Arkansas offers so many outdoor adventures it's hard to decide which to do first — hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, fishing ... And there are friendly, like-minded people associated with each activity — running clubs, hiking clubs, Friends of the Ouachita Trail, Ozark Highlands Trail Association, Ozark Off-Road Cyclists, Trailblazers, Takahik, the groups at Meetup.com ...
Scrolling the event calendars for these various groups I came across a happening that included not just one of my favorite activities, but several of them.
The Ozark Society Highlands Chapter's 10th annual Buffalo River Classic on March 30 included a float on the Buffalo National River, a half-marathon hike, two shorter hikes (one with a visit to a pioneer cemetery), a potluck cookout and an evening of story-swapping. Springtime in the Ozarks — let's go.
The Ozark Society was founded in 1962 by Dr. Neil Compton and associates for the immediate purpose of saving the Buffalo River from dams proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Society founders, working with Sen. J. William Fulbright, helped get the National Park Service to survey the Buffalo River area and then campaigned for the creation of the free-flowing "Buffalo National River." It took 10 years, but Congress passed legislation to create the nation's first "national river" in 1972, and it is now one of mid-America's most outstanding river-oriented attractions.
The Ozark Society's mission evolved over time, with its principal purpose becoming the preservation of wild and scenic rivers, wilderness and unique natural areas. This is an advocacy group that supports and engages in conservation, education and recreation.
LET US RECREATE
Arriving early that Saturday at the event base camp, Ozark Campground near Jasper, I learned that day's Buffalo River float had been rescheduled for Sunday morning. As float coordinator JB Clark explained, "The weather guessers are predicting heavy rains and cold weather the first half of the day Saturday."
So swapping float gear for my trekking gear, I joined a pair of hikes Luke Parsch had scheduled. We saw signs of coming bridge and road construction in the area, trees cleared and a big clear-cut offshoot, but they didn't affect our path.
With rain gear in our daypacks, Parsch led us along the 2.2-mile Mill Creek Trail. "Hike" would be a bit of a stretch for this outing: "Saunter" is a more appropriate noun.
The Ozark Society is flush with outdoorsy expertise in plants, animals and minerals. Walking the creek bank became an educational field trip, as everyone investigated the healthy vegetation in this fertile bottomland.
After crossing a low-water concrete bridge and hiking a couple of hundred yards up the hill on the opposite bank, we reached the old Shaddox log cabin.
Parsch proved to be a wealth of information on the structure, but he confessed to feeling somewhat self-conscious because his audience included Kenneth L. Smith, author of Buffalo River Handbook. Parsch said much of what he knew came from Smith's book and lectures.
The log cabin was rebuilt on this site in the 1930s using the same hand-hewn logs from an original cabin here in the 1870s. As we stood on the front porch, Parsch gestured across the land below, explaining that the dense tangle of vines, briers and shrubs had once been cultivated fields of corn, potatoes and pumpkins.
Inside the cabin, I was surprised to find the walls covered in textured wallpaper rather than the sheets of old newspapers I've found in other old houses. The Shaddox farm must have provided a nice living.
Outside we saw an abandoned set of bed springs in the woods. My back ached just looking at it.
We followed the trail uphill to one of my favorite sites, a pioneer cemetery. I had read about Shaddox Cemetery in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2015 and 2016, when area families took on the U.S. Park Service over a fence the locals had constructed around the site to protect the graves from elk. The locals' new fence is still standing.
It is interesting to stroll among the graves knowing there was a story behind each. Parsch shared some of the stories, pointing in particular to the matching headstones of brothers William Nelson and Jesse T. Atchley, casualties from a Civil War ambush. Each of their stones states "KILLED" rather than "DIED."
ONWARD
Leaving Mill Creek Trail behind, Parsch led our merry caravan on a short drive to the next excursion, The Koen Interpretive Trail.
As we pulled into the parking area, I and several others admitted we had driven past the entrance on many occasions en route to hiking or floating in the Erbie area, without stopping.
This proved to be an interesting quarter-mile, hard-surface walking trail through a section of the Henry R. Koen Experimental Forest. The U.S. Forest Service facility was created in 1950 to study plant life in the southern Ozarks.
We leisurely paused to read and discuss interpretive signs telling the area's history, dating back to when American Indians lived in the area. I had not been aware a Cherokee reservation existed in the Boston Mountains in 1917.
Many of the trees were identified with handcrafted wooden signs, and there was a kiosk that explained the formation of the Ozark Dome.
It was all very interesting and informative; however with breakfast calories depleted, thoughts were drifting to the potluck awaiting us back at Ozark Campground.
THE FEAST
More than 40 attendees contributed to dinner, so there was a wide variety of delicacies. Complementing this were veggie burgers, beef burgers and hot dogs fresh off the grill.
Much of the dinner talk centered on relief that Gov. Asa Hutchinson had persuaded proponents to defer a decision on Senate Bill 550, which would have transferred oversight of the state's liquid animal waste program from the Department of Environmental Quality to the Natural Resources Commission.
With Smith present, we were able to buy autographed copies of the new edition of the Handbook, including updates and the addition of the eastern hiking trail extension, which even into his 80s, Smith led in the construction.
Following dinner, those who were camping for the night decided to sample Saturday nightlife in Jasper at the Ozark Cafe. Here we enjoyed a homemade dessert while listening to James White perform songs we grew up with.
THE FLOAT
By the way, the "weather guessers" missed again, and no rain dampened our Saturday activities. By early Sunday the clear, dark skies were decorated with vividly twinkling stars. Bright sunrise welcomed a brilliant day on the river.
With the Pruitt Gauge reporting water levels above 4 feet, we decided to float from Kyle's Landing to Ozark Campground. The water level was perfect, with enough current to carry us down the river at a comfortable pace and to generate a splash of excitement in the rapids as water sprayed over our bows.
It was a bonus having Stewart Noland in our flotilla. He attended Camp Orr Boy Scout Camp on the river's banks for seven years as a youth and returned as a Campcraft teacher three other summers. He knew the entire area and shared his experiences with us on the float.
"That is Muddy Cave on river left, halfway up the bluff," he said, along with, "this is where the old road used to cross the river," "that is called jumping bluff," and "there had once been a suspended bridge across the river atop that bluff."
He told of how he saw his last penny candy jar at the old Erbie store, just across from the low water crossing.
It amazed me that the area could support a general store. Noland explained there once were a lot of families in the river area, plus it was a long haul to Jasper for supplies. This created a niche for the local store, and it survived some time after the population dwindled.
Spring was just beginning to gather momentum, and the dark of the water-stained bluff backdrop accentuated the bright redbud flowers sprouting at their base. Blooms on countless serviceberry trees perfumed the fresh, clean air.
Wildlife sightings were abundant on the river. We flushed the ever-present majestic blue heron, which would spot our boats and take flight only to land a short distance downstream for us to surprise it once again. We also flushed a gaggle of geese.
Our unexpected presence also startled a deer that was crossing the river, sending it splashing wildly across and then scrambling clumsily up the opposite bank.
However, unlike a summer float, when sunning turtles splash into the water at your arrival, on this day we paddled close enough to have poked them with our oars, and they remained on their warm sunny perches rather than venturing back into the cold water.
We also encountered the much-loved snowbirds, who visit the Natural State each winter to leave behind their tourist dollars before returning north. This group of five was from Minnesota and Michigan. A Buffalo River float has become an annual event for them. Just knowing the float was in their future helped them endure the last vestiges of the cold winters at home, they said.
Everyone in our group was surprised when we drifted around a bend to find we had arrived at our takeout. But it isn't bad to finish an outing hungry for more -- it encourages a quick return for another Buffalo River adventure.
Bob Robinson is the author of Bicycling Guide to the Mississippi River Trail, Bicycling Guide to Route 66 and Bicycling Guide to the Lake Michigan Trail (spiritscreek.com).
Style on 04/08/2019