Blog news

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Michael R

I changed the name of my blog a couple months ago to The Compulsive Hiker and today I’ve taken the next step toward coolness and registered my own domain name: CompulsiveHiker.com.  MichaelR42.wordpress.com should continue to work for the blog and RSS feed but the new one is the primary/default.

I started reorganizing my Trail Info pages a couple months ago and got sidetracked by actually doing stuff but intend to get back to that project soon.  The goal is to provide more current and timely info than what you might get from a forest/park service web site for example.  I will probably get around to expanding the Gear pages too.

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Eagle Rock Loop

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Michael R

Weather, water levels, and schedule conflicts have deterred two previous attempts but the stars aligned this year and I (with a friend) have now done the Eagle Rock Loop – a 27 mile loop consisting of parts of the Little Missouri, Viles Branch, and Athens-Big Fork trails. Rugged Ouachita topography, scenic vistas, geological wonders, and water – lots of it; 9 crossings of the Little Missouri River, 12 crossings of Viles Branch, and more smaller streams than we could count.  There is even a hot spring (okay, it’s merely warm).

It’s considered by many to be the most challenging hike in Arkansas and I can now agree.  The only hikes I’ve done that were tougher than the Athens-Big Fork section of this loop were in the Colorado Rockies.

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Ozark Highlands Trail – Ragtown Road to Fane Creek

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Michael R

Ragtown Road to Fane Creek (map 3) is basically the middle of OHT section 2, from mile 25.8 to 31.6, making it an 11.6-mile round trip for me today.  The most notable features were the old railroad bed and an abundance of water due to a heavy rain the previous day.

I’d been on this section a month ago when I helped clear brush from about mile 28 to 29.5 but my head was down the whole time so it was nice to be able to see “the big picture” today.

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Ozark Highlands Trail – Fane Creek to Cherry Bend

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Michael R

Today’s hike was the east end of section 2.  I started at the Cherry Bend trail head and headed west to Fane Creek and then back.  It was about 25 degrees when I started but by 10:00 AM I had stripped-off the last bit of fleece – the temperature peaked around 65.

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Ozark Highlands Trail – White Rock Mountain to Ragtown Road

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Michael R

I hiked a bit of this western end of section 2 as part of the whole Shores Lake/White Rock loop last fall.  Today I started at the Ragtown Road (FR1509) trail head and went west to the spur for the Shores Lake trail near mile 20.1, and back (maps 2 & 3).

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Ouachita reconnaissance

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Michael R

I set out this morning intending to day hike the Horsethief Springs loop on Winding Stair Mountain.  The snow around Fort Smith from last Friday’s storm is mostly gone so I figured it would be clear there too.  I was wrong.

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Ozark Highlands Trail – Lake Fort Smith to Dockery’s Gap

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Michael R

I hiked the OHT from Dockery’s Gap to the east side of Lake Fort Smith today (map 1).  The starting temperature was 25F and there was still a couple inches of snow on the ground so it definitely felt like winter. Continue reading →

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Ozark Highlands Trail – Dockery’s Gap to White Rock Mtn

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Michael R

I hiked roughly the eastern half of OHT section 1 today – from Dockery’s Gap to the western Shore’s Lake spur (map 2).  The other mile or so east of that point (plus the western end of section 2) was hiked last year as part of the whole Shore’s Lake Loop.  I was alone with no shuttle so I had to hike back too, making it a 15 mile day – the longest I’ve done in quite a while.

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Turkey Day on Hare Mountain

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Michael R

I did a little impromptu trail work today on OHT section 3 between the Cherry Bend trail head and Hare Mountain.  I cleared a couple small trees and lots of little branches from the corridor.  I left one large tree for someone with a chain saw.

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Buffalo River Trail – Woolum Campground to US-65

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Michael R

I’ve spent the last 5 weekends hiking or working on the Buffalo River Trail.  It wasn’t a goal, it just kinda happened.  Last weekend was backpacking in the upper river area, this weekend it was backpacking in the middle area – from the Wollum Campground to the US-65 bridge.  What a difference a week makes for weather!  Last weekend an overnight low of 67, this weekend a low of 21. Continue reading →

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