January 10, 2010...   hike on the OT from mile 202 to 198.5 and back.  This was around the time of the persistent, extreme cold when Little Rock saw single digit temperatures as low as 6-8 degrees (F).  Side channels of the Maumelle River were frozen.  Even fairly large stretches of river were frozen over.   Around mile 200, we encountered a pond with visually striking, unusual frozen patterns in the ice.  The water level had been rising/falling, as the pond froze, leaving small frozen "plates" of ice stuck on the cypress knees.  An amazing day!  (PS...   due to dead batteries in the camera, most of these photos were taken with an iPhone.  I never thought I'd be posting phone photos here, but this was too good to pass up).

On January 10, 2010 we hiked from Ouachita Trail mile 202 to about 198.5 and back.   This was during the period of extreme cold that hit this area for days on end in January.  Along the trail, near mile 201, we found this woodpecker inside of a hole in a dead tree...  frozen.   Perhaps sick or old?   Woodpeckers have a range that extends far north, where colder temperatures are routine.  Perhaps the population in this area is not accustomed to the unusual single digit temperatures of this period.  BTW...  due to dead batteries in the camera, these photos were taken with an iPhone.

On September 26th I was finally able to get out on the OT again.  This time, for a quick afternoon hike on the Ouachita Trail, starting at mile 220, hiking to mile 217.5 and back.   This section of the OT gets a lot of day use because it is so easily accessible and close to Little Rock.  

Mile 220 of the OT is where the trail crosses highway 300 at Natural Steps.  There is a small pulloff (unofficial parking) just before the bridge over the Lake Maumelle spillway on Hwy 300.

As of late March, snakes and wildflowers were out in force in the Ouachita's.   I went out for an afternoon 'exercise' hike on March 23rd, on a section of the Ouachita Trail, and saw multiple snakes and incredible wildflowers.