The Compulsive Hiker

The Long Pool Recreation Area is about 20 miles north of Russellville on the banks of Big Piney Creek, and just 3/4 mile east of the campground is 44′ Long Pool Falls.

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Here are some more waterfalls I wouldn’t have known about without Tim Ernst’s book.  About 13 miles north of Scottsville AR, along North Fork Road (FR 1310) are a couple that are pretty close to, but downhill from, the road.  “North Fork” refers to the North Fork of the Illinois Bayou, which runs roughly parallel to, but about 500′ below this road.

The South waterfall measures 33′ and the North is 53′.  It’s easy enough to see the top of the falls, and to get around a bit to the side to see the whole thing in profile but this is steep terrain so getting down below for a good look requires some effort.  As usual there are smaller falls nearby.  These are rather high up so the water flow doesn’t last long after a rain, and there wasn’t much more than a trickle today.

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The Penhook Special Interest Area is a few miles north of Hector AR and encompasses Penhook Hollow – with its creeks, tall bluffs, and steep terrain creating a very scenic area.  The hollow opens onto the Middle Fork of the Illinois Bayou River not very far upstream from where the Middle Fork joins the East Fork.  The area was apparently considered for wilderness designation at one time.  The main attraction is 41′ Penhook Falls but there are at least 8 other waterfalls and with the recent rains, I figured this would be a good time to go looking for them.

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I’ve spent a couple days now hiking part of the Moccasin Gap Trails.  This is a 43-mile system on the west side of AR-7 about 30 minutes north of Russellville.  It’s open to equestrians, mountain bikes, and ATVs, in addition to hikers so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The trails are located in a valley formed by Moccasin Creek and are basically divided by the creek into eastern and western sections with a couple connectors that cross the creek.  I have hiked all the official trails in the eastern part.

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