ploddinTod

The Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas is not as well known as the Ozarks to the north. A curious feature is that it flows east-west, while most of the major mountain ranges in the US go roughly north-south (Sierras, Rockies, Appalachians, Cascades, etc).

It's location is closer to TX and, therefore, I've done most of my backpacking there. The Ouachita Trail is 223 miles long and starts in eastern OK for about 45 miles until it meets the Arkansas line and then meanders to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, just west of Little Rock.

At about mid-point on the trail, the forest service has constructed a series of three-sided, Appalachian Trail style shelters spaced at about 8 to 10 miles apart. This makes possible hiking these sections without a tent, if one can plan the hike according to the location of the shelters.

On this particular trip, we started just north of the gigantic Lake Ouachita and proceeded east to Hwy 7, which is reputed to be one of the most scenic highways in America.

The forest was still showing plenty of fall color even though it was past peak.........mostly yellows and golds with some rust color but very little reds. (I was able to view some vivid reds while driving through east TX in route.)

More details to follow.

__________________
PloddinTod

copuswalker

I has hiked Winding Stairs to Queen Wilhelmena (never spell it right) and enjoyed it. Last hike was the Ozarks which I was not overly impressed with? I will look forward to hearing more of the area you have mentioned.
Have you tried Eagle rock loop?

__________________
There are those that hike and those that don't and those that say they will but won't.

ploddinTod

DAY ONE


Arrived at the trailhead on a picture perfect, sun-drenched day with temps in the lower to mid 50's. Gathering also was a group from the Ozark Society, Shrevesport Chapter. They were split into two groups, one doing a 6 mile out/back day hike and the other hiking all the way to Ouachita Pinnacle (about 9 miles) where there was road access and vehicles waiting.

My hiking buddy made the comment that he liked the Ouachita Trail better than the Ozark Highland Trail because the trail tread wasn't as rocky. I was thinking that his observation was a little premature.

We had planned a short mileage first day to the Blue Mountain Shelter at about 4.5 miles because we weren't packing tents. Played leap frog with the day hikers and chatted with them some at various breaks.

Just as we reached the spur trail leading to the shelter, we saw a couple of west bound backpackers (we were hiking east) heading in that direction also.

Come to find out that one of the guys was a Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. (A thru-hiker is one who hikes the entire trail in one season and the AT is 2175 miles long traversing the mountain chain from Georgia to Maine.)

Needless to say, we had a very interesting conversation over lunch at the shelter. They eventually pushed on and we proceeded to gather firewood for the evening's hot dog roast. (For the last few years we've wrapped a pack of dogs in foil and frozen them the night before our first day on the trail. By the time we're ready to cook them, they're thawed but still cool.) Yum

__________________
PloddinTod

ploddinTod

Let me back up a minute to tell you that before we reached the shelter on Day One, we came across this stray dog (a young beagle) who followed us some and would then leave us to walk with Ozark Society group.

This dog had two collars on it.....one with owner's info and the other was a shock collar. I guess this dog was out on a training session and got away from its owner. Judging from the way his ribs were sticking out, this pooch had been in the forest quite a while.

Well, when we pulled into the shelter to eat lunch, the dog was no where to be seen, apparently following the other group up the trail. But a couple of hours before sunset, he reappeared and proceeded to wreck the place....jumping on the picnic table, knocking off water bottles, raiding our food bags.

We hung our food bags just to keep him out of it. Then he would jump into the shelter on our sleeping bags which were on top of air matresses. Just what we need a punctured mattress or ripped bag.

We could barely roast our hot dogs with this dog buzzing around us getting into the bun sack. Finally we fed him our leftovers and this seemed to satisfy him a little. Of course, once we fed him, the dog adopted us and he was with us for the night.

When it was time to retire, I offered him my fleece jacket to bed on just to keep him off our bags. (At the time we had no cell phone reception with which to phone the dog's owner.)

But we had a plan for the following day as this dog was destroying our camping experience.

__________________
PloddinTod

ploddinTod

DAY TWO

The first order of business was filtering water from a spring that the guidebook said was nearby. What we found was akin to a seep more than a spring. After brushing back the layer of leaves that had accumulated on top, we discovered about a 2 inch depth of water. I put a handkerchief around the filter intake bulb to keep the silt from clogging the apparatus. It worked and the small pool kept refilling.

Next was the long gradual trudge up the trail to Ouachita Pinnacle which was the highest point on this 22 mile section of trail. There were some very nice views of Lake Ouachita and the surrounding inlets from the top, looking to the south.

We hoped to have cell phone reception in order to contact the beagle's owner. But my buddy was having some problems with the battery. A second option was to hopefully find others at the top (there was road access) who could give the pooch a lift into Jessieville where the owner lived.

I thought I heard voices as we approached the top but found no one. As we took in the views and had a snack, the dog wandered off never to be seen by us again. Our theory was that this was where the dog had become separated from its owner and took off down the forest road in search of him.

The last mile or two of trail before reaching the Pinnacle were overgrown with weeds and hadn't seen maintenance in a while. I spotted three or four ticks crawling on my pants but was able to flick them off before any damage was done.

The trail on the east side of the Pinnacle was much improved and made for easy hiking, easy that is except for the gut busting uphills.

We pulled into Big Bear Shelter with about an hour of daylight left, filtered more water at a nice stream not more than 60 feet from the shelter, set up our sleeping pads and bags and cooked dinner.

__________________
PloddinTod

ploddinTod

Yes, I've hiked both areas. The Ouachita Trail through the Kiamichi Wilderness, in my opinion, is one of the highlights of the trail. I did it in the spring with the wildflowers in bloom and the butterflies floating. That was a tough climb up Rich Mountain before topping off on a bench just below the scenic highway that leads to the lodge. Oh, yes, we sampled the lodge's restaurant food just to reassure ourselves we were back in civilization.

__________________
PloddinTod

ploddinTod

Let me also make a few comments about the Eagle Rock Loop Trail which is also in the Ouachita National Forest, in case any fellow Texans might be interested in hiking it.

This trail is both beautiful and challenging. Probably the best place to start is the Albert Pike Rec Area where there are warm showers available, pre and post hike. To me the highlight of the trail is the Little Missouri River. Hiking beside it, crossing over it (2 wet crossings) and camping next to it is so serene. The best season, I think, is the early spring with the redbuds and dogwoods in bloom and the river levels are a little higher.

The challenge comes from the series of 6 or 8 mountains one crosses. Each one is only 300 - 400 foot elevation gain but there are few if any switchbacks on the way up or down. However, there are some nice vistas at the top.

__________________
PloddinTod

ploddinTod

DAY THREE

After being awakened at 1:30 am by the sound of pitter-patting rain on the metal roof of the shelter, we did a quick flashlight search of the picnic table to see if anything was left out that shouldn't have been.

Despite the rain, the morning dawned cool and sunny. We encountered a few downed trees across the trail just east of the shelter. No detour was necessary as we were able to step over them.

A day hiker crossed paths with us going in the opposite direction and we exchanged pleasantries. At this point, we were still 5 or 6 miles from the trailhead and it's unusual to spot a day hiker this far out.

This lady was on a mission. Well, a hiking training mission anyway. Come to find out she was training for her first backpacking trip. After she turned around and overtook us, we learned that she has camped numerous times and now is getting into hiking seriously.

What a joy it was for us to impart anything and everything we knew about the activity of backpacking. As we hiked together back to the trailhead, she asked numerous questions about gear, training, techniques, trail safety, etc.

As we ended another excellent adventure, it too was gratifying being able to help a newbee make the transition.

__________________
PloddinTod

dingemansm

Ahh... Ouachita is beautiful backpacking terrain. Spend this last spring break up their (partially) - went really well, nobody died... First time I've backpacked, so I was really glad by day 2 (ok, day 1) that I left the 300mm prime behind and only brought 1 SLR body and a couple lenses.

Cheers,
Matthew

ploddinTod

What area were you in? I hope you were able to get some good photos.

__________________
PloddinTod

dingemansm

We just backpacked ouachita national forest... I guess that's not the same thing? Anyway - nice scenery change from Texas.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/FM8L2689.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...FM8L2702_1.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...L2722_1_cp.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/FM8L2749.jpg