Lake Sylvia Loop

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Michael R

The Lake Sylvia Loop is a 4.1 mile trail in the Lake Sylvia Recreation Area a bit south of Perryville, Ark.  It is mostly out in the woods, with only a short segment anywhere close to the lake.  The southern 1.25 miles of the loop are shared with the Ouachita Trail.

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Petit Jean State Park – Cedar Creek, Cedar Falls, Canyon, and Bear Cave Trails

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Michael R

This is a summary of 2 recent trips to Petit Jean State Park to hike some trails I didn’t cover on the first visit, plus a bit of volunteer work.

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Sam’s Throne

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Michael R

No, not a Walmart story!  Sam’s Throne is basically a rocky knob on the east side of the Big Creek valley.  It has sheer bluffs on all sides that are probably 40-60′ high and has some great views in all directions.  It’s south of Mt Judea (pronounced “judy”), Ark on the west side of AR 123.    The short story behind the name is that a while back some guy named Sam would climb up there to yell biblical stuff at his lucky neighbors in the valley below.

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Mount Magazine trails

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Michael R

Mount Magazine State Park features a collection of trails that encircle much of the rim and are interconnected so you can arrange a hike of varying lengths.  The best for scenic vistas is the Benefield East Loop with the North Rim a runner-up.  For a nice walk in the woods, they’re all good.

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Petit Jean State Park – Seven Hollows Trail and other attractions

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Michael R

Petit Jean State Park – Arkansas’ first state park and widely considered its crown jewel – is about 25 miles south east of Russellville.  It’s close enough to me now and has enough trail mileage that I’m sure it will be a regular destination when I need to get out and stretch the legs and don’t have something else planned.

The main target for me today was the 4.5-mile Seven Hollows Trail.  Tim Ernst says it’s one of his favorites and many others have praised it as well.  There are several other nice trails there too and they interconnect so you can arrange an all-day hike if you want.

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Buffalo River Trail building – Fall 2014 kickoff

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Michael R

Work on the Buffalo River Extension of the Ozark Highlands Trail resumes October 13 and is expected to continue through November 14.  We’ll be operating from Tyler Bend  again and will be filling some gaps in the trail east of that area.

We had a very productive spring session – building about 3.6 miles of trail, which is about 50% more than had previously been done each year.  I think the latest estimate was that about 4.5 miles of tread still need to be cut so perhaps the spring ’15 session will close the final gaps to complete the 41-mile trail from the Wollum Ford to Dillard’s Ferry.

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A Wet Week in the Weminuche Wilderness, or A Soggy San Juans Story

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Michael R

The Weminuche Wilderness covers about 500,000 acres of southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and is the largest in the state.  I and 4 other guys (RC, JH, TC, & WN) spent about 6 days exploring much of the Ute Creek watershed from the Rio Grande Reservoir all the way up to the continental divide (elevations of about 9500′ to 12000′).  Donna Ikenberry has a great book for this area and the neighboring South San Juan Wilderness.  Trails Illustrated map #140 is also very helpful.

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Mount Nebo Trails

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Michael R

I got out to do some hiking at Mount Nebo the last 3 mornings.  Rising about 1300′ above its surroundings, it’s a rather prominent feature with some great vistas.  The last time I was up there was also my first – a summer 2013 trip to scout the Russellville area before moving to Arkansas.  We’ve had some foggy mornings recently so I couldn’t get pictures of the surroundings this time – see the older post for that.  The Visitor Center has a brochure with a map of all the trails, and is one of several trail heads.

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Almost

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Michael R

I’ve been a resident of Russellville Ark for about a week now and it’s beginning to feel like home.  Most of my stuff is still in Fort Smith but should be moved in the coming week.  It will be nice to finally get settled and get back out on the trail.

I spent a weekend at Devil’s Den State Park with some friends from Kansas City a couple weeks ago.  We hiked a bit of the Butterfield Trail – my first time on a trail since Cossatot River 4 weeks earlier.  I’ve got a trip in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains coming up and I really need to get out for some hill climbing day hikes before then to get conditioned.

After the San Juan’s trip it will be time to start making plans for the next backpacking season here.

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Moving again!

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Michael R

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately but I haven’t fallen off a cliff or gotten lost in the woods.  Instead, I am buying a house in Russellville Ark.  I expect to close in 2 weeks and move about a week later.  It will be so nice to finally get settled after last summer’s big move from Kansas City to Fort Smith.

Why Russellville?  Within a 90-minute drive are 6 or 7 wilderness areas, much of the Buffalo River, about 2/3 of the Ouachita Trail, all of the Ozark Highlands Trail, and some of the best parts of the Ozarks and Ouachitas.  What’s not to like about that?

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