Trip Report: Ouachita Trail, Section 6

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When the Holidays roll around, so do out-of state friends. So the crew was back together and we wanted something different. The Ouachita National Recreation Trail(OT) is in our home state of Arkansas. This was to be my first trip on it. The trail runs 223 miles from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock, Arkansas. Unlike the Ozark Highlands Trail, it is actually protected from clear cuts in the National Forests by law. I'm sure that many of you think of the National Forests as parks. What they really are is publicly owned resource management areas. Timbering, oil and gas exploration, etc. are the real purpose. It just so happens that they are still open to recreational use. This suits me perfectly. No permits needed for backcountry access. This is where they beat the National Park System.
     Anyway, we chose this 17.1 mile section for a reason. It is one of the shortest sections, has less up/down, multiple shelters, and was equidistantly located from our relative homes. We required an easier hike since we were breaking in a new hiker. My buddy has this girl, ya know? He told me it was important(to him) for her to enjoy the trip. Maybe he has long range plans with this one. So we all agreed on a simple trek with old friends. Six hikers in all.
     We planned to meet Will at the trailhead along Hiway 298 before 5:00 P.M. and drop one vehicle there, another several miles back up for the trail for an early exit option for our new compatriot. Then dropping the third at the trailhead on Hiway 27(mile 121.7). This got us off the pavement by around 6:00 P.M., or dark-thirty. We only needed a one mile uphill night-hike to get us to the James Archer Shelter(mile 122.6).
     With so many hikers all alighting from one pickup truck, it took a while to get our packs loaded up. You know how it goes. People digging out headlamps, gaiters and trekking poles. Stowing phones and filling extra water bottles(no water source until the next morning). Even loading up borrowed gear. THIS is why I don't recommend night starts with large groups.
     There was a bright moon out so I brought up the rear and never even used my headlamp. I'm very comfortable and have good trail eyes anyway. I had to laugh when Sara(our newbie) was actually trying to avoid stepping in a bit of (shallow)mud. I'm not picking on her, just noting that what we think is normal is odd to others. We arrived at the shelter and claimed our spots. It was a beautiful shelter. Nicer than any we saw in North Carolina last spring on the AT.
     Will, Scopa, and I gathered up wood and got a fire going while Turtle entertained the ladies. He's good at it. By the time we got settled in, Sara was huddling in her bag to stay warm. It was probably about 40 degrees F. It just goes to show that although jeans and a sweatshirt will work, they aren't ideal. She was game to come out when the fire got cranked up a bit. We ate and told stories until about 10:00 P.M.
     Shelter floors are much harder than the ground in my experience. I MUST remember to bring an inflatable mattress next time I plan on sleeping on hard wood.  It dropped down to about freezing that night and I was just a tad chilly. But only enough for one potty-break in the night. We all slept in until nearly 8:00 A.M. I guess we were waiting for the Sun to wake us up. It stays dark much longer in a northward facing roofed shelter.
     Scopa and Turtle boiled water for us while the rest of us broke camp. Now that it was daylight, you could tell that the trail follows a ridge for most of it's length. This also differentiates it from trails in the Ozarks. Up there, the old mountaineers all ,"so used to running up mountains, down valleys, when they get to flatlands, one leg is too long." All day long, our elevation would stay between 900-1450 ft.
     We came to one of only 2 good watering spots for our entire hike within the first mile. I didn't see a name for it on our map. It was an 10 inch deep, smooth running brook that we crossed foot dry by finding a log. Most data sources I found say that it dries up in the summer months. But the Ouachitas had plenty of rain in December.  The trail crosses a forest road after 1.5 miles from the shelter, then it begins a long, snake-like path upwards for about 500+ ft. within the next 1.5 miles. This is the toughest part of this section.
     I brought up the rear until I couldn't stand it any longer. I don't mind hiking at the pace of slower hikers until it uses energy just to slow down my steps. So I settled into a rhythm of hiking until my followers were nearly out of sight, then slowing down on the easier portions of the climb. Will and the Scopas seemed to be doing the same with me. This is where I really started to take notice of my surroundings. The trail had far less rocks in it than we see in the Ozarks, with lots of pine needles padding our feet. I love a pine forest for hiking through. There was just enough hardwoods that the view opened up nicely to the North. You just can't beat a mountain view after leaf-off.
     We stopped for lunch after about 4.5 miles of hiking, on Sandlick Mountain. Our mileage was a bit disappointing, but we started late and  had already finished the toughest part of the weekend's hike. I knew then that Turtle and Sara would be using the early cut-out where we parked his truck. But it didn't matter to any of us. We had lots of time to talk while we breaked. Sara was a trooper. The weather was in the 50's, so there was a lot of de-layering going on all day. Then re-layering for our longer breaks.
     After eating our Ramen and GORP respectively, we proceeded down the mountain for another mile or so. There we found Irons Fork Creek, which runs all year long. This is the ONLY sure water spot on this section of the trail. It is wide and deep, but has a concrete low-water bridge on it. We were able to cross feet-dry because there was only a trickle going over the top of it. We all camel'd up and refilled all of our water bottles here. All of us guys were carrying 4 liters of water from that point on. According to everything I had read, there might not be any more water available. There wasn't between there and the next shelter, at Big Branch.
     But we didn't even make it that far anyway. The climb out of the Irons Fork basin seemed to tucker out poor Sara. She probably only weighs 110 soaking wet anyway. Scopa(trail named "Burro") carried her pack up that hill, and we found a mountain top campsite about 100 yards South of the trail. There was lots of rocks to be moved before we could set up our 4 tents. But there was a remnant of an old fire ring, so we settled in nicely. It was way before dark, so gathering wood was very easy. I started a fire while Turtle started to make dinner and Will gathered wood. These guys really like their campfires.
     We looked at the map and planned our next day. Turtle and Sara decided to just hike to their truck at the North crossing of CR 78, while the rest of us pushed on to Will's car at the trailhead. We would be going 4 miles further than them so decided on an early start. We ate dinner before dark and Turtle and Sara sacked out while the sun was still up. It wasn't even cold! I guess we wore them out. The rest of us sat around the fire drying our moist socks and warming our bare feet for hours. We turned in before 9:00 ourselves. They don't call 9 O'clock "backpackers' midnight" for nothing.
     It got a lot colder that night. I got hot enough to sweat in my bag within 20 minutes, then shivered the rest of the night. I think I was too well hydrated if you know what I mean. I finally gave up on sleep at about a quarter to 6. I woke up the other guys and we lit out before sunup with our lamps blazing. We didn't need them by the time we stopped to de-layer. It was smooth sailing down the trail. Breakfast en route. There was only a little up-hill left before basically downhill to the end. We passed their truck by 8:00 A.M. and made a bet amongst ourselves whether they had even got out of their bags yet.
     We slackpacked from there, hustling through the remaining trail(5 miles) by 10:00A.M. It was really a refreshing hike, with our first views southward. I worked up a good sweat, but didn't worry about chilling that close to the end. Scopa carried my ULA CDT pack with our water. He wanted to give it a go since he had never worn a frameless pack before. I think he didn't care for the lack of air flow on his back. Will shuttled me back to my truck and we all returned to Turtle's truck about 5 minutes before our wayward friends arrived. Perfect timing. We all ate a big, greasy meal at this little country store in Story, AR. FYI, that store actually does some shuttling. Will has the number, so maybe he will leave it in the comments.
     We all had a great time on a relaxing trip. It reminded me that we don't have to challenge ourselves every time out. Just being out there is good enough. Save the challenges for times when you need the extra miles to make a trip even possible. Savor the companionship of allowing new hikers to join your party. Relish the teaching moments with the newbies. Just imagine the day when they might be teaching the next generation of outdoorsmen.

Guidebook Used: Ouachita Trail Guide by Tim Ernst

New Year's Trip to the Buffalo River

My brother "Will" came up for New Years for a fun weekend. We joined our big brother at a borrowed cabin at the lake for a fun family event. The cabin was gorgeous, had a million square feet of decks, and was completely stifling because my nieces insisted on a fire on a 65 degree day. I'm not kidding you. It was nearly 80 degrees in there at bedtime. Will and I elected to sleep on the deck even though it was gusting 30+ m.p.h. winds. It stayed above 40F all night. Glorious.
    We had decided on driving to Steel Creek on the Buffalo National River on New Year's morn. So we shuttled my truck to Kyle's Landing and doubled back. On the trail by 11:00 A.M. or so. Our plan was the Buffalo River Trail(BRT) to the Slatey Place before turning off down to Horsehoe Bend, where there is a barn we could sleep in if we wanted beside the river. The next morning, hike back up the mountain to rejoin the BRT and finish out at Kyles Landing.
     Both of us have hiked nearly every foot of trail in the Buffalo River valley upstream of Erbie. We spent many summers working at Camp Orr Adventure Base staff. Nine for me and I think six for him. We know and love the area. I hadn't been in this area for two years. For him it was more like eight I think. It's like our second home.
     The first thing we noticed having changed was the road into Steel Creek. It is now paved all the way to the campgrounds. It must have been the first time I have thanked our government for creating the Gi-normous slush fund that was the "Stimulus Bill". First or second, I have no idea. But needless to say, I doubt I'll complain about them cutting funds to the National Park system. Now I'll complain about how they spend their funding. Enough about that. I may even scratch it later. I don't endeavor to wax politic on this blog. I like talking about wonderful things. The paved road was wonderful. Especially for my brother's BMW.
     The BRT climbs out of Steel Creek campsite at about 1000 ft. elevation. It is a steep wall to the valley for much of the duration of the river. This river is a fantastic float, too. The stuff postcards are made of.  The trail jumps up to 1250 ft. within about a mile before crossing Steel Creek. Steel Creek is a beautiful, shallow and clear running stream that flows into the Buffalo. We crossed it feet-dry by rock jumping. Rock jumping is one of my weak spots as a hiker. I nearly always get an ankle wet somehow. Trekking poles help me balance though.

Steel Creek Campground, Bee Bluff

     We continued back up the next mountain, which is steep in some places. The trail is notoriously rocky around there. But it yielded a splendid view of the river and the campground and Roark Bluff within another mile. I was huffing and puffing by the overlook. We were on the top of Bee Bluff at this point. I stopped for pictures and a breather. Will gets impatient with my camera stops. Oh well, he sure likes when I upload the pics.

Poser.

     We felt a bit of a time squeeze due to our late start. So we kept moving at a pretty good clip, as we still had about 6 miles to go. Due to the leaf-off there were more overlook areas than even marked on the map. All facing some version of North and spotlighting the valley. The next marked overlook was at mile 3 of our journey. This one views downstream to the next bend or upstream to Big Bluff which stands 500 feet tall! It really is impressive, in an area with elevations only ranging from 1000-2600 feet.

     We crossed water again at Beech Creek, which is mostly a rocky ravine, with big drops off below us.  There was a couple hiking the other direction around there. They were looking at a map, but didn't ask us anything as we went through. The day had cooled a bit requiring a jacket for stops. Lunch was late for us, maybe 2:00 P.M. or so. Will made ramen, while I chewed on GORP and a granola bar. I knew it was going to kill my appetite for dinner. The first night of a hike usually does that anyway. I have no explanation for it.

Big Bluff in the background. Posers in the foreground.

     We peaked out at about 1750 ft. near the Slatey Place, which has a murky looking pond and multiple trails to choose from. They are signed if you pay attention. Here we turned off the BRT and headed down to Horseshoe Bend. This is a steep descent of about 800 ft. in 1.5 miles. All I could think about was having to hike back up the next day. I'd never hiked it that direction before, and wasn't looking forward to it. Last time, we elected to wade about 7 river crossings on the Old River Trail (ORT) in order to avoid it.

Lockhead Barn

     Time moves quickly downhill. We hit the ORT in about 20 minutes, taking a right to Lockhead Barn, which is mis-marked on the map. From a distance, it looks exactly the same as it did 20 years ago when I slept in the loft with a group of staff members. Up close, the roof is sagging, as is the loft. It was still sturdy, but slopes a bit much for my liking. We were trying to decide where to set up camp when Will stopped for a cat-hole break. He came back and said,"follow me".  On the other side of the barn there was actually a cabin, without door or window glass. It had a river gravel floor. Our guess is that it was a well house. There was a small concrete slab in one corner with "1973" written in. In the center was a metal piece of pipe, cut off flush with the slab. The chinking was done with concrete as well.
***Edit: (The well house I described was actually a "bath house".)***

     About 100 yards from that cabin were the ruins of another one, much bigger. This one was complete with a large rock chimney and an adjoining cellar with a concrete roof. Our guess is that this one was built in the last 50 years. ***Edit: (This cabin was built in 1968 and burned in 1974.)*** But the stone foundations gave us an idea to it's purpose. Someone actually lived here. This was much too big for an individual. Maybe 20 feet by 40 feet. The chimney had metal inserts for heat dissipation and/or blowers. Behind the chimney about 30 feet a drain pipe led to a low area. And it was surrounded by cedar trees. Heaven.

Lockhead Homestead

     We made a fire against that hearth and did our cooking on a raised slab that appeared to have been the front porch. Then we sat around trying to keep warm. It was below freezing by bedtime. By early morning it was in the low 20's F. Cold. I was very uncomfortable that night in my 32 degree bag with a liner. Heck, in the morning, I refused to stir from my bag until my brother handed me my coffee.

...with coffee in reach...

     While eating breakfast, I talked Will out of hiking out of the valley the way we came in. That way we had only about 4 miles to get to my truck. But, if we took the Old River Trail, we'd get there in 2 miles. The only downside to the ORT is that we'd have 4 river crossings. With COLD water. Like usual, he gave me my way. We decided on 4 feet-wet crossings, with our shoes on. That would get us back to biscuits and gravy by 10:00 A.M.! I know, I'm a weenie. But I have a soft spot for real breakfast.
     Our first crossing was right below the barn, so we were wet immediately. As soon as we crossed I saw a group of 5+ backpackers by the barn. We yelled and waved, but they didn't even acknowledge us. Oh well, we were just juiced by the crotch deep cold water anyway. We set to task right out of the gate. The sights are better by the river anyway. The trail is much sandier, but there was little mud or underbrush this time of year. It's like walking in a huge riverbed. It's almost amazing that there is any vegetation in that valley for all the rocks you see.
     After our third crossing, we came to the Arbaugh House, which is a sturdily built 2-room cabin. It has a roofed front porch and 2 doors side by side. We looked around a bit and beat it out of there. Our feet were cold and our hearts were set on hot food. We encountered a group of three dayhikers at Kyles. They were headed to Indian Creek with what appeared to be an octogenarian clad in coveralls. But they were friendly and let us show them the map.
     It needs to be said that even though this was an in-and-out trip for us, there is plenty of oppportunities for exploring. The Slatey Place was an old homestead. The wellhouse at Lockhead farmsite is only one mile from Hemmed-In-Hollow, where resides the highest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalachians. Indian Creek is only a couple miles back(and off of) the BRT. But those are different trips for me to tell you about another time. But this one was salve for the soul as far as we were concerned. A homecoming of sorts.

Map Used: Trails Illustrated: Buffalo National River West #232

Trip Report: Ozark Highlands Trail, Section 5(19.8 miles)

By Jake Willits

For over 6 weeks I had been planning a weekend-long trip in the woods. It appeared that my hiking partner wouldn’t be able to make it for the hike. Will has been working nights so normal weekend hours really hurt him. I begged him to at least shuttle me so I could get on the OHT. He agreed, so I selected Section 5(Ozone campground eastbound to Big Piney trailhead). 

         To access the trail at Ozone, the easiest way for most is to exit I-40 at Clarksville, then head north on Hwy 21. The Ozone campground is about 2 miles North of the town of Ozone. Or, you can drive South on Hwy 21 from Hwy 16, turning at Fallsville. Will met me in Clarksville and we shuttled his car to our ending point at Big Piney. He decided he couldn’t be kept out of the woods after all. We then drove to Ozone.

        The campground is on the East side of the highway. It has a covered pavilion with picnic tables. Also a vault toilet with a busted door lock. It is maintained by the Forestry Service and there is a small fee to use it. We arrived in the middle of a storm, long after dark. We were planning on sleeping in the back of my pickup under the camper shell. But, since the campground was unoccupied, we decided on open air picnic table sleeping. Off the ground, with a nice breeze and lightning for mood lighting.

        We settled in quickly. Sitting around swatting mosquitoes and talking were all that we did before nodding off. The lightning made it difficult to get to sleep. It was almost bright enough that we could have walked to the toilet without a headlamp. The thunder wasn’t too bad, though. By the way, sleeping in a head net is not comfortable. 

        I awoke about 6:15 to the sound of dogs whimpering for attention. There was a short legged Beagle and a lean Walker Hound sniffing around us. They were friendly, but I shooed them away so that we could begin making breakfast. I worked on starting a fire in my Backcountry Boiler with wet wood. My newest angle is to use a product called “Wetfire”. It is essentially like esbit. With much smoking, I got water boiled for coffee and oatmeal. Will’s pocketrocket beat me by at least 5 minutes. 

        We packed up and were on the trail by 8:20. The heavy rains of the past 2 days were over, leaving behind a steambath. It wasn’t too warm yet, but sticky. The trail doesn’t take off directly from the campsite. Across the highway on the West side, there is trailhead parking about 50 yards North of the campsite. We walked over and hit the trail. We registered so that the OHTA would have our info. The trail then led us immediately back across the road and we meandered around the campsite area. There was a lot of water in the trail and all of the vegetation was weighed down by both internal and external water. You just have to love green if you’re going to enjoy a spring hike in Arkansas.

        From the trailhead(mile 85.5,elev 1800ft) the first 2 miles of or so were a steep descent into the Little Piney Creek valley. Over 700 feet drop. The dogs had decided to follow us and they were treeing squirrels all the way down. I was adjusting to carrying my brand new ULA CDT pack with all of it’s 15 lbs. of heaviness. Yeah, I’m a braggart. There really was a difference. I was carrying 4 lbs. of it on the shoulder straps, so only 11lbs. on my back. Will didn’t weigh his for this trip.

        The sharp descent brought us straight down the mountain for a bit, then we angled down the benches until we came to the creek. It was out of its’ banks in some places and was rushing with a sound that strangely made you have to pee. When we finally came to the crossing, we had a short discussion about how wet we wanted our shoes to be. Since I was wearing gaiters that ended shortly below my knee, I voted for wet shoes. There was no way I wanted to remove my shoes and gaiters more than a half dozen times in one day! It was decided, so we trudged through. It needs to be pointed out that we have had record rainfall in the last month or so. I believe most of these crossings could be done with dry shoes normally.

        After the creek crossing, we stayed in the valley for another mile+, enjoying the sound of rushing water and talking about gear. The trail was both mushy and runny, but there were plenty of solid spots to put your feet(rocks). The rain has engorged the plant life. Everywhere you looked there was lush green. Even running up the trees in vine form. Poison Ivy, that is. I thanked myself again for the last second gaiter purchase. 

        Our path seemed to encounter a lot of old forest roads. Wider than usual by Arkansas standards, with brush growing up on all sides. There was Honeysuckle in good amounts, but other than that not many flowering plants. Hardly any birds even stirred in the calm air. It was overcast, so I kept checking the barometer on my Casio Pathfinder watch. It stayed in the mid 28’s. We didn’t know it then, but we wouldn’t see a drop of rain until the last hour of our hike on Sunday.

        After mile marker 89, we started gaining elevation a bit as the trail turned away from the valley. We came to a sign explaining that the Forest Service had recently executed a controlled burn of over 500 acres. It’s rugged ground, so they used the trail, jeep roads, and a helicopter to light and contain the fire. For the non-locals reading this, let me explain. In order to rid the National Forests of “excess fuel”, they will purposely burn certain areas. I have seen their preparations going on before. They will completely circle the burn area and cut down all the “hangers” around the border to create a neutral zone. Then they will wait until conditions are just right. What it creates is a dead wood free forest floor, with black marks around the bases of living trees. And enriched soil that immediately spawns a plethora of brambles and poison ivy. In this case, the burn must have been in the last year, because none of this was out of hand.

        After leaving this area behind, we crossed Owens Creek(mile 90.9) and began a 400 ft climb in about 1.5 miles. This brought us to the top of Bee Ridge. Then back down again, into the Lick Creek(mi 94) drainage. There is a bit of up-down through this section of the trail, staying within 40 ft elevation. We stopped for lunch at the creek. I enjoyed a MetrX Big Colossus(meal replacement bar), while Will insisted on making himself Ramen. Since there had been no climbs, this is the first time we had even sat down all day. 

        Strangely, the dogs were still with us. Normally I’d have chased them away, but as they were obviously hunting dogs, we weren’t worried about them getting lost. I’d like to say something about hiking with dogs here. If they will lead, then you are safe from snakes. Some dogs will kill snakes for you(my rat terriers), but nearly all dogs will at least alert you! After our lunch and treating water, we only had about 4.5 miles to our camp. Since we had covered 8.3 miles before lunch, we actually discussed turning this into a dayhike. We both wanted to sleep out, so we slowed down a bit and took more pictures. 

        There were so many waterfalls running that I couldn’t even keep track of all of them. Even the pictures kind of run together. The only bad thing was that there was no strong sunlight to bring out the color in the pictures. Oh well, I’ll leave that to Tim Ernst. I saw them in person anyway.

        The next several miles-ish brings another baby climb of about 500 ft. Not horrible in itself, but there is a lot of undergrowth edging in on the trail and plenty of rocks that you have to pick around. What makes it worse is that the footing is kind of beveled off downhill to your right. Walk trail like this enough and you’ll end up with one foot longer than the other. Don’t worry, you can always hike it backwards next time to equalize things a bit.

        There was a forest road to cross at mile 96. The squishy feeling in my feet began to wear on me and the constantly down-sliding gaiters actually made me consider chancing the poison ivy. In short, I was ready to make camp. We still had another 2.4 miles to go, but it was all downhill or level. At first, the trail led us around the mountain on a bench, then we crossed a very wet drainage(ravine) with a nice waterfall above us on the left. Then we proceeded nearly straight down the mountain for a 350 ft. drop. Now we were in the Cedar Creek valley. Our path lay across gentle benches until we came to a sudden switchback and a drop into a gorgeous little box canyon with a fantastic waterfall and 2 creeks flowing into a bigger one. This was a picture stop before rejoining the trail, which now resembled an old jeep road. Within a tenth of a mile, we waded through knee deep Cedar Creek. This one seemed to be running colder than the ones earlier. Well, maybe it was just colder than the warm water in our shoes.

        After emerging with water running out of our shoes, the trail curves to the left through a nice, open area with big trees and very little under brush. It was a carpet of green leaves, but seemingly in flat benches and of uniform size. You could have seen what looked like a thousand tree trunks. After another ⅓ of a mile or so, we came to Cedar pool, and a campsite. There was a family of about 7 here, boiling water for lunch. Since they weren’t camping, we set up our shelters and talked gear and treks with the dad.

        The pool is of nice size. If we hadn’t company, I likely would have bathed here. The water flowing into it runs through a sluice looking little canyon. It was really running. Fast enough that to wade would be dangerous. Will gathered firewood and I talked, because that is what I do!

        After our companions headed back to their car(our dogs followed them), we commenced boiling for an afternoon cup of joe. We’ve both taken a liking to Starbucks Via. He always brings cream and sugar packets. We relaxed while he got a fire going. It was a chore as usual with wet wood, but the Eagle in him prevailed. We ate an early dinner then sat around talking until dark. I brought along a small flask and we let our cares melt away.        

        We awoke again shortly after 6(the beagle was back) and headed out by 7:30 or so. We immediately had to get our feet wet again. There is a small stream that flows into Cedar Creek near the campground. Too wide for jumping. The first mile of the day was undoubtedly the steepest 600 ft climb of the hike. It was a good thing we had a spring in our step. We powered up the hill and crossed another wide country road at the top. After the road, the going was flat for a bit, taking the hiker through some dense foliage. This is the kind of hike where I have to not only watch the ground for ivy and snakes, but also the vines running up the trees. I remember wishing they would burn this area off. We had a discussion about the seemingly tropical climate of Arkansas. As it turns out, our area has three different climate classifications. Most say that we are temperate, but others say we have “continental humid” in winter and “sub-tropical humid” in summer. I agree with the latter two.

        We hit marker 100 right as we started some switchbacks down into the Gee Creek valley. This area gave us the first real view across a valley towards mountain tops. There were plenty of areas to get our feet wet on the way down as water was draining everywhere in sight. There was another good campsite just before the ford. It would have been a good overnight home if we were on a longer hike. After crossing Gee Creek you will stay within earshot of it for the next 1.6 miles until you cross Hwy 123 into the Haw Creek Camping Area(mi 104).

        As you cross the highway, we saw a gate across the paved road headed into the campground. I’m not sure, but I think it was closed because the water was too high over a low water bridge. We crossed on the bridge but it was very slippery. Trekking poles helped here. We followed the road into the campground, stopping only to admire Haw Creek Falls, which would make a fantastic swimming area. We didn’t stop since we were nearly done.

        At the back of the campground the trail takes off uphill again, but it’s not bad. There are some nice rock formations uphill to your right, but we didn’t stop. We could practically taste our post-hike cheeseburgers by now. We flew through the remaining 1.5 miles in about 25 minutes. Though the trail needed some maintenance through here, it was pretty easy going. Before we knew it, we were staring at a bog separating us from Will’s waiting Beemer. Wouldn’t you know it? With all the water we had crossed, this was our first mud, with nowhere to clean our boots afterwards. Such is the way of (my) world. Oh, and our “guardian beagle” slipped out on us. After all that walk?

What we learned:

1. Gaiters beat waterproof pants by a mile.

2. Dogs are wonderful hiking companions.

3. Waterproof maps were invented with Arkansas in mind.

4. Will has good “trailer park cookin’” recipes.

5. Picnic tables were made for sleeping on.

6. Esbit beats Vaselined Cottonballs, hands down.

7. Gaiters need to be at least  knee high for me to avoid poison ivy.

Ozark Highlands Trail Association

Trip Report: Ozark Highlands Trail, Section 3+

Turtle(left), Jake(right)

The power of trees!

     Fellow Legends Patrol member Turtle and I started off by delivering one vehicle to our destination trailhead(Little Mulberry Creek, mile 58) and doubling back to Cherry Bend trailhead on Hwy 23, a.k.a. "The Pig Trail Scenic Byway". We arrived their about 10 minutes before 3P.M., and were on the trail by 3:15. We took some trailhead(mile marker 37) pics, loaded up our packs(Turtle at 37lbs, and me at 23lbs) then just got rolling on the obvious trail just to the right of the bulletin board. It took us down hill fast into the valley. about 30 minutes later we arrived at a dry wash with a nice 30ft drop off. Let me tell you, in the wet season, this would be a spectacular waterfall. We paused here to check the map and GPS. Here is where we noticed that somehow we hadn't even started at the preprogrammed waypoint #11(copied from Eric Strong's page). Not a great start, as we had dropped about 500ft in elevation over the course of about a mile. We decided to bushwhack up the hollow instead of doubling back up a very steep trail(likely causing further erosion). There were some interesting things to see while ascending the mountain up this wash.

Sunrise from Hare Mtn.

    After about an hour trudging uphill through briars and brambles of all sorts, we intersected the trail about 1/2 of a mile past the waypoint, and proceeded to launch ourselves down the trail. Our aspiration was to make camp at Hare Mt. before darkness. As sundown would occur at 6:36 P.M., we might have until about 7 P.M. before needed flashlights. We made good progress, and only stopped for 1 or 2 short(standing) water breaks, and arrived at the top of the aforementioned mountain(mile 42.8) just in time to need flashlights to set up camp. At nearly 2500ft, Hare Mt. is the highest point along the OHT. Elapsed (on trail) mileage to this point is about 5.8 miles, with roughly 500ft. elevation gain. There is an old homestead with a very neat standing stone chimney, and a water well concealed by a 3ft diameter metal lid. There was water there in the morning in good quantity and we poured it through a bandanna to filter the particles. When we went to add our Iodine tablets, we found that I had forgotten to pack them. Instead, I had packed the Potable Aqua Plus neutralizer tabs. A great trip caught it's second hitch. Oh well, we had plenty of stove fuel, and had 1.5L of water left from last night between us, so by 9A.M., we were headed down the mountain towards our destination. We saw some nice views southward across a wide valley.

     Making good time, we reached our next watering hole at Herrod's Creek(mile 47.5). We had dropped almost 1500ft elevation in 6 miles so far today.  It wasn't even noon yet, but since there was cool running water, we decided to eat and boil some drinking water here, so we could cool the water bottles in the creek. We tested the Enertia Trail Foods "Switchback Shells", and "Pinnacle Pasta", and both were very good for cook in pouch meals. While we were waiting for the meals to rehydrate, I set to boiling water in my Jet Boil Flash. I was pouring the boiling water into a Nalgene bottle to cool. Upon adding the second 2 cup batch to the Nalgene, the plastic lid ring had expanded from the heat and when I picked it up by this, the bottle dropped out, bouncing on a rock and splashing all up and down my nearly bare left leg. I tore off the knee brace, sock, and boot and hotfooted it directly into the cool creek. It was very fortunate that  we had decided to do our boiling there, as it may have saved me a lot more grief. We spent the next 25 minutes trying to figure out the best way to utilize the guaze, medical tape, and 1 packet of burn ointment. It amounted to Neosporin on the 2in. sq. of blister that had torn away while removing the knee brace, and just taped gauze on the worst part of the calf. The thigh was left bare, and shorts leg tied up with my bandanna. We were now aiming to finish the remaining 10 miles before dark, so that I could get home to better first aid. 

     The going was fast and furious. We had passed more waterfalls than you can imagine since daylight, but as we are in drought-like conditions, there was no flow worth photographing. Indian Creek(mile 51.1) was the next water hole, but we were fixed up on water already. From Herrod's, we had gained roughly 400ft in elevation, then dropped close to 500ft. After Indian Creek, the going gets a bit more strenuous. Over the next 2.6 miles you will gain over 400ft in elevation before dropping down a bit into Briar Branch(mile 53.7) The trail is a narrow track through some very nice pine forest with good views to the south. My guess is that in leaf off, you can likely see a long way towards the Mulberry River. Briar Branch is an absolutely stunning array of stone waterfalls. The running water here is crystal clear and VERY cool. We sat and had snacks and did another boil here, cooling the water in the creek afterwards. It was very shady, and I don't think this area gets as much sunlight as is common along the other areas of the trail. There is a lot of moss and lichen on the rocks, and it feels about 10 degrees cooler. It is exactly the kind of area you would like to camp in, though there might be a challenge if more than 2-3 tents needed to be set up. It is narrow, and the ground might be a little harder than you would like. This area is part of the Marinoni Scenic Area-Not to be missed! We grudgingly kept onwards toward our goal.

Me flexing the lobster leg near Briar Branch 

     For the next mile plus, you are gaining roughly 300ft in elevation while climbing out of Briar Branch before beginning the final 500ft drop towards Lick Branch(waypoint 17). At mile 55.3 when while you are walking along the edge of a small bluff-ish outcropping, the trail actually takes a sharp right down into the bluff and redirects. This is a nice place to have a sit down break, or lay-around if you are like my friend Turtle.  From here, you will coast out the last mile to Lick Branch. This is the end of Section 3 of the OHT as defined in Tim Ernst's Ozark Highlands Trail Guide, which is without a doubt, the definitive guidebook for the trail. Unfortunately for us, we had decided on a bit more of a hike, since we had an extra day planned. We still lacked 1.7 miles to Little Mulberry Creek. We paused for pictures at the Lick Branch trailhead, where I found another bottle of the Potable Aqua Neutralizing tablets next to the bulletin board. Think perhaps someone else had become frustrated with that product by now as well? The trail from this point on was perhaps 100ft gain in elevation, but was quite a bit more overgrown than we had thus far seen, and was more typical of the trails you might find in the Buffalo National River area. You can't hardly find a spot to place your foot without worrying if you are going to slip or twist an ankle. This section actually made my calves hurt and gave me hot spots inside of my boots. You exit through a corridor of trees and vegetation with fence lines 5-10ft of you on both sides with pastures flanking you. This section has some river cane and such that needs to be cleared out a bit. Perhaps I'll volunteer to do it for the OHTA. We emerged at 6P.M. sharp. We were glad to see the truck, but felt like we had added to our legend a bit. This was an extremely fast paced hike since my lobster leg injury, and we passed the test with flying colors. Roughly 22 miles hiked in under 27 hours, averaging over 2 miles per hour not including camp time or lunch break. All in all, we were in agreement that this is a must hike for anyone considering an OHT hike, and nearly anyone could easily average over 1.25 miles per hour, with the leaner, meaner hikers getting even faster than we did it.