http://wakefieldwanderings.com Camping, Lightweight Backpacking, and Family Travels Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:38:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2010/01/mcgee-creek-nsra-hike/ What do you do when the temperature in Oklahoma drops to below freezing for days on end?  Well, if you happened to get some great airline ticket pricing several months ago, you head for sunny Phoenix, Arizona.  We had planned to go visit our good friend Bob of Click and ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2010/01/phoenix-area-hiking/ 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 ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/11/ozark-highlands-trail-sections-1-2-trip-report/ Well, it turned out that all of the recent rain made the Mountain Fork River unsafe for our planned whitewater canoe trip. Instead, we enjoyed a morning hike around the Craven Nature Trail a couple of times. Located on the north side of the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, the Craven ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/10/craven-nature-trail-tishomingo-wildlife-refuge/ We were out hiking this morning in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur, Oklahoma. This area was given to the Department of the Interior by the Chickasaw nation in 1902 for protection. In 1906, it became Platt National Park. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built many features in the ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/09/chickasaw-national-recreation-area/ 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 ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/07/phelps-lake-gtnp-backpacking-trip-report/ Trapper Lake Trip - June 12-13, 2009 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 ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/06/trapper-lake-gtnp-family-trip-report/ The Ouachita National Recreation Trail is a 223 mile (59 km) long hiking and backpacking trail through the Ouachita Mountains of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The trail starts on the west end at Talimena State Park in eastern Oklahoma, and the east end is at Pinnacle Mountain State Park ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/05/ouachita-national-recreation-trail-trip-report/ On this backpacking trip, Jana and I wanted to see what kind of good mileage we could make, now that we had reduced our pack weights greatly. We were both in GoLite Jam2 packs, and using 2 trekking poles each. Shawn’s pack was at 16.5 lbs total – with gear ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/05/mcgee-creek-nsra-trip/ So maybe you don't live at the foot of the Rockies, or in other locations with hiking and backpacking at your back door. If you are anywhere within a day's drive of Arkansas, then you are in luck. The Ozark Highlands Trail in northwest and north central Arkansas may be ... http://wakefieldwanderings.com/2009/04/ozark-highlands-trail-arkansas/