsheet of restaurants, breweries and possible camp options:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dYipt5OlMA4eFSDz-r4HMcRD1LKc1O9w/view?usp=sharing

0:00-1:31 intro
1:31-3:17 arrival to take out location and uber ride to beginning
3:17-4:57 finally back on the water
4:57-5:45 my spreadsheet of restaurants, breweries and potential campsites
5:45-7:55 the I-71 bridge and discussion of current water discharge rates
7:55-9:52 sites and sounds of the river
9:52-11:34 rope swing
11:34-14:37 some fast and slow water sections and advice about Cartridge Brewing
14:37-17:05 arrival at campsite and Kings Island noise and fireworks
17:05-21:44 waking up to flash flood and considering quitting
21:44-28:43 paddling in the flooded river
28:43-33:33 setting up a day camp and starting a fire
33:33-35:47 cooking fajitas over the fire with homegrown produce
35:47-38:14 finishing the final 4 miles to the Ohio River
38:14-41:20 paddling on the Ohio to my take out
41:20-42:20 conclusion and closing comments