Post by trinity on Feb 16, 2016 18:27:31 GMT -8
After receiving some excellent advice on the Southern region board, I planned a trip hiking about 53 miles of the Ouachita Trail from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas from Feb 2-6. I ordinarily head to New Mexico for my backpacking trips, but for a winter trip, this seemed like a reasonable destination. I was not disappointed, though this area did not exactly cure me of my infatuation with the mountain west. We (my dog Floyd and I) drove up to Mena, AR on Monday, and a shuttle picked us up on Tuesday morning and drove us to the western terminus of the trail. $75, which didn’t seem like a bad deal. We had beautiful weather to begin our hike.
We got a late start, but were able to cover a fair amount of trail. I was surprised at how easy this terrain is, and I was able to keep my pack fairly light. Even though it was almost noon when we started, we had no trouble covering just over 9 miles, which took us to an extremely nice shelter.
I had not expected there to be shelters on this portion of the trail, but there were quite a few of them, all brand new, built by the Friends of the Ouachita Trail. Staying in a shelter was a new experience for me, and it was pretty enjoyable, especially since I had the two shelters I stayed at all to myself. A nice raised platform, benches, and a picnic table!
The weather stayed beautiful, but turned quite a bit colder on Wednesday. It got down into the mid 20s that night, which was a bit much for poor Floyd. He has a pad and a blanket, but that wasn’t enough for him, so I also had to try to cover him with my down quilt. That seemed to help a bit.
We had been warned about the rock fields along one section of the trail, and they were, indeed, pretty rough going. But they are also very beautiful and interesting.
Our second night was also spent in a shelter. I was glad to have shelters to stay in on the northern slope of the Ouachitas, as this area had pretty dense undergrowth and few good areas to pitch a tent. On day three we passed Horsethief Springs, climbed Winding Stair Mountain, and eventually descended to the south facing slope of the ridge. This area was generally a little more xeric, had more pines, and a more open understory. I found it a lot nicer. We were treated to some very nice views along the way. Our third night we camped in a beautiful pine grove, it was very peaceful. By this time, poor Floyd was pretty much worn out. I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it the whole way, but he hung in there.
Day 4 took us by some beautiful streams, through some very nice forest, and up to the top of Mount Wilton, then down the back side into the Upper Kiamichi Wilderness Area. We were able to find a very nice campsite along the Kiamichi River.
Day 5 was about an 11 mile hike to Queen Wilhelmina State Park, where we had left the car. It was a pleasant day, a pretty good climb up to the Arkansas State Line, and some surprisingly overgrown trail, but otherwise not too bad.
We arrived at the State Park in the late afternoon, and I discovered that the restaurant at the lodge had an all you can eat buffet, so I proceeded to eat my weight in food, which was a fun way to end a trip.
Though this is a very beautiful area, it also felt kind of enclosed to someone who is imprinted on the Texas Hill Country. There was pretty much a closed canopy along the entire trail, so most of the views were pretty obscured, even during leaf off.
Though this area does not feel nearly as remote as the wilderness areas out west, I only saw 5 other hikers in 5 days. 4 of those were on the last day, the other was a throughhiker with whom I leapfrogged a few times. It was definitely nice to feel like I had the trail practically to myself.
One nice thing about this trail compared to the wilderness areas I usually hike; no horses, at least not on most of the trail. In theory I don’t mind horsepackers, and the ones I know are great people, I just prefer not to share the backcountry with them.
Overall, a great trail for folks looking for a winter destination. Lots of solitude, beautiful scenery, some great campsites and shelters. I'm sure I'll be back to check out other sections of the trail.
We got a late start, but were able to cover a fair amount of trail. I was surprised at how easy this terrain is, and I was able to keep my pack fairly light. Even though it was almost noon when we started, we had no trouble covering just over 9 miles, which took us to an extremely nice shelter.
I had not expected there to be shelters on this portion of the trail, but there were quite a few of them, all brand new, built by the Friends of the Ouachita Trail. Staying in a shelter was a new experience for me, and it was pretty enjoyable, especially since I had the two shelters I stayed at all to myself. A nice raised platform, benches, and a picnic table!
The weather stayed beautiful, but turned quite a bit colder on Wednesday. It got down into the mid 20s that night, which was a bit much for poor Floyd. He has a pad and a blanket, but that wasn’t enough for him, so I also had to try to cover him with my down quilt. That seemed to help a bit.
We had been warned about the rock fields along one section of the trail, and they were, indeed, pretty rough going. But they are also very beautiful and interesting.
Our second night was also spent in a shelter. I was glad to have shelters to stay in on the northern slope of the Ouachitas, as this area had pretty dense undergrowth and few good areas to pitch a tent. On day three we passed Horsethief Springs, climbed Winding Stair Mountain, and eventually descended to the south facing slope of the ridge. This area was generally a little more xeric, had more pines, and a more open understory. I found it a lot nicer. We were treated to some very nice views along the way. Our third night we camped in a beautiful pine grove, it was very peaceful. By this time, poor Floyd was pretty much worn out. I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it the whole way, but he hung in there.
Day 4 took us by some beautiful streams, through some very nice forest, and up to the top of Mount Wilton, then down the back side into the Upper Kiamichi Wilderness Area. We were able to find a very nice campsite along the Kiamichi River.
Day 5 was about an 11 mile hike to Queen Wilhelmina State Park, where we had left the car. It was a pleasant day, a pretty good climb up to the Arkansas State Line, and some surprisingly overgrown trail, but otherwise not too bad.
We arrived at the State Park in the late afternoon, and I discovered that the restaurant at the lodge had an all you can eat buffet, so I proceeded to eat my weight in food, which was a fun way to end a trip.
Though this is a very beautiful area, it also felt kind of enclosed to someone who is imprinted on the Texas Hill Country. There was pretty much a closed canopy along the entire trail, so most of the views were pretty obscured, even during leaf off.
Though this area does not feel nearly as remote as the wilderness areas out west, I only saw 5 other hikers in 5 days. 4 of those were on the last day, the other was a throughhiker with whom I leapfrogged a few times. It was definitely nice to feel like I had the trail practically to myself.
One nice thing about this trail compared to the wilderness areas I usually hike; no horses, at least not on most of the trail. In theory I don’t mind horsepackers, and the ones I know are great people, I just prefer not to share the backcountry with them.
Overall, a great trail for folks looking for a winter destination. Lots of solitude, beautiful scenery, some great campsites and shelters. I'm sure I'll be back to check out other sections of the trail.