Wakefield Wanderings

Backpacking trip report from Boy Scout Troop 100 trip to backpack in Arkansas. Several family members accompanied the scouts during the trip in late May.

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.

Well, with a week off for spring break, we decided to take our older two kids out for an extended backpacking trip. Nate also needed a 30+ mile hike for his Boy Scout Backpacking Merit Badge. The Ozark Highlands Trail is only about four hours away, so it seemed like a great choice for a multi-day trip with the kids. Jana and I had last hiked sections 1 and 2, so we had considered hiking sections 3 and 4. However, a shuttle was not available on the day we needed it, and we did not really want to drive two vehicles, so we opted for an out and back hike of section 3. Remember, you can click any picture below to enlarge it. Our condensed backpack trip report follows. We used the OHT Trail Guide by Tim Ernst in preparing for this backpacking trip.

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 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 in central Arkansas. The trail is maintained by volunteers, so some stretches can be overgrown or contain obstacles at times. The highest point on the trail is 2610 ft (800 m) on Rich Mountain near the Oklahoma – Arkansas border, and the lowest point is 270 ft (82 m) at the entrance to Pinnacle Mountain State Park in central Arkansas.

Being in the south, and at low elevations, the weather becomes too hot and dry for July and August overnight hikes, so plan to hike the ONRT in spring or fall for a more pleasant experience. Water sources can completely dry up during the summer months along this trail. On the plus side, if you like solitude, this trail is just for you. It is very lightly used and is rarely close to civilization along the entire route.

The best, and perhaps only, trail guide for the ONRT is by Tim Ernst. Check him out at cloudland.net.

Jana and I recently did a backpacking hike of the first 2 sections of the ONRT in May. It was a tough hike to cover 50+ plus miles in only 3 days, and we only saw six people (a group of 2 and a group of 4) on the entire trip.

Sunday, May 17, 2009:

We left our vehicle at the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge after filling out paperwork at the reservation desk inside to let them know our trip plans. We called Jim Fite for a shuttle back to Talimena State Park in Oklahoma. We had talked to Jim some weeks back to let him know when we needed a shuttle for this backpacking trip and to make sure that he was available. We started hiking at Mile 0 on the trail around 6 PM. I was disappointed that the trail registry in the park was empty – no pencils, forms, nothing. It was my understanding that the forest service used these trail registry forms to help determine use of the trail, allocate resources, etc. We took a break for dinner around 6:50 PM after hiking about 1.6 miles. We tried a new meal for this evening: Hula Wraps. The ingredients included tortillas, tuna, cream cheese, dried pineapple, and various spices.

We continued hiking after dinner, and stopped about 8:10 PM to setup camp near mile 3.4. I really prefer to eat dinner along the trail, which keeps the strong food odors away from our tent and campsite. Although the trees did not allow for many good views out over the valley, there was a good view about mile 3. Most of the climb at the start of the trail is in the first couple of miles, so we had most of the initial climb behind us on this first evening. I was hoping for a good sleep, since I had a new Therm-A-Rest Neo Air to try out. This was a new sleeping pad for me, although Jana had one on the last trip. As I fell asleep, I watched fireflies landing on the tent, and listened to an armadillo rustling in the leaves.

Monday, May 18, 2009:

We awoke about 6:15 AM to slight daylight and a temperature of 50 F. We had breakfast – bagel, peanut butter, and coffee – and we were on the trail by 7:10 AM – not bad! We took a break near mile 4.9 at a campsite with a fire ring at 8:00 AM. We refilled our water bottles near mile 7.4 around 9:30 AM at a nice stream. Water can sometimes be a real problem on the Ouachita Trail, but we have had so much rain in the last few weeks that water was plentiful during our hike. We reached Deadman gap – and crossed the Scenic Drive highway about 10:00 AM. We stopped for lunch near mile 9.9 at 11:15 AM next to another nice stream. The overgrowth was much worse on the this (north) side of the mountain. There was a nice campsite near mile 15 where we took a short break. We had just passed four other hikers, which was the first people we had seen on the trail so far. We reached Horsethief Springs about 5:40 near mile 20. There was water, but it did not look too good. I carefully collected some, and it did not look as bad in the bottle – I had been quite careful to only get clean water when filling it. We ate one of our freeze dried meals here – Sweet and Sour chicken. Horsethief Springs is also a stop on the Skyline Drive, so there were picnic tables and pit toilets – real luxury for today!

We had hiked 16 miles so far, and Jana’s knees were pretty tired. It would have been best if we could camp here, but the mountain side was too sloped for a tent, so we decided we had to move on. We hiked a couple more miles, but the hiking, especially the descents, were painful for Jana. We took a break at a forest road, and decided to hike along the Skyline Drive for the next two miles to reach Winding Stair Campground. The Skyline Drive was still hilly, but the smooth grade was easier on the knees. We arrived at Winding Stair Campground, which would allow us to tent camp for a fee. However, we discovered that there was a very nice backpacker’s camp setup just outside the Winding Stair Campground for Ouachita Trail hikers at mile 23.7.

It had a pit toilet, but the water at the camp was turned off. We just walked a short distance to the campground next door to get water.

Note that in winter, Winding Stair Campground is closed and no water would be available at either area. The backpacker’s camp was quite nice. The view into the valley to the north was great, and it had several good tent sites and picnic tables. We were really tired after hiking 20.5 miles that day!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009:

We woke up as it started getting light around 5:40 AM this morning, so we decided to go watch the sunrise. We took our down quilt with us and walked a short distance to find a good place to sit down and enjoy the sun coming up of the hills.

We ate breakfast, washed out some clothes at Winding Stair Campground, filled up on water, and headed out around 8:00 AM. We had a moderate climb ahead of us, and then an amazing 33 switchbacks on the descent, so we where hoping that our knees would be better today. It was 8:45 AM when we reached the top at 2451 ft – the highest point so far on the Ouachita Trail. This was the location of an old fire tower, and you could still see the concrete foundation blocks on the hill. There was also a very large rock cairn constructed on the top. We took a break here, at about mile 25 – almost half way through our planned hike. We descended the other side of the mountain through the 33 switchbacks down to a saddle and nice camping area near mile 26.3 – we took a break here, since we were about to climb again. We had an early lunch around 11:00 AM near Red Spring – at mile 27.4. The spring water has so much iron that it has turned the ground all around it a bright orange. We had started to descend again and would be working our way all the way down to Big Cedar Creek and Highway 259. We had been following the Skyline Drive for all of yesterday up on top of the mountain, but today we would be dropping down into the Kiamichi River valley – far removed from the Skyline Drive along the ridge of the Ouachita Mountains. We crossed Big Cedar Creek at 12:45 PM at mile 30.3. It was definitely a wet crossing, as the creek was really flowing.

We met two other guys hiking that crossed just ahead of us. They had taken time to try to dry their shoes, but I knew it would take a long time, so we changed into dry socks and pushed on. We were hoping to go up and over Wilton Mountain, so that we could camp near the Kiamichi River tonight. That would put us ready (we hoped) to make the big climb up Rich Mountain on Wednesday – our last day. We found that Wilton Mountain was poorly blazed, very rocky, and in some places extremely overgrown. It was a lot of work to get to the top, but we made it around 5:30 PM and made another of our freeze dried meals – Chicken Stew. There was a campsite up there that would have been good, but water is not available up top – it would have to be hauled up. We continued on, down Wilton Mountain, towards the river valley below. Our knees hurt worse when descending than they did when climbing, so it was not much faster than the climb up. By 7:30 PM, we were next to the Kiamichi River at mile 39.5. We found a good campsite next to the river, so we called it a day. We had covered about 16 miles today. The cold water was very refreshing as we tried to clean some of the trail dirt off. We hung our food PCT style (an easy and secure bear bag hanging technique), and let the sound of the river lull us to sleep.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009:

We woke up around 6:00 AM to a temperature of 47 F. We ate breakfast in camp, then packed up and were on the trail by 7:15 AM. We knew that we had a big climb up Rich Mountain today, so we wanted to get an early start. We made the first crossing of the Kiamichi River at around 8:00 AM, and crossed the river for the 8th and final time around 9:30 AM. Wet shoes were unavoidable this morning. We did take a break to dry out our shoes and insoles somewhat, and to change into dry socks. We took breaks every so often during the climb, and decided to eat lunch once we had climbed half of the elevation gain for today. Lunch was at a nice saddle area at 11:20 AM near mile 45.3.

We finished the climb and reached the Oklahoma / Arkansas state line at 1:00 PM. This is the highest point on the Ouachita Trail at 2610 feet.

The weeds and brush were really thick along the top of Rich Mountain, although the grades were fairly gentle. We reached Queen Wilhelmina Lodge right at 4:00 PM – check in time! We had reserved a room, so we knew that a hot shower and good meal would be our reward at the end of this trip. We had hiked 13 miles today.

The official mileage for our trip was 51.6 miles, but with reroutes and detours around downed trees, etc. our GPS track showed that our total mileage was 54.4 miles on these two sections of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. We made detailed notes of trail conditions, missing mile markers, and other issues along the trail. This will allow us to report to the ranger districts responsible for these trail sections as well as the Friends Of the Ouachita Trail organization that organizes volunteer trail maintenance.

We put a lot of equipment through some good testing on this trip, and I plan to have more equipment reviews coming soon. This trip was long and challenging due to the mileage, but the experience and information coming out of it will be very useful down the road. I hope that if you are near the ONRT sometime in the future, you will take the time to hike a section or two of this remote trail.

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 just what you are looking for.

The Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) winds 165 miles from Lake Fort Smith State Park on the west end to the Buffalo National River on the east end. The trail crosses some of the most scenic and remote areas of the Ozark Mountains. And if solitude is what you are after, then the OHT is your trail. It is not heavily hiked, and even on a nice weekend you will rarely see more than a few other hikers.

The OHT meanders through some beautiful scenery, with creeks, streams, and waterfalls all along its route. Dogwoods and redbuds abound, along with many other wonderful hardwoods in this scenic forest. Take a camera, because no matter what time of year, there will be something from the OHT worth remembering. Other than the extreme heat of July and August, most any other month has great hiking along the OHT.

There are more than 50 forest road and highway access points, making section hikes or day hikes very convenient. There are also nine public campgrounds spread along the OHT route. Camping is allowed anywhere along the OHT, and no permits or fees are required to hike it – unless you plan to camp in one of the public campgrounds. If you prefer a few more amenities, plan to get a cabin at White Rock Mountain or Lake Fort Smith State Park.

The trail is well blazed, and mile markers are at every mile. The OHT is supported and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers known as the Ozark Highlands Trail Association (OHTA). Consider donating to the OHTA, a 501c3 organization, if you hike the trail, in order to preserve it for future generations. Their website offers a lot of very good information on the OHT, including trail conditions and maintenance information.

Plans are in place extend the trail to Missouri and connect it with the Ozark Trail. This would create a trail system of nearly 1000 miles when completed.

My wife and I hiked a portion of the OHT in June of 2008. Although it was warm at times, then scenery was wonderful and water was plentiful. We needed to make some kind of loop to get back to our vehicle, so we started at the Shores Lake Recreation Area. We hiked north 6 miles to White Rock Mountain the first afternoon and camped at the campground there. White Rock has 30 to 50 foot bluffs around many edges that provide wonderful views. The next day we headed east on the OHT across Salt Fork Creek, up across Potato Bald, and then down toward Spirit Creek – our turn around point. Just before Spirit Creek we saw a small black bear cub up in a tree just ahead of us, and we could hear a larger bear scratching as well. The undergrowth was fairly tall, so we could not see exactly where the adult bear, presumably the mother, was at. We decided not to disturb them, so we turn around there and hiked back to Salt Fork Creek to setup camp for the night. The third day, we hiked south back to the Shores Lake Recreation area. Our total mileage for the trip was 20 miles. Although June was not the best month to hike the OHT, we found water frequently and did not see anyone else the entire hike!

Perhaps you are considering hiking the OHT. If so, the best, and perhaps only, trail guide is the Ozark Highlands Trail Guide by Tim Ernst. Tim has donated more than 15,000 hours of volunteer labor towards the OHT and other trails and projects. He lives in Arkansas and has hiked there most of his life. He is certainly an expert when it comes to the OHT.

As of this writing, the 5th edition of the Ozark Highlands Trail Guide, published in May 2007, was the most recent version. The paperback book is 136 pages, has a plastic laminated cover, and is notch bound. It is 5.5 x 8.5 inches and weighs 7 oz, just in case you wanted to carry it with you. I typically just photo copy the few pages I need if only hiking a section or two. The book divides the trail into 8 sections and has a detailed description, mileage log, map, and elevation profile for each section. The 5th edition added GPS coordinates for most road and stream crossings, which were not in the previous edition.

Introductory information at the front of the book includes topics such as: history, low impact use, wildlife, shuttle services, glossary, weather by month, and a complete mileage log. Following these topics, there are detailed, mile by mile, and sometimes turn by turn, descriptions of each of the eight sections of the OHT. Tim does an excellent job of describing each turn, climb, descent, and scenic view along the trail. He points out frequent special scenic spots, or SSS, as he calls them.

Whether you are out for a day hike, or plan to thru-hike the OHT, it is well worth purchasing the Ozark Highlands Trail Guide by Tim Ernst. You can purchase a copy directly from cloudland.net.

There are some other great trails in Arkansas, with the Ouachita National Recreation Trail being another long trail (223 miles) in central Arkansas. I will post more information on the ONRT soon, as my wife and I are planning to hike a couple of sections in the near future.

In the meantime, consider hiking the Ozark Highlands Trail sometime. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Happy Trails.

- Shawn