After much anticipation and planning, we met Ron and Meriam, who would shuttle us to Springer Mountain. Ron has been a great friend for many years, and graciously agreed to give up most of his day to get us to the start of the AT. We drove to where USFS 42 crosses the AT at mile 0.9. We were dropped off about 5 PM on Monday the 24th and started hiking to the official start of the AT. We enjoyed the view from the top of Springer, took some photos, and turned around to start our 85 mile section hike. The trail was in good shape, and we had a good pace. Those first few miles had a good grade with few rocks. I ate a Coffee House bar as part of my BackpackGearTest.org testing sequence of the Olympic Granola bars. We stopped at mile 5.1 to see Long Creek Falls at around 7:50 PM, having covered a total of 6 miles in about 3 hours. We decided to camp not far from the falls. We decided to take the Tarptent, since it would hold all 3 of us on the trip. I was also testing a ULA Ohm backpack and Bridgedale bamboo socks. We had Ramen noodles for dinner, which rehydrate rather quickly. Although it had rained hard when driving to the trail, we did not get any rain while hiking or during the night. We camped by ourselves among the giant hemlock trees.

We awoke the next morning, Tuesday May 25th, at about 6:15 AM. The temperature was as low as 60 that night. I ate a Honey Almond bar for breakfast, along with our Starbucks Via coffee – great stuff for backpacking. We packed up and left by 7:50 PM. We visited Hawk Mountain Shelter for a quick picture, and then continued hiking. We also ran across an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake that morning as it was crossing the trail. We had lunch at Justus Creek, and enjoyed nice views from Ramrock Mountain. We crossed the highway at Woody Gap and took a quick break there. We filled up on water and there were some decent bathrooms at the highway crossing. We started our steep climb up and over Big Cedar Mountain. We took a blue blaze trail to a fantastic overlook with a large rock area, a fire ring, and plenty of grass for a tent site. It did not appear that this area had gotten much use, even though it was not far from the main trail. We arrived at the overlook about 6:30 PM around mile 21.3 and decided that was enough for the day, having hike 16.2 miles. We saw about 10 people that day. There was nearly a full moon, giving us wonderful light for the evening. Most interesting however, was the arrival of two dogs, both spaniels. The ran around camp and checked us out. One wore a collar, but neither had tags. We kept expecting an owner to arrive to claim them, but they seemed content to stay at our campsite. The were well-mannered, and laid down in the grass near our tent to sleep for the night. Sometime during the night, the dogs awoke and started barking. They seemed to chase after something in the woods, and the next morning, both were gone, perhaps having protected us from some unknown animal.

Our plan for Wednesday May 26th was to hike to Neels Gap. We had arranged for a cabin there, knowing that we could easily cover the 30 or so miles from Springer in just over two days. It was a great night last night, with the temperature down to about 60 degrees. We stopped at Jarrard Gap for water at a spring. No camping was allowed in the area from Jarrard to Neels Gaps due to bear activity. It was a big climb up Blood Mountain, but we were treated to a lot of rhododendrons that still had some blooms on them. We enjoyed fabulous views from a large rock on top of Blood Mountain where we also ate lunch. We pulled out our map and compass and were pretty sure that we could identify Springer in the distance. We arrived at Neels Gap about 1:40 PM after hiking the 9.4 miles from our last camp, having left at 7:30 AM. My snacks today were Lemon Chamomile and Mocha Mint granola bars. We took the trail from near the Mountain Crossings parking lot through the woods to Blood Mountain Cabins. We rented the chipmunk cabin that had two beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen. We walked back to the Walasi-Yi at Mountain Crossings to resupply our food and for ice cream! It was good stuff, especially after the 80 degree day. We walked back to the cabins to purchase soda, snacks, and frozen pizza for dinner that night. The food and shower were very refreshing.

We left Blood Mountain Cabins on Thursday morning May 27th around 6:45 AM. We knew this would be a longer day, so we started early. We finished off our cold pizza for breakfast on the way back to the AT. We passed a couple of tents at Bull Gap, and had a good pace starting out that morning. We ate lunch at Low Gap Shelter around 12:45 PM, and had more good hiking after lunch. The trail was a bit morning rocky as we neared Blue Mountain. We had planned to camp beyond Unicoi Gap, but did not see any mention of decent campsites close by. We called the Best Western in Helen, which was listed in the AT Companion as possibly having a free shuttle. They quoted a $45 / night hiker rate along with a free shuttle, so we opted to do that. We arrived at the highway at 5:50 PM, having covered 20.2 miles that day. We were picked up at Unicoi Gap – watch out crossing the highway there, it can be dangerous! Carol even brought us bottles of water when she came to pick us up. The room and motel were very nice. We showered, washed clothes, and Nate enjoyed the pool. We went ahead and made our Ramen noodle dinner in the hotel microwave, since we had carried the food with us. We walked around town for German food and chocolate. Helen is a Bavarian style town, and is certainly reminiscent of a town in the Alps. It turns out that the town was not German styled at all until the late 60s or so, when the town voted to change their entire look in order to attract tourism and business. It seems to have worked for them.

Friday was a leisurely morning. Carol could not take us back to the trail until 10:30 or so. We decided not to get a taxi and just wait for her to be available. We were back on the trail around 10:45 AM. We passed a ‘ridge runner’ who told us to avoid Tray Mountain shelter due to a moocher he had run into earlier. Tray Mountain was quite overgrown and not what we expected. We did have lunch up on Tray Mountain, just past the summit. The views there were minimal. Our knees were feeling weary, probably due to the big miles and climbs of the day before. It was a tough day emotionally as well, but those are to be expected on an extended hike. We passed about 12 boys and a few adult leaders near Dicks Creek Gap. We stopped around 7:15 PM for the night near Moreland Gap. We covered 15.4 miles in about 8.5 hours. There was some lightning to the east, but nothing too close yet. There were a lot of fireflies out for the first time on our trip, and they were very enjoyable to watch as it got dark.

We woke up Saturday, May 29th to a temperature of about 58 degrees. We did get some rain the previous night, but it was no longer raining when we got up at 6 AM. We were packed and gone by 7:05, even after breakfast and coffee, so we were getting quicker. I used a light load towel to dray the tent before packing it away, and this worked quite well. It was foggy and damp when we left. We filled up with water at a stream just below our camp on the AT. I had a Coffee Mocha bar for my morning snack. We crossed US 76 at Dicks Creek, and there were a lot of cars there in the parking lot already. The skies did start to clear as we hiked that morning. We crossed the NC/GA state line and continued on to Bly Gap for lunch. We had lunch near the gnarled oak tree – you will know it when you see it. We did pass a scout troop from Georgia that were out hiking to get ready for Philmont. The climb north out of Bly Gap was very tough, perhaps the toughest climb so far on the trail. It was also a tougher afternoon than we had expected, as the trail was very rocky for much of the time. We met Ron at Deep Gap at 4:35 PM, which was still about on schedule. We covered  17 miles this last day in about 9 hours – still a good pace for us.

We made a stop on the way back to Knoxville for dinner, and enjoyed visiting with Ron and family during the couple of hours driving back. We all did well, although it was painful at times on the legs and knees. A very big thank you to my wonderful wife Jana, who was such a good sport in coming along for this AT hike. She is awesome!

We started at the Ozone Trailhead (Mile 86) Friday afternoon around 2:40 PM. We hiked to Owen Creek that afternoon – covering about 6 miles in 3 hours. We had dinner at camp, and were in our tents by about 9 PM. I was testing Olympic Granola bars and had a Honey Almond bar for an afternoon snack. My pack start weight was 17 lb in the ULA Ohm. Jana and all three kids were on this trip as well. The high temperature today was around 85 degrees.

We awoke Saturday morning about 6:30 AM. The low the previous night was about 57 degrees. We broke camp about 8 AM, and crossed Owen Creek at Mile 90.9. We hiked up Lick Creek looking for waterfalls and found slot rock. We could not find Sunset or Discovery Falls, and it appeared that they must be dry. This was about a 2 mile side trip. I ate a Chocolate Peanut bar for my morning snack. We ate lunch at Hobo Falls East (27 feet tall) on our way to Cedar Creek. We found the large emerald pool on Cedar Creek, and the boys spent about 45 minutes swimming in the creek and pool, even though the water was quite cold. We continued hiking toward Gee Creek, and did not find any camping areas until we were at the creek crossing. We camped at Mile 102.3 just before the crossing. Our total for the day was about 15 miles including the side hike. The high temperature today was about 80 degrees.

We were up about 6:30 AM again on Sunday morning.  The low last night was about 65 degrees. We ate breakfast in camp, crossed Gee Creek, and headed down the trail. We hiked to Haw Creek Campground and visited Haw Creek Falls. We continued hiking past the campground to the parking area, and were at our vehicles by 11:15 AM, covering about 3.2 miles this morning.

We had shuttled pickup vehicles to the end point, so we did have to drive the forest roads back to our starting trailhead. After a good meal in town, everyone was doing great.

On the way to the trail head, we stopped by the Turner Bend Store for a couple of fantastic sandwiches, as we did the last time we were through here. We left our vehicle at the Cherry Bend parking area on Highway 23 north of Cass, checked in at the trail register, and headed out around 5:30 PM. We were hoping to get to Hare Mountain, as we knew there was a lot of camping available up there. It was cloudy, breezy, and about 55 degrees when we started out.

We passed a group of about 10 or so scouts and leaders that were setup between mile 38 and 39. We made it to Hare Mountain around 8 PM, and it was already dark. There seemed to be a large group of campers on the mountain and many were even camped down near the start of the spur trail toward the top. It would be difficult to find a camping spot in the dark with so many others, so we decided to move on in search of a less crowded location. We hiked about another mile in the dark with flashlights and came to an area with a lot of pine trees near a logging road – around mile 43.5. We followed the old road away from the trail looking for a place to pitch the tent. A thick layer of pine needles is a great place to sleep, so we found a relatively level spot among the trees and setup the Tarptent. Nate and I planned to sleep under a tarp, while the girls used the tent. But since it was dark and we were not sure where we could setup the tarp in addition to the tent, we all squeezed into the Tarptent, which was supposed to hold three people! The location turned out to be a good choice. We were down off of Hare Mountain and out of the wind. The pine needles made for a soft bed, and the wind through the pine trees was quite soothing. We had covered about 7 miles this first day. The temperature dropped to only about 44 degrees during the night.

We slept in a bit past sunrise, but did get packed up and hiking again around 8:50 AM after we had breakfast. We hiked part way to Spy Rock, but decided to do this on the return trip, so we turned around and continued on the OHT. We stopped about 11:30 at a waterfall near Herrods Creek near mile 47.3. It was a wonderful waterfall in a secluded area, and we ate lunch and rested while we were there.

After lunch we continued on to Briar Branch (mile 53.7) and arrived around 3:30 PM. We had passed Williams Falls, Herrian Mountain, and Indian Creek along the trail today. There was a good campsite near Briar Branch with a nice fire ring. We setup the tarp and Tarptent, and then hiked through the Marinoni Scenic Area and to the jeep road at 54.4. This was a beautiful area with bluffs, waterfalls, moss covered rocks, and lots of beech trees. Nate even climbed out on a natural rock bridge. We returned back to camp and boiled water for our lasagna dinner. The kids played catch with a stuff football we brought. The weather for this day was great – 65 degrees and mostly sunny. The girls were in the Tarptent, and Nate and I were under the tarp. The sky was clear, the stars were out, and the sounds of the stream next to us lulled us to sleep. We had covered about 12.5 miles this second day.

Well, it was clear overnight, and the temperature dropped to 36 degrees. The girls got a bit cold, but mostly due to the down in the quilt shifting to the edges instead of being right over them while they slept. We fixed that for the third night We had our breakfast and coffee and were on the trail by 8:20. This was the turn around point for the out and back hike, so we headed back west toward Herrods Creek when we left camp. We saw two deer not far off the trail – right after Micah asked why we had not seen much wildlife! They were too quick to get their picture. We continued past Indian Creek toward the Spy Rock spur. On this return trip, we intended to take the Spy Rock / Redding Campground loop trail. Our timing worked out great again, because we were able to eat lunch at the waterfall near Herrods Creek near mile 47.3. After lunch, we took the turn toward Spy Rock and hiked to that overlook for a short break.

The views over the hills and into the valley from Spy Rock were great. After Spy Rock, we hiked the east side of the loop down to Redding Campground and arrived about 4 PM. Redding Campground is on the Mulberry River. Each campsite is primitive, but they did have a central bathroom with showers and toilets. We gladly paid the $10 camping fee, and most of us had a shower that night. There was also a group of Boy Scouts there for an annual backpacking event where they hike into Redding Campground. They had a campfire that night at the waterfront area, so we joined them to watch the skits and see awards handed out for scout skill competitions. We had Chili Mac for dinner and covered about 13.5 miles this third day. The first full day (yesterday) was a bit tough on the kids, but they had done just fine today.

We woke up feeling quite rested, and we all slept better last night than the previous two nights. It was only 45 degrees last night, so everyone stayed warm enough. The clouds had moved in, and it was overcast and misting. I met John, who had hiked all of the Appalachian Trail (AT) over 11 years with his two boys. He was about 60, and had finished the last of it the previous year. He loved to talk about backpacking, as do I, so we visited several times that morning. He gave me his card, and offered to send me information via email that might be helpful for the AT hike Jana and I are planning for this summer. We had breakfast, packed up, and were hiking again this morning by around 8:45 AM. Our plan was to hike about 12 miles to mile 39 or so, spend the night, and hike the last few miles out in the morning. We hiked the west side of the Redding Campground loop this time on our way back to the OHT. It never warmed up, and stayed cloudy, windy, and sprinkled some on us all morning. We stopped in a pine forest, as Micah calls them, for lunch. We also took the spur trail to the top of Hare Mountain to see it during the daylight. There were many good tent sites, and we found the hand dug well that was up there. Our hiking pace was very good, and our loads were much lighter with just a few meals of food left, so we decided to hike all the way out today. The weather continued to be cold, damp, and cloudy, so this seemed like a good decision. Everyone hiked well on this last day, and we reached Cherry Bend about 5 PM. We covered about 14.5 miles on this last day, and about 47.5 miles total for the trip. The kids did great and hiked at a good pace for most all of the trip.

Here is an overview of the route. We collected the GPS track with a data logger (Holux M-241). Click to enlarge.

The McGee Creek Natural Scenic Recreation Area (NSRA) in southeastern Oklahoma is a very convenient place for us to hike, since it is not far from where we live. The NSRA is located near Atoka and Antlers in Oklahoma, and it offers backpacking, hiking, and equestrian camping opportunities with many miles of trails.

I am working on developing a trail guide for the area, since little information is available. The brief trail map offered at the trail head is generally accurate as far as the trail location, but many of the distances are incorrect. I use a GPS data logger as I hike to correctly measure position and distance along each trail.

When doing a short hike with our kids back in December, the map at the permit station indicated that two new trails had been opened. We were anxious to try them out, and this holiday gave us that chance.

For this hike, it was just Jana and I with a light day pack. Temperatures was 45 to 60 degrees, and it was partly cloudy, which provided very good hiking conditions. From the trail head, we hiked north and then took the South Rim trail.

Before we reached Box Spring camp (near the junction of South Rim and Bog Spring trails), a new trail left toward the east. I will call it the Bog Spring trail, although no name is listed at the permit station. This trail provides much easier access to the east side of the McGee Creek NSRA, which had been a long hike north and around to a couple of camp areas on the southeast corner in the NSRA. The Bog Spring trail was in good condition, and allowed us to hike side by side for much of the trail. This new trail connects to roughly the middle point of the Hog Camp trail, near the equestrian camp E2.

We turned north onto the Hog Camp trail and followed it up until it came to a junction with the Hunters Cabin trail and short trail to the east which went to the east boundary. The boundary trail now is also open around the northeast corner of the NSRA boundary. We did not take this boundary trail, but it looks to be in decent shape and well blazed.

From the junction, we followed the Hunters Cabin trail toward the northwest. You will notice on our map a very small spur trail we took near the middle of the Hunters Cabin trail. This used to go to an old hunting cabin and outhouse. However, the cabin and outhouse have been demolished and removed. The area is now cleared, with two picnic tables and charcoal grills. I wonder if there are plans to put another equestrian camp here, but no information was available. The Hunters Cabin trail was in good shape, mostly double track, and nice hiking.

We continued on the Hunters Cabin trail until we came to the junction with the Coon’s Way Trail. This trail leads to the northern boundary of the NSRA, and it also connects with another trail called Wolf Creek as indicated on the state of Oklahoma map. However, as we hiked the Coon’s Way trail, there were no indications of the Wolf Creek trail, so it apparently is no longer marked or used. After reaching the northern boundary, we returned south on Coon’s Way, back to the Hunters Cabin trail and continued west on it.

Hunters Cabin connects to the northern end of the South Rim trail, and there are good backpacking camping areas there as well (B5 on the state map). We took the South Rim trail south to return us back to the parking area. The South Rim trail is also in good shape, with easy double track hiking through pine trees. The trees at the edge of the Bugaboo Canyon were too tall to see much from the overlook, but it was still very enjoyable as we made good time along the trail.

There had been some rain the previous week, so most of the creeks and streams were flowing, which is somewhat unusual for this area. Water sources are often limited to the lake on the west side of the NSRA, the Box Spring near Box Spring Camp, or the permit station at the trail head.

Our overall hike was 12 miles. We saw a few horses near the trail head, but once on the trail, we did not see anyone at all. Another great feature of the NSRA is the wooded environment. The tree cover helps to keep the hot sun off of you when hiking in the warmer months. The NSRA also does not have large elevation changes, so hiking with your family or kids would be an option as well.

Click on either graphic below to see a larger overview of our route on either a topographical or satellite map.

Happy Trails,

Shawn

We decided to take advantage of the trip out and the great weather to get in some good hiking in the Phoenix area. First, we stopped by the Arizona Hiking Shack. The helpful folks there provided some great advice. They also sell maps and other hiking and adventure gear. The Shack is well worth a stop when in Phoenix.

Our first hike was at the Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area. We wanted to get high enough for some great views of the area, so the Summit Trail to Piestewa Peak (formerly Squaw Peak) was our trail of choice. This 1.1 mile (one way) trail from the parking area to the summit at 2608 feet was steep but manageable. We saw people of all ages hiking up and down from the summit. As you can see in our photos, the view from the summit was great!

For our second hike that day, we chose a trail with less elevation change, but very representative of the desert environment and landscape. The North Mountain Preserve area offers some trails to higher peaks, but many of the trails are fairly level. This allows hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers of all ages to enjoy the desert surroundings. We hiked portions of a few trails resulting in a 2.35 mile outing in this park.

Between the previous two hikes, we stopped by REI for some quick bargain hunting (I’m in the market for new trail runners). The next morning, we headed to the west side of Phoenix. White Tank Mountain Regional Park on the west side of Phoenix offers 25 miles of trails ranging from less than a mile to about 8 miles in length. The nearly 30,000 acres include peaks rising to about 4000 feet from the desert below. We would have loved to hike some of the longer trails in the White Tanks, but due to time restraints could not do lot of hiking that morning. We decided to try out the Mesquite Canyon trail. Although the trail can be hiked for many miles, we ended up doing a 2.1 mile round trip hike. The morning air was cool, and the sun was shining. Once we started up the canyon, it felt like civilization was far away.

We had a great few days in the Phoenix area, and we would love to have had more time for hiking and shopping We discovered Trader Joe’s food store, and we ended up buying a bag to carry back some of the items we purchased there! We bought a daypack by ChicoBag. It is a uniquely designed daypack made of 89% recycled content, and it weighs less than 6 oz. Not far from Phoenix, Arizona are many other hiking opportunities including the Prescott National Forest and Coconino National Forests north toward Sedona and the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix.

Happy Trials,

Shawn

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

Birds are common along the trail, and waterfowl can be frequently seen on Dick’s Pond, including herons, ducks, and geese. This is an easy family hike and taking children along for the hike is not a problem. The trail has minimal elevation change, and the wooden walkway and overlook provide an interesting break in the hike.

Travertine Creek, a major park feature, is fed by many springs, some of which are mineral and sulphur water springs. Our hike followed Travertine Creek toward the east from the Travertine Nature Center. We hiked a total of nearly 4 miles on trails including the Antelope and Buffalo Springs Trail, the Prairie Loop Trail, the Tall Oaks Trail, and the Dry Creek Trail.

The trail to Antelope and Buffalo Springs is a wonderful, wide, and easy walk. These two springs produce a flow of about 5 millions gallons a day that flows into Travertine Creek. Branching off of the Antelope and Buffalo Springs Trail are 3 other trails to allow a wide range of hiking distances to be taken.

Buffalo Springs has a circular rock walkway and seating built around it (by the CCC), while Antelope Springs is unaltered, coming directly out from the rocks in the hillside.

The Prairie Loop Trail crosses the Travertine Creek and up the hillside into an area that once was a large mixed grass prairie. Most of the dominant vegetation  now is hardwoods and cedar.

The Tall Oaks Loop Trail also crosses the creek and meanders through an area with stands of cedars and hardwoods, including oaks, elm, sycamore, and others.

The Dry Creek Trail crosses a large rock bridge built by the CCC and up through limestone covered slopes and into an area with patches of mixed-grass prairie and invasive cedars.

Nearly all of these trails are in the shade under wonderful hardwoods, and the proximity to the creeks provides a cool walk in the morning hours, even in the summer time.

I have hiked this area many times, and there is always something new to see. Our trip today did not provide any views of big wildlife, but we did encounter several turtles, frogs, and small snakes. If you are ever near the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, it is definitely worth a visit. The spring-fed creeks are even good for wading and a few deeper swimming holes are waiting to be enjoyed.

Happy Trails,

Shawn

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.

This trip was the first backpacking trip with all three kids, and they would be carrying much of their own gear. We were in Grand Teton National Park for a total of 10 days, and we had already done several day hikes before this trip to get acclimated. This overnight trip began at the String Lake trail head. Backcountry permits are required for overnight stays in the Grand Teton National Park backcountry, and we had picked up our permit the day before for the one campsite (#18) at Trapper Lake. The hike to Trapper Lake is relatively level and 4.5 miles from the trail head to the campsite. The minimal elevation change makes this a great trip for families with kids or for those new to backpacking.

We left the trail head Friday afternoon, June 12, and the weather was cool and pleasant. Jana and I regularly use trekking poles (Backpacking Light Stix for her and Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 for me), so as we hiked the kids decided they wanted a hiking stick too. As we continued hiking, they looked along the trail for that perfect stick – and this gave them something interesting to do as we went along. The boys both had sticks selected in just a short time. (Note: In an effort to ‘Leave No Trace’, the sticks were dead wood found along the trail on the ground, and the next day the sticks were left near the trail not far from where they were found.) Something else that kept them interested was to take turns letting one of the kids lead the group. An adult was always second in line to help watch for bears and other wildlife, but they certainly enjoyed taking their turn at the front of the line.

The hike followed the shore of String Lake, then along the shore of Leigh Lake. It went around Bearpaw Lake, and then finally ends at Trapper Lake. Being so close to several lakes allowed for great views over the water and into the woods, and the kids look for and saw several different birds and small animals. We bought each child a disposable camera for the trip so that they could take pictures of anything that they wanted without risking damage to our nice digital camera. Giving them control and letting them make choices in this way allowed them to feel more in control of their experience.

All three of our kids weigh under 100 pounds right now, so we kept their pack weights low. The lightweight backpacking philosophy works so well for Jana and I that it only makes sense to help the kids go light. They each have their own pack – the women’s size small GoLite Jam2 pack – which is a good size for their body right now, and their empty pack weigh less than a pound. I have seen so many "kids" packs that weigh three, four, or five pounds, and it just does not make any sense to me to start with an empty pack that is so heavy. We found synthetic sleeping bags for them at around 2 pounds (and under $100) for a 35 degree bag. This is a lightweight bag, but is still durable and inexpensive. As they get more experience and do more backpacking, then we can look into a lighter down bag. So, they carried their backpack and sleeping bag, along with a coat, jacket, poncho, base layer, extra clothes, LED light, and water bottle. Even with this amount of gear, their total pack weights were still under 8 pounds, or less than 10% of their body weight. Jana and I are just over 10% of our body weight with our pack (fully loaded with 3 days of food and water, so keeping them under 10% of their body weight was a good target. I have read other sources stating that kids can carry 20 to 25% of their body weight, but with a 20 or 25 pound pack, they would almost certainly be miserable. Jana and I carried their sleeping pads, both tents, cooking gear, and all of the food. These light packs let all of us travel faster and more comfortably – ultimately increasing our enjoyment of the trip. We covered the 4.5 miles to Trapper Lake in about 3 hours – not a bad pace with kids.

On the way to Trapper Lake, we stopped on the shore of Bearpaw Lake to boil water for dinner. Our philosophy has been to eat dinner on the trail before reaching our campsite for the night. This keeps food and cooking odors away from camp, and greatly reduces the likelihood of bears or other wildlife being attracted to our campsite. We let the kids pick out which Mountain House dinners that they wanted before we packed for the trip. This was a way to include them in the trip planning process, and it helped to avoid cooking something they did not want to eat. They also each have their own spork, in their color choice. This lets them have equipment that they feel like is their own.

As we hiked past String Lake, Leigh Lake, and Bearpaw Lake, we had great views of the Teton Range. But, we really enjoyed seeing Trapper Lake and camping there. The small lake is at the base of a mountain, and it has a stream with a couple of small waterfalls that runs into the lake. It was just a wonderful, beautiful setting. It is also very secluded, being the last campsite on the trail, so we did not see anyone else during our time at Trapper Lake. Two beavers were active and swimming all around the lake – our kids affectionately named them Roseanne and Clark. Several Canadian geese were at the lake when we arrived. The kids really enjoyed being able to explore the area around the lake and near our campsite. This gave them some freedom after being restricted to the trail for the previous several hours.

We took a card game with us, so as it got darker and the mosquitoes came out, we all went into the larger tent to play cards for an hour or so. This allowed the kids to wind down and gave all of us a chance to enjoy being together as a family. It was a relaxing end to our day of hiking. I would suggest to others that are planning a family camping or backpacking trip to take a game or cards or something for the kids to do in case you need to spend some time inside a tent due to weather or darkness.

Although there are 5 of us, we are able to fit into two tents. We have an older Kelty Teton 2 tent that weighs about 4 pounds – this was a tent we bought sometime back when we started backpacking again. At about $100, it is a good first tent that does not weigh too much. We also have a Tarptent Rainshadow 2. We purchased this tent when we transitioned to lightweight. It weighs around 2.5 pounds and is a cross between a tent and a tarp – basically a tarp with netting and a floor. It can sleep three people if they are not too large. With this setup, we can sleep our family of five. The boys used the Tarptent, and the girls were in the Kelty Teton 2. I used a Therm-a-Rest Neo Air pad with a sleeping bag, and the boys used foam pads and sleeping bags. The girls used our Jacks R Better Mt Rogers down quilt and silk sleeping bag liners – this is the lightweight setup that Jana and I use when we are by ourselves.

We woke up early Saturday morning (June 13), since it started getting light quite early. I think that waking up early and getting on the trail early are some of my favorite things about backpacking. After getting up, the kids enjoyed watching several Pikas scampering around the rocks near camp. We made breakfast (bagels and hot chocolate), broke camp, and were on the trail by 7:30 AM. We enjoyed wonderful views of the mountains across Leigh Lake and arrive back at the trail head around 10:30 that morning. The kids really enjoyed the trip and had a positive experience – so it was certainly a success in my book. I always want them to have a great time in the outdoors, so that they will want to go backpacking, hiking, or camping again.

Jana and I were testing some new equipment on this trip. The most interesting new item was the StickPic. The StickPic is an ingenious device to let you take self-portraits with your camera at the end of an extended trekking pole. After using it, I said to myself "Why didn’t I think of that!" It works great. You simply attach the StickPic to the threaded tripod mount on your camera, attach the StickPic and camera to the bottom of your trekking pole, set the camera’s timer, and hold the pole at arms length. You can get a picture of everyone in your hiking group, or you can get a picture of yourself even if you are hiking solo. The other item that Jana and I were testing was the Montbell Extremely Light Down Jacket. Knowing that it would be cold in GTNP in early June, we had been searching for a warm down jacket that was also lightweight. After some research and looking, we both purchased one. These jackets worked very well. They kept us warm, but stuffed small and weighed 4 to 6 ounces, depending on the gender and size.

I carry a GPS data logger on our trips, so here is the track displayed over a topographical map.

Overall, I thought it was a fantastic trip – both for us, and for the kids.

Happy Trails,

- Shawn