Hike #27 - Buffalo Overlook Trail

This is the shortest hike we have done this year.  As we left our camp trip I talked about yesterday we didn't want to take a lot of time before getting on the road, but we did want to check out the Overlook Trail. The Overlook Trail uses the same parking lot as the Indian Rockhouse.  From the parking lot to the overlook and back is only three quarters of a mile for a great view.

If this isn't enough hiking for you, you have the option of connecting to the Campground Trail and either looping back to the parking lot or returning to the campground.

Travel time from home: 2.5 hours
Today's miles: .78 miles
Remaining miles: 2.96

Hike #26 - Indian Rock House

Four years ago we camped at Buffalo Point and hiked the Indian Rockhouse trail. (Buffalo Point with my daughter walking in the water is the background image on this blog.)  Since then we have often said that it was our favorite campsite and favorite hike that we have done.  We have camped and hiked a whole lot more in the meantime, and recently I have wondered whether or not that opinion would still hold up.  Northwest Arkansas has spoiled us with so many great outdoor spots less than an hour away from home.  With Buffalo Point being two and half hours away, we haven't felt compelled to get back out there.

Some old friends got us motivated.  Before moving to NWA we lived in Little Rock which is also two and half hours from Buffalo Point.  From Little Rock that distance to a great campsite is more normal, so when we decided to meet some old Little Rock friends for a camp trip, Buffalo Point it was.   Let's start by saying our opinion of Indian Rockhouse as our favorite trail was confirmed.

The trailhead is located on highway 268 and is a three minute drive from the campground.  It is well marked and there is plenty of parking.  The wonders of this trail start soon.  Within three minutes of starting the hike, we saw two men come in from the side of the trail.  They said they had just been exploring a cave.  A short shimmy through a tight spot opened up into big caverns.  Since we had a lot of kids, who had already run ahead we didn't try to look into it, but apparently there are similar spots all along the trail.  In plain sight along the way are more caves, an abandoned zinc mine, a sink hole, and a small waterfall.  Even with no rain in recent memory, there was still a trickle.  The rock wall along the waterfall begs kids to climb on it, which they did.

A long stretch of the trail follows a creek bed which was dry today. As you come to the end of the creek there is a split with one side looping back to the trailhead and the other a spur to the Rockhouse.  This spur also has some great things to see including more caves and cascading pools that have created what is known as "Sculptured Bedrock."

The Indian Rockhouse is amazing.  It is huge!  It was once an enclosed cave and flowstone and stalactites are still visible. It takes zero imagination to see how it would make a perfect shelter for someone living in the woods.  It is so spacious that someone could build a fire a big as they wanted and have no ventilation troubles.  The main cavern could easily keep hundreds of people out of the weather.  A clear running stream flows constantly out of the rock on one side and back into the rock on the water to provide water.  Climbing the rocks across the creek, which we did, takes you into another back cavern that is less spacious, but still large enough to serve as several "rooms" for living, even a little niche that calls you to climb inside and take a nap.  It is just amazing.

The hike back to the car has some more great sights with flowing water and places known as "natural bathtubs."  However, the hike out is very strenuous.  Last time we hiked it, it was over 100 degrees.  Today it was 80, and still it took about all we had.  To give pregnant momma a break, our ten year old, donned the baby in the backpack for the first time.  He went from very excited to very tired, very quickly.

The trail itself is about 3.5 miles.  By the time we included our extra steps exploring the rockhouse, we were up to 6.6 miles!  This is definitely worth your trip to come see.



Travel time from home: 2.5 hours :(
Today's miles: 6.67
Remaining miles: 3.74

Hike #25 - Ozark Highlands Trail

We have a couple of through hikes in our area.  We haven't attempted any yet, but one of the favorites is the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT).  We occasionally head down the affectionately named Highway 23 Pigtrail, such as when we camped at Redding Recreation Area a few weeks ago.  One of the OHT trailheads is on Hwy 23.  We have wanted to do this part of the trail for a while, but have never made it.  Today we finally did.

This trailhead is called Cherry Bend.  Cherry Bend is around mile 36 (moving from south to north) on this 260+ mile trail.  From Cherry Bend you can go in either direction.  We headed south because I knew there was a short spur close to the trailhead that went what is known as Rockhouse.  Rockhouse is natural overhanging rock that at some time in the past someone closed in with rock walls.  We spent a few minutes checking it out.  It was a neat spot, but sadly there was quite a pile of beer cans
left behind.

From the outset, this trail started uphill.  It became clear pretty quickly that this wasn't going to stop anytime soon.  There are some great views along the way of the Ozarks, but this trail is very rugged and climbed steadily uphill for the first 1.75 miles.  This is not a beginner hike.  Along the way, we were accompanied by the steady drone of motorcycles on 23, because there must be some state law that says a motorcycle must travel on 23 approximately every 3.8 seconds.  We began to the see the top of a ridge and with it the hope of a downhill stretch.  There is an ATV trail that runs along this ridge that gets about as much traffic as 23.  This would probably be a good source of emergency help if it was ever needed on the trail.

We have been trying to get our three-year-old to do more walking on his own, and today he was a champ.  He did the whole uphill stretch.  He began to ask to be carried around 2.2 miles, and we finally did begin carrying him around 2.5.  He really did a great job, but between this and the uphill terrain, our standard pace of a 36 minute mile became a 56 minute mile!  This was pretty torturous, but the rest of the way went much faster.  We got back to the car with 3.96 miles completed.  That was unacceptable.  There was another unidentified trail that left the parking area, so we decided to get to 4.0 this way.  Very quickly this trail came to a cliff with a pretty trecherous rocky trail to go down and around it.  The kids were excited about this, but we decided we were at the end.  Back to the van it was.

Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 4.0
Remaining miles: 10.41

Stuff We Like - Child Carriers

So how do you lug a couple of 25-30 kids 100 miles through the woods?  There are a lot of child carriers out there.  We have three that we use, and all three have their uses.  One we heavily researched and bought new.  Two were given to us by friends whose kids had outgrown them, so we really can't say how they compare to other similar products.  They have worked fine for us though.

Ergo Baby
This is the one mom uses almost exclusively and dad only if someone neither of the others are in the car.

Pros:
Can be worn front or back
Works for infants
Handy head strap so babies' noggins down bounce if they fall asleep

Cons:
No barrier between your body and the baby's creates lots of shared sweat
Requires delicate maneuvering to put on without help

Kelty Kids Backcountry
This is the one dad uses almost exclusively.  As far as I can tell, this is no longer available except used on eBay or such sites.

Pros:
Very sturdy
Five-point harness and seat makes it easy to load for one person (baby stays secure while lifting)
Detachable day pack
Great adjustable straps
Carried a five year old once after a fall
Kelty has replaced all broken buckles at no charge (even considering we are not the original owners)

Cons:
A wide spread really pulls your center of gravity backwards
So sturdy it temps you to leave your child in it unattended.  Don't.


Tough Traveler Colt
This one comes in handy for dad, but mom never uses.  Dad keeps this one in the van for use at kids' sporting events, etc.  It makes a good backup when hiking with someone who has kids but doesn't have a carrier.

Pros:
Totally rad website!
Lightweight and compact
Handy pocket (always have a backup diaper)
Easy to load for one person

Cons:
The bar that cuts across the top of your back (no bueno)
Not the best straps

Hike #24 - Hidden Diversity

We are really enjoying Hobbs State Park Conservation Area.  We have already done the Pigeon Roost trail and the Shaddox Hollow trail.  Today we got some hiking in, but what drew us here was the Fall Festival that they have on the first Sunday of October each year.

The fall festival follows the Historical Van Winkle trail.  This trail is only about a mile long and either paved or hard packed gravel the whole way.  It winds through the homestead of the Van Winkle family.  You can see the foundation ruins of several of their buildings including the blacksmith shop, mill, and spring house.  For the festival today the had tall tale tellers, animal furs, blacksmith demonstrations, apple cider making, dutch oven cooking (very good!), and pioneer games.  Without the festivities, this short trail has some small but pretty bluffs, a clear creek, and open spaces for running and playing.

Since this trail only got us a mile, we went from here to the Hidden Diversity multi-use trail.  This trail is hike, bike, and horse friendly.  The trail is actually big enough that various sections are named separately.  We started from the Townsend Ridge trailhead (it is closest to where we were already) and did part of the War Eagle Valley trail.  This trail is a six mile loop.  We headed east at fork where the two sides of the loop come together.  This forest seems much more foresty than most of the other trails we have hiked on.  It's not that the trail is lightly used, because the path is very clear, but there seems to be a lot growing all around.  There are a lot ferns and mushrooms that to me feel more alive than just trees.  This is one of the best marked trails we have done with good signs at all the splits and white blazes at least every fifty feet. They are even appropriately slanted for trail turns, which I am snobby about.  It is a pretty strenuous trail with long steady climbs and long steady descents, but it is never very steep.  About a mile and half in there is an overlook with a bench, but there are three huge trees that block most of the view.  It would be much nicer in leaf-off which is coming soon.  At the two mile point we came to a view of the War Eagle Creek.  There are two benches here and a sign warning you of the sheer drop off to the creek probably forty feet below.  The dirt to the edge looks pretty loose too, so definitely be careful.  We told the kids they were required to sit on the benches, and that I would take them closer to the edge for a picture.  However, at this point things got interesting.

As we were sitting having a snack, our one-year-old grabbed a bug that was crawling on his arm,
tried to eat it, and then started screaming.  I swatted the black and yellow bug out of his mouth but was afraid it might have stung him.  Instead of pictures at the prettiest spot on the trail, we picked up and headed back to the van. About half a mile back, my daughter told me that the baby's mouth was crooked.  The picture speaks for itself.  We have a child with severe food allergies, so we always bring an EpiPen with us.  For some reason we did not have it with us, so if his swelling continued we were two miles away from the medicine he needed.  On top of this, because we have the food allergy we have prepped our big kids that face swelling is potentially life-threatening, so at this point they began to get a bit hysterical.  Good times!  We continued hiking out, the swelling never got bigger than this, and everyone lives to see another day.  Another first in the family hiking adventures.

We will definitely be back for more Hidden Diversity.

Travel time from home: 45 minutes
Today's miles: 4.94
Remaining miles: 14.41