Wakefield Wanderings

With Jana and I both being off for Thanksgiving, we wanted to try to get in a few nights of backpacking during the week. Due to other plans, the Ozark Highlands Trail was close enough to fit the bill. We have hiked part of the trail, but had not been on the OHT since the new section starting at the new Lake Fort Smith State Park was opened. We decided to hike sections 1 and 2 of the OHT for our 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip.

As with many longer trails, if you are not backtracking or hiking a loop, then some sort of shuttle or extra vehicle is necessary to return to the starting point. We did not want to backtrack or drive two vehicles, so we researched our shuttle options. I contacted both Paula White at White Rock Mountain and the Turner Bend store. Paula was available, so we had her reserve a slot to shuttle us on Saturday, November 21, 2009. Her shuttle pricing is one dollar per mile driven. We also called Paula the day before to make sure that all was in order for the next day.

We left our vehicle at the Cherry Bend parking area on Highway 23 just north of Cass, Arkansas. Coming from I-40, the Turner Bend store was on our way to the parking area, so we stopped and had a couple of wonderful home made sandwiches there Saturday about noon. The Turner Bend store has been open for many years, and only closes on Christmas. We highly recommend a stop there when traveling Highway 23. Paula met us at the Cherry Bend parking area and shuttled us back to the Lake Fort Smith State Park visitor center. The Ozark Highlands Trail starts behind the visitor center, and it was well marked with a sign next to the visitor center. We had a nice visit with Paula during the drive of more than an hour. She has been running the White Rock Mountain area for 19 years now. On several occasions, she has been iced in or lost power up there for weeks at a time!

We started hiking about 2:30 PM, hoping to get well past the north end of the lake by dark. The weather was overcast, but around 60 F, so it turned out to be wonderful hiking weather for the afternoon. The original start of the trail was at the old Lake Fort Smith State Park site, so not a lot of information was available about this new route. The trail runs north along the lake to the north end of the lake, where it crosses Frog Bayou. Since it is not very far from the lake, the elevation change is minimal for these first several miles. We passed two old rock chimneys fro

m old homesteads within the first two miles of the beginning. We passed a couple of day hikers on this stretch, and almost thought that their large black dog was a bear when we first saw it from a distance! The crossing at Frog Bayou (about 2.5 miles in) was wide, but not too deep. The water was quite cold – somewhat expected for late November. This would be a difficult or impossible crossing if the water was very high. The trail then turns south and follows the lake shore again, but not as close this time. Before long, the trail turned back east and left the lake. We did enjoy seeing a beautiful sky and sunset as we hiked into the Jack Creek drainage.

There were not any mileposts after mile 3, so it was hard to know exactly how far we had gone. We hiked until just after dark, hoping to find a good camping location. We boiled water on the alcohol stove for our dehydrated meal, and then setup the tent while the meal cooked.

Once inside the tent, we made notes about the day and looked at the maps and trail guide again. We were using the OHT Guide edition #5 by Tim Ernst. This guide is a must have for anyone hiking the trail. Both Tim’s guide and a few other things I found indicated that the new start of the trail was about a mile shorter than the original trail start. Based on the guide, our topographical map, and looking at the terrain around us, we estimated that we made it to about milepost 7.5 – or about 6.5 miles of hiking. Once back at home, the GPS track we took showed 6.43 miles of hiking this first day in about 3 hours – not a bad pace. Since it was dark so early, we turned in about 8 PM to try to go to sleep.

It was not hard to wake up early the next morning, having gone to bed so early the night before. It had gotten down to 39 F last night, but we stayed pretty warm under the Jacks R Better down quilt. We had also purchased two ¼” insulating pads from Gossamer Gear that we used under the Therm-A-Rest Neo Air pads to insulate us from the cold ground. We started to pack up about 6 AM, while it was still dark. I boiled some water for hot chocolate, while Jana packed up what she could in the tent. There was some condensation on the inside and outside of the tent, so I shook the water off as much as possible and stuffed it into the stuff sack for travelling. We finally got back on the trail at 6:50 AM, and it was getting fairly light. The clouds lifted during the night, and it was now clear this morning. Our plan was to hike nearly 17 miles to camp at Spirits Creek for the second night. We were not sure we could cover that distance with the short amount of daylight we have in November.

Soon after starting, we passed milepost 8, indicating that we had camped near milepost 7.8 the night before. So, it appears the new trail start is a little more than a mile shorter than the original route. All future milepost references will be relative to the trail markers, not our actual distance travelled, which will be slightly shorter. We were able to cross Jack Creek dry by rock hopping at milepost 9.4. We met a father and two sons who had camped there the night before. There were a few nice tent spots near the creek. From Jack Creek, the trail climbs about 500 feet in the next mile or so to cross FR 1007 near Dockerys Gap. There is a small parking area here if needed to access the trail. The trail immediately drops off the ridge again, losing the 500 feet over the next mile or less to reach Hurricane Creek. We met two other backpackers at Hurricane Creek that had camped there the night before after hiking down from White Rock Mountain. We managed to cross dry here as well on some rocks, and we started the 1000 foot climb over the next 2 miles on our way to White Rock Mountain. We definitely had to slow our pace for this climb, as many short sections were quite steep. Once we had reached an elevation near 2200 feet, the trail continued to have short up and down sections as it worked its way around the south side of White Rock Mountain. We stopped at milepost 17 for lunch that day. We could see the bluffs, still high above us, through the trees that had lost their leaves. Although the leaves were gone, and there was not much fall color, the leaf off did provide nice views out across many valleys and hillsides.

After lunch, we continued down the trail, encountering a Boy Scout group of about six people near milepost 18. They had stopped for lunch, so we talked to them briefly. They were here from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The day had warmed up nicely, and it was 60 to 65 F and sunny for much of the afternoon. We did not need to actually hike up the spur trail to the White Rock Mountain campground, so we continued on the OHT at the spur trail and headed downhill toward Salt Fork Creek. We are now on section 2 of the OHT, as described in Tim Ernst’s guide. The trail descends about 1200 feet over less than 2 miles to the crossing at Salt Fork Creek.

This was a wet crossing, so we removed our socks and insoles to keep them dry. We refilled water, which had been exhausted by now, and started up toward Potato Knob Mountain. This is a climb of about 1100 feet in 2 miles to the crossing of FR 1510. After a break here at the top, we started our descent back down toward Spirits Creek. It was on this section of trail about 18 months ago that we saw a black bear cub in a tree and heard the mother in the bushes below!

We did not see any bears, or other large wildlife for that matter, on this trip. In fact, with so many leaves on the ground, I am sure that animals could hear us from a mile away. It was also deer gun season in Arkansas, so we wore blaze orange while hiking, just to be safe.

The trail down to Spirits Creek was not too difficult, and we arrived at the creek crossing at milepost 24.6 at 4:45 PM – so it was still light this time! We found an established campsite not far from the crossing with a rock fire ring, so we setup camp there. This is a wonderful area with the creek down in a small valley, and many rock ledges and shelves all around. Many of them had water trickling over them, which then fell ten or twenty feet into the creek below. If the water had been higher, there are several waterfalls nearby, but this area had not had much rain in the last week or more, so the waterfalls we had seen were barely running.

We boiled water for our dehydrated meal, and I started a fire in the fire ring to dry out our damp socks and shoes. It also was nice to have the fire going while we ate dinner and took care of our tasks around camp. According the GPS track, we had covered 16.6 miles today in 10 hours of hiking. Jana’s knees were feeling much better after this day than they did on the Ouachita Trail last spring. We had been more diligent about taking glucosamine for several weeks before this trip, and we were taking ibuprofen at our meals as well. We went to bed again about 8 PM, with plans to get up at 5:40 AM and be on the trail the next morning at 6:30 AM.

We slept better this second night, and got up fairly easily at 5:30 AM or so. The temperature only dropped to 49 F last night, since clouds had moved in during the night. As a result, we did not have any condensation on the tent in the morning. I again boiled water for hot chocolate, and we started packing up gear from the tent. However, with the cloud cover and being in the valley, it was not light enough to start hiking at 6:30 AM. We waited a little longer, and were able to see well enough to hike by 6:50 AM. We would have to cover approximately 12.5 miles in order to reach our vehicle at the Cherry Bend parking area.

From Spirits Creek, we had to climb again up, but only about

600 feet this time to FR 1509 (Ragtown Road).  A few miles later we are at the start of my favorite trail section so far – and not just because it is flat and level. At milepost 27.2, we are at the start of a section of trail on old railroad bed. Yes, I said railroad bed – even in the middle of the Ozark Mountains! Back in 1915 or so, there was a Cass to Combs railroad spur. This was a narrow gauge railroad line that was used for logging in this area in the early 1900s. The rails are gone, and the ties have been removed or have rotted, but you can clearly see how the railroad bed was built up or cut down through the hills. At milepost 27.2 where the trail joins the railroad bed, there is a wonderful rock retaining wall, and many concrete piers and large bolts from the trestle bridge, which are still visible as you hike around a ravine to join the railroad bed. We follow this old bed for more than 2.5 miles, leaving it occasionally to go around an area that used to have a trestle bridge.

The hiking is still pretty good after leaving the railroad bed, but does work its way downhill and a good pace sometimes on the way to Fane Creek. At mile 31.6, we came to Fane Creek. We did look around for rocks to cross on, but even when low, this creek turned out to be a wet crossing. Where the trail meets the creek, there are large slabs of flat rock. So, we decide to just cross barefoot on this flat rock, rather than get our shoes wet. We wanted to keep them dry for the big climb coming up later in the day. We did take a short break here to enjoy the creek, refill water bottles, and snack on trail mix.

Soon after leaving the creek, we cross FR 1520, and begin the 1500 foot climb up Whiting Mountain. It turns out that this climb is broken into two parts. After about 700 feet of climbing, the trail does run generally level for about a mile, before turning up again for the last 800 feet of elevation gain. We stopped for lunch at milepost 33, which was in this generally level area. While enjoying our tuna on crackers, we did encounter another day hiker and his beagle. He said he would drive his truck out and park at a trail access point, and then he would hike out so far and turn around and return. He had done several portions of the trail this way.

We finished lunch and headed off again – dreaming of a fresh sandwich from Turner Bend! The additional climb this afternoon was strenuous,

but manageable. However, there was one area of the trail, near mile 34 to 35, that was very overgrown and in worse shape. There is an area that I would definitely not want to hike in the summer when the weeds were growing well! By mile 35 the trail had improved. It was obvious that some major work had been done to trim things back. Before long, we could hear Highway 23 in the distance.

Our last interesting landmark was a rock house shelter at mile 36.7. This is a large overhanging rock shelf that had been enclosed by loggers in the 1920s to serve as some sort of shelter.

Soon after this pause, we arrived at the spur trail to the Cherry Bend parking area. We were at the truck at 2:30 PM, exactly 48 hours after we started! This last day turned out to be 12.11 miles from Spirit Creek back to our vehicle. Very soon, we were stopping again at the Turner Bend store for bottles of soda pop and a turkey sandwich. We were tired, but not exhausted – success!

I always like to take a look at our hiking speed, including breaks, as this allows for better planning on the next trip. I compiled the table below to summarize our three days.

I am a tester for backpackgeartest.org, so I took a few items on this trip that were being tested. These were the PROBAR fruition bars and the Montbell Extremely Light Down Vest. See the link above for more information on those tests.

After the trip on the Ouachita Trail last spring, Jana was not sure how she would do on these long backpacking trips. Our first day last spring was very hard on her knees, so there was some concern about this trip. However, it seems that the glucosamine and ibuprofen help tremendously, and we both did very well regarding our knees and legs. I also wanted to reward her for her willingness to travel with me, so I arranged for a night at the Beland Manor Inn Bed and Breakfast in Fort Smith. I knew that a shower and hot bath soon after leaving the trail would help both of us to feel much better. This was a great alternative to just jumping in the car and driving for several hours after hiking. For those of you with a spouse that may not be as enthusiastic about backpacking, consider a night at a hotel or bed and breakfast after leaving the trail.

Mike and Suzy at the Beland Manor Inn were wonderful hosts and very understanding of hikers. Mike told of some other great hiking locations in Arkansas that we plan to check out when we can. Suzy made a wonderful breakfast with fresh fruit, sausage, and French toast with homemade bread, maple glaze, and pecans. Delicious!

If you are considering a hike on the Ozark Highlands Trail, I can certainly recommend it as a beautiful hiking destination – after all, the journey is the destination. In fact, we are planning a hike with the whole family, kids and all, on the OHT early next spring. Maybe we will see you in the woods sometime!

Happy Trails,

Shawn

PS: Topo and satellite maps follow for those interested

Phelps Lake Backpacking Trip – June 14-15, 2009

We were recently in Grand Teton National Park. Since the high mountain passes were still snow covered in June, Jana and I decided to do an overnight backpacking trip near Phelps Lake. We prefer doing some sort of loop or shuttle hike to an in and out hike, so we arranged to be dropped off a the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve near the south end of Grand Teton National Park. Overnight parking is not allowed at the LSR Preserve, so we opted to leave a car at the Death Canyon trail head, and get a shuttle from someone we were travelling with to the LSR Nature Preserve. As with all backcountry campsites in GTNP, permits are required for overnight backpacking trips.

From the nature center building, which is a wonderful new facility in Grand Teton National Park, we hiked the Lake Creek trail to Phelps Lake. This trail follows Lake Creek north to Phelps lake and is very nice hike with good views of the creek and some open meadows. Once at the south end of Phelps Lake, we hiked the Phelps Lake trail around the east side of the lake to backcountry campsite #1. The backpacking campsites at Phelps Lake have recently been relocated to up the hill from the lake, further off of the trail than the old campsites. Campsite #1 has a nice view of the lake below, and is beside an open meadow as well. Both trails were in very good shape and had good signage. The hike to Phelps Lake was 1.5 miles, and the hike around the lake to our campsite was around 2 miles.

We set up our Tarptent, and left some gear (no food) in the tent to explore the area. We went back down to the edge of Phelps Lake to enjoy the view and boil water for dinner. This also kept food and cooking odors away from camp. We added our boiled water to a package of Mountain House Hawaiian Chicken, and then stowed it in a backpack to finish cooking. We carried it with us and hiked up the trail above the lake to near the Phelps Lake overlook. This area has a very nice view of Phelps Lake and the valley and mountains beyond. We ate our dinner and enjoyed the beautiful view.

On the way back to camp, we saw several marmots among the rocks. We also saw a large aspen grove, and very large fir tree – at least 4 feet in diameter! Back at camp, we unpacked a few things and then noticed a mule deer in the meadow nearby. The deer grazed for a while, then laid down. Shortly, it got back up and grazed calmly as it moved off into the woods. The deer saw that we were there, but was certainly not concerned. It was getting dark, so we got ready for bed, stowed our food and smellable items in the bear box, and turned in. With the exploring, we had hiked around 6 miles that afternoon and evening.

Like our other trip in GTNP, some of our main equipment included the Tarptent Rainshadow 2, Therm-a-Rest Neo Air pads, a Jacks R Better Mt Rogers down quilt, and our new Montbell Extremely Light Down Jackets. Everything worked very well for this trip and we slept pretty well that night. It did rain during the night, but we stayed warm and dry. The low was around 40 F.

We woke up soon after daylight and packed up our gear. We went down to the lake to collect water and eat breakfast. From on up the shore we heard some splashing in the water. After watching up that direction, we saw that it was a moose walking in the water along the north shore of Phelps Lake. I guess he was having breakfast near the lake also, since he ate from the willows near the shore. No one else was around, and we watched the moose in silence for at least 20 minutes. We finished breakfast, loaded our backpacks, and headed down the trail.

We hiked north from the lake and arrived at the Death Canyon Trail junction. We wanted to hike up into the canyon as far as time allowed, and then we would hike back out and continue on to the Death Canyon trail head. We knew from the topographical map that there was a fork in the trail about 2 miles up the canyon. Death Canyon is a narrow, glacier-carved canyon in mountains, with steep granite rock walls on both sides. The trail was empty and we enjoyed good views of the canyon walls, the stream below, and areas of unmelted snow. After backpacking about 1.9 miles up into the canyon, we came to a large snow field covering the trail. It appeared to be 75 feet or more across, and we could not see where the snow ended. The sides of the canyon were steep, so the snow sloped quite steeply above and below the trail. It was obvious that without crampons it would not be safe to cross, so we were satisfied with our progress and turned around.

The hike back out of Death Canyon was as much or more beautiful, since the trip out of the canyon rewarded us with views of Phelps Lake and the mountains beyond. We saw both marmots and pikas among the rocks during our hike. The tall, sheer granite walls around us were very impressive. We had hiked in and out of the canyon before we met our first other person that morning. The trail became more crowded as we continued to toward the trail head, and we were glad that we had our time in the canyon all to ourselves. Our backpacking trip out this morning had been about 6 miles, for a total trip distance of 12 miles. Not all of this was logged on the GPS, especially the areas in the canyon where the GPS had trouble receiving consistent satellite signals.

The trip up to and around Phelps Lake had minimal elevation gain, so it would be a good backpacking or hiking option for families with younger kids. The hike up into Death Canyon is definitely more strenuous, but the views along the Death Canyon trail were wonderful. This was a great trip with views of the lake, mountains, and creeks. Wildlife was certainly visible, and the trails were not too crowded. We had a great time on this backpacking trip.

Everyone needs a hat to keep their head warm in cold weather. Here is my favorite…

Product Information:

The Mountain Hardwear Micro Dome is a fleece hat, sometimes called a beanie. The manufacturer’s website describes it as a: "Lightweight, snug dome for use under a helmet or hood." I have not used it under a helmet, but I have used it under the hood of a wind or rain jacket. It is made out of very lightweight fleece. The bottom band that covers the ears is a double layer of the fleece material. The Mountain Hardwear logo is on the front. There is a seam up the back of the hat to the top, and then three seams near the top to gather the fleece material into the dome shape. The hat comes in one size.

Field Testing:

I have used the micro dome hat on my last five camping trips. Temperatures at night got as low as 22 F (-6 C) on a four night trip, and below freezing on three of the other trips. I have worn the hat many additional days when on short hikes, out walking, or just outside in the cold and wind.

I don’t like my head to get cold when camping or backpacking, so I have worn the micro dome several times for most of a day, especially when just around camp or not doing much physical activity. I have worn the micro dome while sleeping for 8 of the 9 nights I have been out with it. Even when sleeping, the seams are not bulky enough to bother me during the night. It does a great job of keeping my head warm when in my sleeping bag.

When out walking or doing light activity, the micro dome blocks the wind and keeps my head warm without any problem. I have worn the micro dome under the hood of my wind or rain jacket without any problems. It is still very easy to hear while wearing the micro dome, and it actually reduces wind noise in my ears versus not wearing a hat.

Evaluation:

The fleece is very soft. While other hats I have tried were too tight, had scratchy fabric, and were too bulky, the micro dome is comfortable and soft. I have also not noticed the a lot of sweat or dampness in my hair or under the hat, so I believe that the micro dome does a good job of wicking moisture away from me as well. It covers my ears well when it is pulled onto my head, but after some activity it can move up slightly and expose part of my ears. This is not a big problem, as I can just pull the hat back down snug again. This would not be an issue if I was wearing it under a helmet that held it in place.

One of the best features, at least for me as a lightweight backpacker, is how little it weighs. At less than 1 oz (28 g), it is one of the lightest hats I have seen. I carry only the micro dome on trips with me now, as it does the job very well and does not weigh my pack down when I am not wearing it. If I get warm, I can fold it up, and it is small enough to put in my pocket and keep right on walking.

I have washed and dried the micro dome about a dozen times during the winter season, and it still looks very good. I cannot detect any fading, shrinkage, or other issues.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Very soft
• Comfortable for sleeping

Cons:

• Could be a bit larger to cover my ears better

Summary:

The Mountain Hardwear Micro Dome is a very soft, extremely light, fleece hat. It keeps my head warm in temperatures below freezing, and it is very comfortable while wearing to sleep at night. For me, it is a great combination of weight, fit, comfort, and cost.

- Shawn

So what exactly is a ‘liner’?  Well, it is short for ‘sleeping bag liner’, but does not have to be used in a sleeping bag.  It is basically a tube of fabric, the size of a sleeping bag, closed on one end for your feet, and open on the other end for your head.  It can be used inside a sleeping bag to provide additional warmth or it can be used alone as a bag all by itself if it is not cold where you are sleeping.

In my case, I bought it to use for additional warmth, and to keep my sleeping bag or down quilt (more about quilts another time), cleaner. This reduces the number of times I have to wash my bulky bag or down quilt or sleeping bag. The silk has the advantage of being much lighter than other materials, and it will not retain moisture like cotton.

Product Information:

There are several sizes and styles available. In this case, the review is for the Long (Rectangular) size.

The 100% Premium Silk Liner is made from ripstop silk, and is sewn into a rectangular sleeping bag shape. According to the manufacturer’s website, it adds up to 10 degrees F (6 C) of warmth to an existing sleeping bag. It is machine washable, and stuffs into its own included stuff sack. I have the long (rectangular) size, but other sizes are available, according to the manufacturer’s website:

The silk liner can be used as a very lightweight bag by itself if temperatures are warm, or as a liner inside any sleeping bag to add warmth on colder nights.

Field Testing:

I have used this silk liner on my last four camping and backpacking trips for a total of eight nights. Temperatures at night got as low as 22 F (-6 C) on a four night trip, and below freezing on the other three trips. I have used the silk liner both inside a mummy winter sleeping bag, and underneath a down quilt.

It is difficult for me to know exactly how much additional warmth the silk liner provides. Based on previous trips when I had to wear a base layer of clothing inside my mummy sleeping bag to stay warm below freezing, I was able to use only the liner, and no base layer of clothes, to stay comfortable. I believe the 10 F (6 C) of additional warmth is reasonable.

When using the liner, I also get the benefit of it keeping my sleeping bag or quilt cleaner. The liner prevents body oils or dirt from getting onto the inside of my bag or quilt. When using the liner with the down quilt, the liner prevents some drafts from reaching me around the edges of the quilt. With either a bag or quilt, I slip my feet into the opening on the liner and pull it up to my shoulders. With a quilt, I just pull the quilt over me. The quilt does seem to stay in place, even though the liner is slightly slick. With a sleeping bag, I put my feet into the liner, then push the liner down into my sleeping bag as I pull the liner up to my shoulders. I can keep my arms out of the liner to zip up my sleeping bag. Usually, if it is cold, I will pull the liner up around my neck as well for added warmth.

I also think that having the silk liner inside my sleeping bag, which gives me the ‘bag within a bag’ system, makes the sleeping bag feel warmer by keeping warmed air around my body within the liner. When I move, my skin does not touch the inside of the bag directly, so it seems that there are fewer ‘cold spots’. With just a sleeping bag, if I move my leg or foot to an area of the sleeping bag that I had not been touching, then that area of the bag feels cold. The liner feels soft and smooth against my skin, and the silk material does not feel cold when I move around inside the liner. The liner has two side seams, and no bottom seam. Both seams are double folded, and I have not noticed feeling either of them when using the liner.

The rectangular liner is larger than a mummy sleeping bag, but the extra fabric fits fine inside the mummy bag. I have not noticed any problems moving my feet or legs around when using the liner inside a sleeping bag. The fabric is slick enough that it slides around inside my sleeping bag and does not restrict my movements.

I have washed the liner about six times. Per the instructions, I washed it in cold water and then hung it to drip dry. I have not noticed any fading or bleeding when washing the liner. I have noticed some slight stretching at the seams near the top of the bag. I think this is due to the fact that as I turn, my arms may be pulling or stressing the top portion of the seam.

I decided to contact Sea to Summit to see what they had to say about this. I received an email reply within 24 hours stating: "…I’m sorry to hear that your liner hasn’t worked out for you as well as you (or we) had hoped. Our product is 100% covered for manufactures defects—which this is clearly a case of. We sell thousands of these liners each year and see very few ever returned to us. With that being said, we would be happy to replace it for you free of charge…" They provided an RA number and shipping address with the reply as well.

So, although the seam is not torn apart or separated completely yet, I went ahead and exchanged it. Perhaps this one seam was defective. It only took 6 days from the time I mailed the defective one back until I received a brand new replacement silk liner from Sea to Summit. I was very pleased with the customer service from Sea to Summit.

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Adds warmth
• Keeps sleeping bag clean
• Great customer service

Cons:

• Somewhat expensive
• Had to return for replacement

Summary:

By using the 100% Premium Silk Liner from Sea to Summit, I am able to keep my sleeping bag or quilt cleaner which results in fewer washings. The silk liner adds warmth on cold nights and it works well under a quilt to prevent drafts. I always pack the liner when my trips may include colder weather. I look forward to receiving the free replacement and continuing to use the liner in the future.

- Shawn