Ouachita Trail (section 08) mile 168.8 to 173.5

Hike Features:

State: Arkansas
County: Saline
Location: Off forest road near OT mile 169
Length of hike shown:  ~ 9.8 miles
Trail: All on the Ouachita Trail
GPS: 34.83268° N  93.03222° W (OT access off forest road #124)

30 photos of this hike in photo gallery

Reaching Trailhead: The easiest way to find this place is to look at the Section 8 map in the Ouachita Trail Guidebook.    FR 132 is the "Winona Scenic Drive".   It can be reached off of highway 9 a few miles south of Williams Junction and can also be reached from highway 7 (just north of Iron Springs picnic area).  The trail crosses FR #124 on top of White Oak Mountain, which was the starting point for this hike.

Description of hike:  This was a yo-yo hike of a 5 mile stretch of the Ouachita Trail.   I had several intentions on this day...   it was a Sunday afternoon in August, but the weather was relatively mild (for August).  I wanted to map this section of the OT using the GPS and needed some exercise, so it seemed like as good a time as any.

The first "issue" was finding the trail.   The forest service (or somebody) had recently regraded the road (FR #124) and the trail was very overgrown and difficult to find.  As of this writing (August 2008) there is a little pull-out right next to where the trail crosses the road, probably big enough for 2 cars to get off of the road.

Heading east, the OT drops down to a trailhead sign with nothing on it and a sign announcing that this section is cared for by the Ouachita Mountain Hikers.  The sign also announces that it is 2 miles to Green Thumb Spring.   Section 8 actually has water sources year round: at Sugar Creek, Green Thumb Spring, Moccasin Springs, Crystal Prong, etc...  even in summer. 

The main "feature" of this section from FR #124 to Green Thumb Spring is that its very rocky.  Incredibly rocky!  Its easy enough to walk but you spend a lot of time looking at your feet.  During August there are essentially no views/vistas.  During "leaf off" there probably would be. 

Another "feature" of this part of the OT is where it passes through a tangle of dead trees on top of White Oak Mountain.  The trees look like they were killed by fire and many of them are blown down.   The result is a large open area of dead standing and fallen trees that gets full sunlight and is completely overgrown.   On the east-heading leg of this hike, I lost the trail and ended up having to go out onto the road (FR#132), hike past the dead tree section, and then re-locate the trail east of it.   FR #132 parallels the OT for the whole 5 miles of this hike, so you're never more than a few 100 feet from the road (and in some places much closer).

Green Thumb Spring had plenty of water.    Right where the spring water emerges from the ground there is a large multi-trunk tree.  Now, one large trunk has rotten and fallen across the trail. FoOT needs to clean this up.   Anyway, from Green Thumb Spring it is another ~ 3 miles to Grindstone Gap. 

Between Green Thumb Spring and Grindstone Gap the trail makes a long slog up White Oak Mountain.  There are actually a few glimpses of the mountains beyond.  No doubt, during fall/winter, there are some nice views up there. 

Grindstone Gap, so called, looks like any other section of trail except that it has a little Spur Trail going out to FR#132.   You don't really perceive a "gap".

Elevation profile:    The elevation changes in this section are quite misleading.  The map suggests that there is "a bit of up and down" in this section upon first glance.  However, it turns out that the cumulative elevation gain of this 9.8 mile round trip hike is well over 1000 feet. 

Also, the mileage by GPS differs from what the official trail mileage is.  The hike from FR124 to Grindstone gap is actually 4.9 miles according to my Garmin 60csx GPS, which is very accurate.  Its quite close to the 4.7 official mileage, but is off by 0.2 miles (about 1000 feet).

Cautions:  none.   Snakes in hot weather.  Expect ticks and mosquitoes in hot weather.   I rated it "moderate" because of the overall length and elevation gain (cumulative up/down).

Hikers: jc

Ouachita Trail (section 08) mile 173.5 to 175

Hike Features:

Date:  November 27, 2003
State: Arkansas
County: Saline
Location: Off forest road near OT mile 174
Length of hike shown:  ~ 3.4 miles
Trail: All on trail except short bushwhack up to cliff
GPS: 502608.71E  3855535.00N 15S (OT access off forest road 132 near mile 174)

 13 photos of this hike in photo gallery

Reaching Trailhead: This is a bit hard to describe.  The easiest way to find this place is to look at the Section 8 map in the Ouachita Trail Guidebook.    FR 132 is the "Winona Scenic Drive".   It can be reached off of highway 9 a few miles south of Williams Junction and can also be reached from highway 7 (just north of Iron Springs picnic area).

Description of hike: This was one of those special hikes that are not easily forgotten.   It had rained the night before but the day was breezy, bright, sunny and clear.  I had been to this small cascade before but it was just a trickle and I specifically wanted to return to check it out after significant rain.  So this was the object of the hike...   to see the falls flowing.   The drive on FR132 is very nice too.  From highway 9, FR132 is a dirt/gravel road that winds through the mountains, first reaching the Wildcat Mountain parking area at about 3 miles, then reaching Flatside wilderness at ~ 8.5 miles and then reaching the access for this hike at about 15 miles from highway 9.  The drive from highway 7 to the trail access is about 12 miles.  The drive itself is beautiful, with numerous views.   The  mountains get a bit larger as one drives west from highway 9.  Grindstone and Crystal mountains, just to the south of this hike are about 1700 feet.

The hike starts at an OT trail access.   There is a typical OT access sign and an unofficial place to park across the road.  From the OT trail junction, which is very close to the road, I headed east (turned right).   Its basically flat, with a few ups and downs.  The trail passes a wildlife pond on the right and then generally heads east at about 1,400 feet elevation through mixed hardwood and pine forest.  It soon passes OT marker 174 and at about halfway to the falls, starts to descend gently through small, open ravines.  The trip is downhill all the way to the falls, but the total elevation change from the car to the falls is only about 250 feet.   It continues to descend northward through a series of small drainages until it reaches a flowing stream about 5-6 feet wide.  This is the stream above the falls, which is under a massive rock outcropping to the northeast, which is visible in places through the trees.  In a few feet more the trail reaches the falls.  At this point the trail is on the west side of the stream/falls.  The official OT goes just above the falls and then heads uphill and away.  There is an old, now abandoned part of the OT that goes straight (north), following the stream.  Its actually easy to miss the OT and take this old trail by mistake.

Just below the falls there is a flat open area that's a nice lunch spot.   From there, it was obvious that the cliff top can be reached by a short bushwhack up the hillside.   The views from the top are great, mainly west and south.   On this day, which was sunny and breezy, I sat up there (see photo) for about a hour.   It was one of those wonderful times when the wind is whistling in the pines and there was an intense feeling tranquility and, at the same time, of isolation, wilderness and wildness.  I was thinking what a great place this was for contemplation and snapping photos of the beautiful deep red leaves, backlit by the sun, when I heard thunder.  At first I thought it must be something else; a jet or other non-natural sound.   Then it came again and again...   so I decided to head back.   Within a few minutes of hiking back towards the starting point, it started raining, the wind picked up, gusting and howling through the trees and the lightning became much more frequent.   It was basically walking back the whole way in rain with frequent thunder & lightning.  As the storms came in, the clouds descended so that thick fog was blowing through the treetops overhead.   In a few places, when the wind let up, the forest floor was actually foggy with the settling clouds.   Although I don't like the danger of hiking in thunderstorm conditions, I didn't want to reach the car any sooner than necessary.   Times like this when out hiking are often the most mystical and unforgettable.

This "falls" is really a small cascade, probably no more than 6-8 feet tall.  I've visited here many times, including with ice in winter and in the heat of summer, and this is the most water flow I've seen yet (see photo gallery).   Usually the stream flow is minimal and the falls is a trickle.   There is a nice little pool under the falls which usually has water (in my limited experience) even in summer.

This area can also be reached by a much longer hike, from the OT road crossing just under Flatside Pinnacle.  That hike, round trip, is about 8 miles.
 
Cautions:  none.   Snakes in hot weather.  Expect ticks and mosquitoes in hot weather.   I would rate it 'easy' due to its short length, all on-trail and elevation change of less than 300 feet. 

Hikers: jc

Ouachita Trail (section 08) mile 177 to 179.3

Hike Features:

Date:  October 14, 2007
State: Arkansas
County:
Location: Start - north east end of Flatside Wilderness at OT trailhead
Length of hike shown:  ~ 4.7 miles
Trail: All on trail
GPS: N34 52 28.7 W92 54 49.1 (NAD27)  (OT trailhead at Pinnacle Mountain parking area)

   Maps and photos in photo gallery       
  KMZ file of hike (GPS track) for Google Earth (open in Google Earth*)

Reaching Trailhead:  Reaching this trailhead is relatively easy.   The hike starts at the large parking area just west of Flatside Pinnacle.

Description of hike: This is a great dayhike.   It starts at the parking area just west of Flatside Pinnacle.    The short hike up to the top of Flatside is a 'must' for this area too.  

At the south end of the parking area there is a big wilderness sign.  From there, the trail is basically downhill all the way to Crystal Prong Creek crossing on the OT, heading west.   There is a pond (see map and photos in photo gallery) along the way, not far from the beginning of this hike.  There is also a small waterfall down in the valley, but it only runs after substantial rains.   This is a nice hike in all seasons but fall and during Iris blooming time in the springtime is especially nice.    The Crystal Prong crossing area has some nice spots for lunch.   Camping is strongly discouraged here due to overuse damage.  
 
Cautions:  none.   Snakes in hot weather.  Expect ticks and mosquitoes in hot weather.   It is rated "moderate" only because it is up hill all the way back with a total elevation gain > 1000 ft.

Notes:   *Requires Google Earth.  If it does not open directly in Google Earth, try saving to disk first and then open with Google Earth.

Hikers: jc, sb