Welcome aboard, kfoo....

I think we've covered this topic pretty well in this forum. Check the top half of the first page (this one for sure, original author unknown ;) http://flyfishingarkansasandmissouri.yuku.com/topic/3686 ) I think if you check the first couple of threads on here you'll get a pretty good idea of what's going on over at Beaver.

Your definition of "safe and easy to navigate" is really the only wild card. If you're 8 feet tall and built like a tree, I bet you could wade all the way across right now.

jb