Kayak Camping and Thru-Paddle on the Little Miami River Ohio, Ep. 2, with a Surprise Guest!

Overnight kayak camping with hammocks with some great campfire cooking on the Little Miami River part 2. I picked up right where I left off at Glen Thompson State Reserve, aka Jacob's Landing, aka Eagle Pass Canoe Launch at US Rt. 35. Part two covers approximately 30 river miles to Mathers Mill ODNR Public Access. A surprise guest joins me at camp and for day 2 of this trip. Half of my thru-paddle is now complete. Two more nights and three more days will take place in part three to finish the river.
Part 3 of 3 of my Little Miami River thru-paddle to the Ohio River will be posted here when complete.
You can find part 1 here:
• Little Miami River Ohi...
Part 3: • FLASH FLOOD on the Lit...
The Scioto River with David and Donny in 2020:
• Kayak Camping Adventur...
0:00-3:49 launch from Glen Thompson State Reserve and introduction
3:49-4:59 log jam crossing
4:59-6:51 a look at the river and why I like kayak camping
6:51-7:26 current discharge rate and water depth at Oldtown facility
7:26-8:56 likes and dislikes of kayaking in Ohio
8:56-9:44 fun, fast water
9:44-10:40 odd smell on the river
10:40-13:54 calm, peaceful section, boring section and some rope swing sitings
13:54-16:51 surprise guest arrival
16:51-17:39 arrive at camp, constution park
17:39-21:17 cooking over the fire and two dinner surprises
21:17-27:43 day 2 begins, breakfast over the fire
27:43-30:20 back on the water and a little rain
30:20-31:26 how are we going to get back to our truck
31:26-35:21 low head dam portage near Caesar Creek
35:21-36:10 tents or hammocks on the Little Miami?
36:10-37:06 some slow water and some fast water
37:06-38:13 sketchy debris field to navigate
38:13-40:08 cool covered bridge and some other odd sitings
40:08-41:01 Little River Bar and Grill
41:08-42:38 final river miles and closing comments

[@HanzgohFilms]

Hey Jason- enjoying your video again this week. I am planning my next trip with some guys for kayak camping. How is accommodating is the Little Miami with 5 guys with hammocks (or possibly tents if needed)

[@mindandrelaxation]

So cool, so nice. Great work.Thank you so much for the video.

[@jasonwish-]

Your welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@timneely946]

Jason, Many thanks for your travelogue along the Little Miami. My great great grandfather was born along Caesar Creek in Xenia in 1827. His father was born in Fayette, KY in 1791. I believe the family migrated north along the Little Miami to reach Xenia and would dearly love to explore their route. My wife retires in January (finally catching up with me 😊). We are new to kayaking and looking for adventure. Tim

[@jasonwish-]

Sounds like a very interesting family history! I wish you safe travels and adventures!

[@JourneyontheTrail]

Great video bud! Definitely your normal Ohio river with car noise, very slow sections with your occasional small class 1, and muddy smelly water lol. Awesome you and Dave were able you meet up. Thanks for sharing!

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks AJ! I had higher expectations for this river but I’m definitely spoiled from Michigan and Pennsylvania rivers and from the Mad River in Ohio 😁

[@JourneyontheTrail]

@@jasonwish- I agree…we’re spoiled by Virginia rivers…I have a hard time even getting my wife to paddle in Ohio lol.

[@jasonwish-]

I sure see a lot of post of people talking about Grayson lake have you been there?

[@JourneyontheTrail]

@@jasonwish- haven’t been there yet. Did go to Summersville Lake in WV a month or so ago. I usually prefer rivers but it was one awesome lake.

[@joelcarminati7822]

Great eps 1 and 2. I thought sure that was going to be the colonel paddling up the creek. You got us on that😂😂 looking forward to the 3 eps. Must be the colonel is resting up for the big one in sept, lol

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Joel. We will see, been tough to get anything planned this year.

[@mowerparts3824]

Awesome! Thanks for teaching about constitution park. Went down the Ausable last week. Going back up this week. Your always welcome.

[@jasonwish-]

I sure missed all the amazing camping options along the Ausable, I will defintely be back up in Michigan again soon. Thanks!

[@fje00]

This was great! I start the bike path there at Spring Valley Station near Constitution Park and head south, so it was interesting to see the bridges from the water view! I sometimes turn around right there at the LR Bar and Grill! Hoping to do some kayaking next year when I will have some more free time.

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Frank! I’ve hiked that entire bike path from Belfountaine to Caesar Creek as part of a training hike last year, very nice path. Really enjoyed the LR bar and grill for sure! Hopefully you’ll get a chance to get out in the water and do some kayaking, great way to relax and be in nature.

[@CLTHIKER]

That is my gripe about hiking and backpacking in Ohio. Some very pretty areas but always some sort of car noise. Cool adventure nonetheless Jason!

[@jasonwish-]

It can be hard to escape sometimes. Love your channel name by the way, do you live near Salt Fork State Park area, home of the grassman or are you a turf guy?

[@CLTHIKER]

@@jasonwish- haha someone understands that name. I live closer to Akron but my name is because of “squatchin” in Salt Fork.

[@fredzehring3223]

Constitution Park is my nearest launch point on the LMR. It is about 1.5 mi from home. Great little restaurant in nearby Spring Valley called Slims. It is an easy walk from the park.

[@markogletree2790]

Never kayaked in Ohio we're from south west Michigan my wife and I kayak the mighty Manistee River a couple times a year. Great video!

[@jasonwish-]

I've been on the Big Manistee several times and really want to thru-paddle the entire river but just not sure I can find that much time. I have a growing list of MI rivers so I'm sure I will be back up there soon. Thanks!

[@mackjenkins7721]

This was a good video man. I love watching your video cuz you show how much fun kayaking is. Me & my family ( wife , 6 boys , granddaughter , daughter-in-law , & my newborn grandson as soon as he get bigger ) we all love kayaking. We have been doing 20 , 27 , 30 miles kayak camping trip all Summer Long. I like your Crocs man i hear they are really comfortable to wear for kayaking. I try to get me a pair but my foot is very very extremely wide at 6 1/2 inches wide & my foot won't fit in the crocs because of my toes being wider than the crocs. It really sucks for me having a extremely wide foot. Jason you should make a pulling rope and attach it to the front of your kayak for portaging around things. It's very cheap to make only around $5. All you need is to carabinas and 550 cord from Wal-Mart in the camp area in Walmart. I made 10 of them for my whole entire family and they work very well. I just clip the rope around my waist and start walking and pull my kayak. It's a lot easier on your back. That video Jason thank you for sharing.

[@jasonwish-]

Man you got wide feet Mack! Oh I know I could throw a rope together but I’ve never really had a need for one until this last trip and some of the stuff I was portaging around I don’t think the rope would have helped much I needed to have close contact with my kayak to maneuver around rocks and trees but I’m sure it would be very helpful in some situations. Thanks for watching and commenting I really appreciate it!

[@mackjenkins7721]

@@jasonwish- yes i can definitely agree with you that i got some very extremely wide feet. It's funny that i get asked every day about how wide is my foot & how fat are my toes are & how did i get my toes to be evenly straight across which is making my foot very extremely wide. Everybody say to me they never seen a foot that wide & Toes that fat and evenly straight across like that before & it look funny because both of my lil toes hanging off the Footbed of my flip flops because of how wide my toes are. 6 1/2 inches wide is definitely extremely wide. I get teased all the time I'm am " BIGFOOT " son. I can definitely agree with you sometimes you need to be right there at the boat for portaging around. You are welcome buddy and thank you so much for replying back it's good to chat with you man.

[@philsorensen2697]

Left there at the beginning was the right call! If you go right, that's where the hundreds of yards of log jam used to be. It's mostly cleaned out now, but the river still doesn't really flow that side anymore. I've camped Constitution Park before, but the traffic noise made it really hard to sleep. If you walk up the street that dead ends into 725 right by Constitution Park about a quarter mile, there's a really nice little ice cream shop there called Hensley's right next to the bike path there. I've been wanting to paddle to the Little River Bar and Grille eventually, so thanks for scoping that out. Did you end up finding a more official access to the street to get to that restaurant, or was that dirt path the best bet?

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Phil! If it wouldn’t have been getting dark on us at constitution Park we probably would’ve went and checked out what was going on at that festival. And yes it was very loud at times with traffic. As far as taking out for the little river bar and grill, we did not see another place but there may have been something there we could have just missed it because when we were leaving we did see a little trail going down to the river near the parking lot of the restaurant, however, the place that we got out had a nice gravel sand bar and a dirt path and it worked just fine.

[@kathydomokos8837]

Jason, I have been a sub of yours for a few years…mostly I watch paddle vids. Along with a couple friends we would like to kayak camp a river this May. Planning on 4 or 5 nights. Is there one of your rivers you would recommend over another? I know it may not be a fair question. You met my partners at a funeral a few months ago. We all knew Dave a Pat. If we have to go further south to say Kentucky or Tennessee, we will…thought maybe we might want to practice here, first. Thanks for all your work…on water and hiking…FKT…YUP!

[@jasonwish-]

Hi Kathy, their son Mark was our worship pastor for over a decade and a good friend of mine. Ohio rivers are tough because of limited camping options. I would not recommend the kokosing because of this. I would suggest trying the Mad River or the Little Miami. There are a few legal camping options along both and numerous “stealth” camping locations that can easily accommodate several campers. Some are on City/county/state owned property and some are just sandbars or islands that would be private property that obviously others have camped on in the past. I don’t condone this but sometimes it’s the only option available depending on where you started or what time of the day you start. I can give some more specifics on these rivers on an email if you like. [e-mail]. I have absolutely no experience in Kentucky or Tennessee but I do know that the Buffalo River in TN is very popular and beautiful and the Green River in KY is also with many established campsites. The Green River is a wide slow lazy river fyi. Hope this was helpful. Michigan is my favorite state to kayak camp in btw.

[@kathydomokos8837]

@@jasonwish- Thanks, Jason, I believe I will put your email in my contacts and share with David…who you met before. I know he would love to do a paddle together. Might be a good idea to do a first trial on the Mad before a multi day trip in the Elk. We will be in touch. Thank you again so much.

[@stephentompkins8516]

Hey Jason, just wanna say man I love your kayak camping videos, huge fan. I've just came across your channel not long ago and since then I have been watching a new adventure everyday on my breaks at work. Love what you do and the content you put out, it's all great, exciting, and has now inspired me to start taking my own kayak camping adventures, I've already started planning one here in Illinois down the Mackinaw River which is a 130 mile run that also passes just outside my hometown. Keep the videos coming man!!

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks so much for the kind words Steven! it’s very rewarding to hear comments like this and to know that I may have played a small part in inspiring a person to get outside and be active and enjoy creation. Hope your kayak trip goes well!

[@stephentompkins8516]

Of course man and thank you! I've picked up a few things from your videos I'm gonna try myself. And if your ever in Illinois try some rivers around here, they're a good time. Looking forward to more content! Stay safe

[@willieoakley2336]

I love this video and the last one keep making them you make my day watching your videos God bless you and your family and friends 👍

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Willie, glad you enjoyed them! I wish I had more time to be able to put one our every week but life gets in the way a little 😁

[@Maxspeed1998]

Great video Jason, looking forward to seeing part 3. You always do a great job on these and it's because of you I kayak camped the Al Sable and Manistee rivers last year along with a few rivers near Fort Wayne, IN. May slip over to do a few Ohio rivers after seeing some that you have done. Keep it up!

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Tom! I miss those beautiful Michigan Rivers so much, can’t wait to get back up there and hit another one, the Platte River came highly recommended but haven’t done any research on it yet. The Mad River is definitely worth checking out here in Ohio, spring fed with gravel bottom always very clear and cool and you can basically float the whole thing and just steer because it moves at a pretty good pace. Hope to be back on the little Miami and get her finished up over Labor Day weekend.

[@trailwalker19]

saw the first one so I was glad to see this segment today... pretty cool

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks Teri, glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@cgriggsiv]

What's up Jason I really thought that the colonel would have been there with you you surprised me good for you and what was also surprising is that when you took out it's about where you took out at there was quite a few people behind you guys well it seems your first night is doing pretty good kayaking Little Miami River and part two going good

[@jasonwish-]

Yeah, some people were just leaving the river while we were setting up camp and cooking dinner. Every river I'v done with Hollywood has had a smell to it or slow murky water, I need to get him up to Michigan!

[@cabinvibesebaystore8956]

New sub ! Liked 😉😊😃🙌

[@HanzgohFilms]

You just answered my question at 35 min... room for multiple tents?

[@jasonwish-]

Minute 17-27 is where I would stay, at Constitution Park. I don't see anywhere to camp at min 35?? Thats the lowhead dam. Happy to help anyway I can.

[@HanzgohFilms]

@@jasonwish- around that minute mark you said you’d suggest tents over hammocks on Little Miami

[@jasonwish-]

@@HanzgohFilms this time of year I would more confident in finding hammock trees since you can more easily get into the woods along the river banks. In the summer i would only tent camp so you could take advantage of sand bars and not have to fight weeds, poisen ivy and spider webs. At Constitution Park there was only trees for one hammock btw, but plenty of tent space.

[@gregspicks125]

many thanks to Little Miami Conservancy for rescuing this river.

[@jasonwish-]

I’d be interested in learning more about this, I didn’t know it was rescued.

[@Smokeybeesnatural]

It must have killing you not to swing! I love a bit of rain while on the river. I don't even bother with a rain jacket since I'm already wet!

[@jasonwish-]

Not really, maybe I've finally outgrown my obsession with rope swings because i haven't done one in over a year! 🤣 I hate getting rained on while on the river, I always want dry, sunny conditions, but it is peaceful to see the rain.

[@talldude5841]

Very well done Jason. Will be looking forward to your future vids. Hey, if you ever need a ride from Mohican river, its in my back yard. I have a full size pickup with a crew cab. Just let me know. It was good seeing Hollywood again. Take care, and keep going.

[@jasonwish-]

Thanks! How far from the Kokosing River are you? It flows into the Mohican at Walhonding, I've been wanting to do that one really bad but water levels are too low currently.

[@berniebroering7438]

Video and trek well done again Jason. Closing in on my area although I'm near Saylor park. Ohio has some beautiful places but I have to agree with you about some of the polluted smells in some sections. It seems to be getting better as a whole, but it does get stronger after a heavy rain. Cheers!

[@jasonwish-]

Yeah, I tend to enjoy Michigan and PA rivers much more but sometimes ya just got to stay close to home. Thanks Bernie!

[@berniebroering7438]

@@jasonwish- That's why I am looking at the River to River trail...

[@adamfurnish8481]

This is great! I’m doing a short 6 mile trip through the Milford section of the river tomorrow

[@jasonwish-]

Hope you have a great paddle! Unseasonably cool this week.

[@stevenhunter1963]

No ice cold beer?

[@jasonwish-]

I did enjoy one at the Little River Bar and Grill...an ice cold hazy ipa!

[@gam3rkid954]

Well, how’d ya all get back to the truck?

[@jasonwish-]

We ended up using the Uber... I forgot to film it.

[@jasonwish-]

It was a rusian dude in a cadilac escalade...David hopped in and down the road he went...I wondered if I would ever see him again 😂

[@davidt.3673]

You didn't tell anybody about the Russian and the Cadillac Escalade

[@jasonwish-]

I was soooo glad to see you pull in at Mathers Mill...especially after you told me that your truck battery was dead...you got me good!

[@davidt.3673]

@@jasonwish- ha ha

[@cgriggsiv]

First 🥇

[@MysticalDragon73]

not wearing a pfd? not even watching the rest of the nonsense.

[@jasonwish-]

I store it in the nose in my kayak and wear it in deep fast water.

[@MysticalDragon73]

@@jasonwish- Because only idiots dont wear pfd's. You are setting a bad example with this nonsense vid. I had a guy too tough to wear a pfd. We were doing the licking late summer so shallow most of the time. He swam going through a ripple and then struggled against the water and was forced into a strainer. He was amazed at how much he struggled. After we retrieved his boat half a mile downstream, he put his pfd on and wore it the rest of the time. Your complacency is absurd and you are just looking for trouble. you wont be able to retrieve it when you need it.