An Ultimate Hike in the Wonderful Woods of Arkansas
Five years ago I started coaching hikers to complete a one day charity hike with Cure Search’s Ultimate Hike, raising money for children’s cancer research. One of those years Hurricane Harvey hit, which closed down Sam Houston Forest’s Lone Star Trail and delayed our hike a couple months. This year a pandemic hit and delayed our hike, well canceled our hike really. But we decided to ride the wave this year has been and hike the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas, 6 months after our original planned hike. With about 6 weeks notice, we started training for the 23 miles of multiple mountain peaks. However, the Texas Hill Country doesn’t really have adequate mountains to prepare one for the trail. But we soldiered on, because at the end of the day this hike would not be about us.
After a few training hikes, the most I’d hiked was 10 miles (not recommended). I was excited for the new scenery, terrain and cool weather. About 25 hikers, coaches, and volunteers socially distance together for the weekend, temperatures were taken and high fives were discouraged. I keep coming back to hike with Cure Search because it starts to become a family when you see the same people year after year and get to meet really cool new people each hike.
We started before dawn at 5:00 a.m. from Fane Creek concerned about our first water crossing, shortly after the trailhead. Luckily there wasn’t enough rain the day before to fill the cree. So we were able to cross without it filling our hiking boots and start our ascent.
After a couple hours, the sun started to rise, birds chirped and when the autumnal colors showed themselves we were awestruck. Coming from Texas, where it was still practically summer, I realized this is why people think October is Fall! We arrived at our first aid station about 6 miles in, 3 hours later. We stopped to refuel our water and have a snack, making sure to mask up before getting too close to any volunteers that might have to bandage our blisters.
Normally, now that we had light, we’d hike faster but the next section was the hardest, at 8ish miles. That took us up and down two strong peaks, across some shallow water crossings, and by waterfalls. We even met a couple that saw a bear a couple miles ahead of us but we never encountered it ourselves. Although we’d done all right following the blazes in the dark, in the daylight the trail was well marked with mile markers also, making getting lost one less worry!
Our second aid station was at the top of White Pass Mountain, a campsite of stunning views of the forest with bright reds and oranges and greens as far as you could see. Even though we were exhausted we didn’t spend too much time resting. We still had the last 8 miles to Dockery’s Gap. Our goal was to finish by dark, plus sitting around made us cold. So after I chugged a cup of Gatorade and had my third Uncrustable for the day, we set off. At that point I was hiking with three other Texans. Even though the last section was demanding with constant climbs and significant elevation change, now every tiny hill felt significant.
The last section always seems longer, but hikers sign up for this type of event because they know they can survive it. Many hikers have survived cancer themselves or with someone they love, and pushing your body for one day is nothing compared to the grit they’ve already demonstrated. And it’s an honor for me to remind them of that. So when the sun set, we put our headlamps back on for the final push. Unfortunately this was straight up another mountain! We were greeted by the cheers of the waiting volunteers shortly after sunset, 13 and half hours after we started. We were emotionally and physically spent. And I may or may not have eaten a whole pizza before sleep overcame me.
The next morning we shared battle wounds, tears and laughs before departing for the one of our many home states. But I was still on a high from the weekend. So I decided to drive to Mount Magazine and tackle the state’s highest point. Lucky for my legs, I was able to drive most of the way, and the round trip hike was only 1.5 miles! The area was gorgeous and worth the detour despite it being so foggy but I didn’t get to fully appreciate the stunning views I’d heard you get at the lodge.
During the pandemic, I’ve found myself even more thankful for parks, nature and so much outside space to explore. In that, Arkansas has a lot to offer. Driving home, I passed many signs for state parks and couldn’t resist also stopping at Devil’s Den. Also, a wonderful pit stop, if you are in the area. Trails vary in length and that take you to caves and waterfalls. All in all, Arkansas has some superb parks. I know I’ll be back to explore more on foot and bike.
Tips:
- Hiking poles are highly recommended for this trail.
- Check out one of the Ultimate Hike info sessions at REI or calls to learn about to join a hike.
- The more you hike, the more snacks you get to eat. It’s just a fact.