Ozark Highland Trail

Has anyone read the article on the Ozark Highland trail that was in the Oct. 08 issue of National Geographic? If you have you know about the history and all the hard work that Tim Earnst and all of the volunteers have donated. The photos by Peter Essick are beautiful. Tim's photos are breathtaking because of his intimate knowledge of the area. You can view his site at Cloudland.net. Lately I've spent some time planning a section hike of the AT but have decided to stay closer to home and hike part or all of the OHT first. I plan to catch it in the spring when there is still plenty of water in the area. I know some of you spend time there! What, in you opinon, is the best place to spend 3-4 days?

Yeah, it was nice to see our area in a feature article there.

NG Ozarks Article

I haven't hiked much of the trail at all but I have bushwhacked areas that it runs through.

Here are some good maps that show the at least parts of the trail:

OHT Maps and Waypoints

The last two maps on that page show the Richland Creek, Stack Rock, and Wollum at the Buffalo River areas. I've bushwhacked around this area quite a bit. The Stack Rock section of the trail runs through an area that has the highest concentration of Bears in Arkansas and probably the entire Ozarks area.

Just .8 miles upstream from where the trail starts/ends at the Wollum Ford on the Buffalo River is one of the finest swimming holes in the world. That'd be a great place to spend the last night and day of hike. It's accessible by car, but you probably will be there alone if it's the middle of the week in the Spring.

The Hurricane Creek to Fairview section is probably pretty nice. It runs along the creek and up into and around a holler. You'd probably have decent access to water and judging by the topomap there are probably some great "SSS's" (Super Scenic Spots) there.

Get Tim's Ozark Highlands Trail Guidebook. He'll tell you where the best "SSS's" are and his trail descriptions are as good as gold.

You might look into the Buffalo River Trail too. I think it and the OHT run together in spots and just about anywhere in the Buffalo River National Park is worth being. There are probably some spots on the OHT that I personally wouldn't go to. Not that they aren't worth hiking at all, it's just that I think there are better places to spend my free time.

You could easily spend weeks right around Hemmed-in-Hollow. The two highest waterfalls in the area are there. Granny Henderson's cabin, Snead Creek, Fishtrap Hollow, Rocky Bottoms, and miles and miles of trails. And you can set-up camp just about anywhere you like.

If I were to recommend a trail system to explore the Ozarks to my friends here it would be those trails near Hemmed-in-Hollow. I don't think any backpacker here would be disappointed.

Bill

Thanks so much for the great maps and waypoints. I really love the area around the BRT and plan to visit again early spring.

Bill,
Is the OHT part of the Ouachita Trail or are they two totally separate trails.
I've been looking at the maps and internet and am not quite sure.

Thanks,
Tango

They are completely separate trails. Both run approximately east-west but the OHT is mostly in the Boston Mountains and the OT is in the Ouachita Mountains.

I second Bill's recommendation of the Richland Creek-Woolum area, it is very nice with the water flowing. I think that section is 25 or more miles, and you can definitely spend a lot of time exploring off trail if you want to. It also connects to the eastern part of the Buffalo River Trail if you can cross Richland Creek, but 3-4 days might not be enough for all of that. If you want to get to Richland Creek campground, you should check with the Forest Service, since the main road was wiped out by a mudslide and may not be fixed yet.

The other part I have hiked is Lick Branch to White Rock Mountain, which is also highly recommended. Lots of up and down, with views on top and scenic creeks in between. It's about 38 miles, and also has plenty of off-trail areas to explore.

OHT and OT are two separate trail systems. The OHT is North of the Arkansas River (and I-40) and the OT is south of the River. I have been on both, and do think that the OHT is more fun.

That was a great article. I've thought for sometime that the OHT is under-rated as far as national attention, and I was totally ok with that actually... it just means that things were quieter.

I think the best place I've been on the OHT is the Hurricane Creek area. I agree with Bill... you should really pick up the trail guide at cloudland.net. The guidebook is tremendous. I have not hiked the entire trail, but I've done several sections. the Hurricane Creek area is nice and does include a high water by-pass in case the creek is raging (been there and had to use the by-pass). PM me if you'd like.

Thanks Slowfoot and JP. That's the info I was looking for.
Now, decisions decisions. So much trail and too little time. Hmmmmm.

If I were to recommend a trail system to explore the Ozarks to my friends here it would be those trails near Hemmed-in-Hollow. I don't think any backpacker here would be disappointed.

I did spend time around Hemmed-in-Hollow and loved that area. I want to spend a little time on the OHT. We plan to spend the first day hiking and make camp. Then do some day hiking around the area. I haven't decided yet which area.

Chaz,
How busy is the H-in-H area? I understand it to be pretty busy on weekends. Any ideas?

Didn't see a lot of folks until we hiked out Sunday morning. But ran into a few groups around the Buffalo river area fri and sat. I think a lot of people day hike to H-in-H area.

Chaz,

Although the Buffalo River Trail (BRT)and Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) never converge, they both are really great ways to see the Ozarks.

I second an earlier poster's recommendation to do the approximately 40 mile section of the OHT between White Rock and Lick Branch (Sections 2 and 3 in Ernst's guide). This area is challenging, letting you take in the views from White Rock and Hare Mountains (Hare is the highest point on the trail). It also lets you see some very intimate little draws, Herrod's, Spirits, and Indian Creeks, and last but not least, the Marinoni Scenic Area. This scenic area is about 1.5 miles west of Lick Branch and is teeming with waterfalls, drainages, and some of the biggest beech trees and rock formations you'll ever see. Also, a lot of off trail interest here (rock bridge). I've actually had a lot of success introducing people to backpacking and/or the OHT using these sections.

The BRT would also be great as it totals around 45 miles from Boxley to Pruitt. This is a great scenic trail with awesome views of the river, but can be busy feeling as it goes through several established campgrounds (Steele Creek, Kyle's Landing, etc.). Not many people on trail, but a lot of noise is common. The one thing about this one is that it's pretty challenging. The trial is steep, not all that well managed, and crisscrosses a lot of spur and horse trails, making following blazes difficult at times. Awesome vistas on this one, though.

When are you planning on going? I think I'm going to be in that area the last week in March.

chaz:
I'll second bostonmtnman's choice on doing Sections 2 & 3 of the OHT. He and I actually did those sections last January and had an awesome time. There were some blowdowns affecting the first part of Section 2 earlier this fall, but they may have been cleaned up by now.
As far as the BRT goes, it's a great trail. I did an end-to-end hike of it back in October and had a really great time. If you want to read my trip report, you can go to the link below:

http://www.arkansasbackcountry.com/buffalo-river-trail-f27/boxley-pruitt-trip-report-t433.htm

Have fun,
Oz

Not sure exactly when but around the end of march to the middle of april. I'm meeting my hiking buddy (my Son) in the morning and hiking some trails with people from the Memphis Meetup hiking group. I'm not sure what to expect but may find some more folks that want to do an Arkansas trip. I'm not real crazy about large groups but a few more folks might be fun. I can get a better idea tommorow. I'll try to post the when, when I know. Maybe we can cross paths?

The BRT and the OHT do converge, although the two sections of the BRT don't. The western section of the BRT starts near Woolum on the opposite side of Richland Creek from where the OHT ends. The topography is not as dramatic as the Boxley to Pruitt section, but it is still a really nice trail. It goes along some tall bluffs between Woolum and Tyler Bend, crosses the river on the US65 bridge, and then goes past Gilbert and ends where a railroad bridge used to cross the river.