Little Bear Creek - Apr 14, 2007

Hike Features:

Date:  April 14, 2007
State: Arkansas
County: Perry
Location: Off FR132 (Winona Scenic Drive) between hwy 7 and 9. 
Length of hike shown:  ~ 3 miles
Trail: Mixed on-trail and off-trail
GPS: Very helpful. 

18 photos in OHJ Photo Gallery
Reaching Trailhead:    The starting point for this hike was where the Ouachita Trail crosses forest road 124 at the western boundary of Flatside Wilderness (see map).   The coordinates of the starting point are 497300.52E  3854309.53N 15S (UTM WGS 84).

Description:  The Ouachita Trail tends to follow rigdelines and ridgetops when possible.   Hikes that start from these ridgetops are down-in and uphill-out...   as this hike was; it started at about 1600 feet elevation and went down to about 1000 feet.   I parked exactly where the OT crosses this small dirt forest road.   On the map this is called "Oak Mountain" and the area is called "Walnut Bottom".

Although I had planned to hike down into the Little Bear Creek drainage, I wasn't really prepared adequately for the hike.  it was colder than I expected and very windy, so I decided to hike the OT (west) for exercise.   After 0.5 miles the trail crossed a logging road heading straight down the mountain.   I couldn't resist and headed down the logging road.  The forest in this area is completely messed up; there was a large forest fire within the last several years and numerous trees are either burned out or cut down.    Its not clear what the road was made for but it could only be traveled by logging or fire-fighting machinery, its not a car road.   In any case, it was easy to descend 500 feet down the mountainside on this nice open "road".

Just before the point labeled "X" on the route I met a guy hiking up out of the ravine.   It was quite a surprise!   This is a remote area and its the last place I expected to meet someone.   He said he had hiked this area for 50 years out of his 67 and he knew it by heart...  no maps needed.   On this day he had come down another way and took a wrong turn on the way back out, so he was 1 valley over from where he needed to be.   He talked about seeing bears (mama and 3 cubs) down in here not far from where we were (on a different hike in warmer weather).   I asked him a few questions about how it was to follow the stream, etc...  and he headed on up the hill.   It's always interesting to meet people way out in the middle of nowhere.   After 40+ years of hiking I have never met anyone in the wilderness who wasn't friendly...    there's something about being removed from society and meeting another fellow traveler out in the wilds that seems to change the rules.   Or, maybe its a selection process...   the type of person likely to be hiking down in here is highly likely to be a nice, friendly sort.

Just after parting ways with the other hiker the logging "road" abruptly ended on a point where two streams merge.   I headed down the steep slope and was rewarded with finding the place where the photos in the gallery were taken.  The creek down in here exhibits some interesting geology.   The mountain on the north side is extremely steep.   Its not really a cliff or bluff but it is so steep that it's not climbable without ropes.  This gives the ravine a dark, closed in quality, especially so on this day because it was a cloudy, dark, dismal day.    The stream flows down large slabs of rock polished smooth by the water.   In some places the steep north bank is undercut.   There are many small cascades but no waterfalls higher than a foot or two.

It was possible to follow the stream ( heading downstream) on the south side, but the going was very rocky.   The south bank of the stream is essentially large rocks and boulders embedded in dirt and there is very little ground to walk on...  its a long jumble of rocks.   After 1000 feet or so of heading downstream on the south bank, there was an obvious old, abandoned road and it was easier to get around.    It was getting late in the day so I turned around at this point and headed back up.   I was alone, unprepared to spend the night (if I had to), in a deep ravine where cell phones don't work, and it was late.   My original plan was to head about a mile down stream and then come out another way (1 valley to the north).   BUT...    it was already 5pm and if the route was harder than I anticipated, I could end up running out of daylight far from the truck.   This is a rugged area where walking around the forest in the dark would be dangerous...   so running out of daylight would mean spending the night.  SO...   I decided the better part of valor was to turn around and go back the way I came in...      saving the longer loop hike for another day.   As it turns out I spent another hour taking pictures so it was good.

The way out was easy to follow but steep.   I rated this hike "difficult" only because of the climb and the difficulty of off-trail travel down in there.  For an experienced off-trail hiker this area wouldn't be difficult.

Notes:    The whole hike was just 3 miles.  

Cautions:     As noted above, the mountainsides in here are steep and the ravine bottoms are boulder fields.   Some of the slopes are so steep that foot travel would be difficult or foolish.

Navigation:  Some kind of navigation aid is essential down in these steep valleys and a GPS makes it easy (if you know how to use a GPS off-trail).   Even the guy who had hiked this area for 50 years was off-course when I met him.   I supposed it could be done with a map and compass, but not easily.   The whole hike is in ravines and the forest looks the same in every direction.  During the leaf-out season you can't see landmarks.  In any case, the mountains all look the same out here, so you would have to know the area very well for visual landmarks to help much.   During the leafy season, the only directional clues are streams and slopes and these can be confusing.   I wouldn't hike down in here without a GPS.   A GPS plus topo and compass would be optimal.

Hikers:   jc