It's Good For the Soul

Ozark National Forest was definitely worth the trip. For the drive up my brother and I used scenic route 7 up to our camp site at Alum Cove where there is a very large natural bridge, several caves, and large rock formations. We had also stopped at a few scenic lookouts along the way and hiked a short portion of trail where I had the first snake spotting of the trip. At all of our stops the first day there were multiple dried up creeks or standing water were flowing water should have been. Arkansas is once again dying for rain. There were burn ban signs up everywhere we went.

on the natural bridge at Alum Cove, Ozark National Forest

this was quite a common sight: riverbed with no river

Alum Cove

Alum Cove

Alum Cove

early morning tent

my favorite part about sleeping out was the early morning sunlight waking me up (with a chorus of very loud birds)

For the second day of hiking we took 16 over to 23, and then headed down 309 to bring us to Mt. Magazine, the highest point in Arkansas. This place was freaking packed. The trails seemed very tourist friendly and there was a giant lodge built not far from Signal Hill (the highest point). After walking the Signal Hill loop, with various occurrences such as my pack's strap breaking and spotting a solitary deer tromping around not 200ft from the trail, we headed toward the cliffs on the backside of the nearby lodge.

Signal Hill Trail to Highpoint

Mount Magazine Signal Hill, Highest Point in Arkansas: Elevation 2,759ft

After these hikes, which probably only amounted to around 3 miles, we were spent, which is more understandable taking into consideration the 95+ degree heat. So we got in the car and head down to the Cossatot River. This was the most fun stop we made. There are giant shards of rock jutting diagonally from a semi-swiftly moving river, rows upon rows of rock with large rock walls on either side. We spent our time jumping from rock to rock and climbing them down the river for probably a quarter mile until we came to an open area where we swam with a few other guests, if you will.

At this point we were really tired, had baked in the sun for hours upon hours, and were getting annoyed with ourselves for not being able to quit singing What's Up (if you get a kick out of everything about the 90s, you should definitely watch the video).

a lone rock in the Cossatot River

Go for a nature walk, it's good for you!

Thoughts on nature: Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. - John Muir

Pack It In!

White Rock Mountain, Ozark National Forest

I have never packed a backpack quite like this before, so I took the time Thursday night to document exactly how I put together my pack in the hopes that I will can look back and see what I did right or wrong, and in the hopes that someone reading this knows how to do it and will give me tips and constructive criticism (hint, hint: that is you, please!). Nevertheless, here is my somewhat educated guess on how to pack my crap together for a 3 day hiking trip.

1.hand towel 

2.mess kit 

3.clothing (2 undies, 2 tops, 1 pair of shorts) 

4.pack 

5.wet wipes 

6.toothbrush and paste 

7.non-existent number 

8.LED lantern 

9.cash 

10.waterproof electronics bag, first aid kit for 1, LED flashlight 

11.chapstick, deodorant, comb, bug spray and dry shampoo 

12.boots 

13.sleeping bag 

14.tent 

15.notepad 

16.food

 Items to be packed in the morning: toilet paper, matches, and firestarter.

i'm pleased by the simplest things, like this nifty spot to put your ID on the pack

I stuffed all of my granola bars into one box.

after standing this up inside of the pack I realized just how large the thing could expand to...

most websites recommend only taking along clean socks and simply washing the rest of your clothing as needed, however, I'm just taking the dang clothes.

the all-important water... and the all-heavy

lots of extra room left for my pack-in-morning items

I struggled for a while with attaching my sleeping bag to the top of the pack... then I simply laid it all down and everything was easier.

by the time you're reading this, I will have become well aware of what I could have done better with my packing and what items I wish I had brought.

Thoughts on camping: The ultimate camping trip was the Lewis and Clark expedition. - Dave Barry

Ozark National Forest

Today I head off with my brother for Ozark National Forest. We will be up there for Friday, all of Saturday and, most likely, most of Sunday. This will be my first overnight hiking trip and I'm really freaking excited. Over the course of my visit with my family down here I want to visit at least one National Park in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. This will count as my (first) Arkansas park.

I also plan to take a trip up to Michigan's Ludington State Park, through Manistee National Forest with my best friend in August when I get back, as well as my trip home which will be hiking-packed, but we'll get to that later because I'm still planning it and there is a lot I want to do!

I will share these few websites which have proven themselves extremely helpful to be beginning my career as a hiker. Also shown below are a few pictures of where I am going for the weekend and some links for cool outdoor stuff I have found on Pinterest.

Section Hiker: 3 Day Backpacking Menu

The Lightweight Backpacker: BackcountryTrip Planner

Campmor

Hike Light: 3-Day UltralightBackpacking Gear List

Rattlesnake Falls, Ozark National Forest

White Rock Mountain, Ozark National Forest

Glory Hole Falls, Ozark National Forest

Camping Dinner Recipes 

On The Way - Type in your starting destination and your ending destination, and it will find ALL SORTS of things for you to do, see, eat, play along the way.

Quotes on hiking:

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. - John Muir

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright (I intend to test this someday soon...)