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A hike from Hwy 10 to Pinnacle Mtn. park boundary
Me and my son recently (July 1st) hiked approximately 20 miles from Hwy 10 (marker 202) to where the trail comes out along Hwy 300, right after the bridge. We were putting in some miles for the hiking merit badge for boy scouts.
We started at 7 am, and there were lots of spiders! All day, as a matter of fact. We saw one snake (harmless garden snake), a box turtle, several deer and squirrels, and picked up a bit of trash to leave the trail a little cleaner than we found it. I was using an old version of Tim Ernst's trail guide (1993), and it looks like the route has changed a bit around hwy 300 near the end.
I get the impression people don't hike the OT much this time of year, and we saw no one, except some guys with a bulldozer just on the paper company boundary, looked like they were road building and not cutting anything big down.
We live in Ohio and I had hiked most of the trail on the Oklahoma end in the 1990's while I lived in Fayetteville. This part wasn't as challenging but was very nicely maintained. My compliments to you and your website.
You're right! The Ouachita Trail is not hiked much in summer. Between heat, humidity, spiders, ticks, mosquitoes, etc... most people go elsewhere or don't hike in summer. I think its quite unique in late summer, when the heat is maximum... the whole 'feel' of the forest changes and its worth experiencing (taking appropriate precautions in such heat).
The section you hiked, from Hwy 10 to Hwy 300 is fairly well-maintained. Some of it is used (abused) by ATV's but otherwise its easy to follow and the trail is in good shape. In the last few years a new volunteer organization has been created, called FoOT (Friends of the Ouachita Trail), which is doing a great job of keeping the trail in good shape. Also, thanks for the positive comments about the site. Good hiking! - jc