Ozark Highlands Trail Thru Hike Dec 2020: I FAILED!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- The Ozark Highlands Trail: 164 mile thru hike across Arkansas' Ozark Mountains. Perhaps some of the finest hiking in the South!
My friend Perry (CDT '19) joins me on this thru hike of the Ozarks Highlands Trail (OHT) from Lake Fort Smith to Woolum. We set out on December 3rd from LFS and begin our thru-hike eastbound through the Boston Mountains, which form the southwest portion of the Ozark Plateau and makes up the highest region of the Ozarks.
The landscape of the Ozark Highlands Trail is a mixture of hills and valleys. The highpoints offer scenic vistas, more so in the winter months when the trees have thinned out. The valleys offer many small and medium sized creeks, some with cascades and waterfalls. After a heavy rain, these crossings can be dangerous and uncrossable.
Many hikers consider winter to be the best time to hike the Ozark Highlands Trail because of the cooler temps, less bugs and ticks, and more distant views. However, the temperatures are much cooler, days are shorter and the views less scenic than a hike through the fall colors.
Frog Bayou crossing was knee high when we crossed in early December. Hurricane Creek was maybe 1 ft deep. Salt Creek crossing was mid Shin deep. Spirits Creek was borderline crossable by hopping rocks. Fane Creek was mid shin deep.
Looking for a way to support this channel while getting some cool perks? Check out my Patreon page: 👉 / seekinglost
#ozarkhighlandstrail #thruhike #backpacking
Thanks for sharing. A sobering reminder for me as I plan to hike this trail in April 2022, 2 months from now.
Good luck out there and enjoy the hike!
It's funny because in AR we don't refer to signs or purple blazes as "No Hunting" or "No Trespassing"
We just say, "That land is posted."
"Can we camp over there?"
"Can we hunt there?"
"Is that National Forest?"
All just get the reply of, "Naw man, That land is posted."
Beautiful place! Thanks for sharing
You didn't fail, you're humility granted you a wonderful lesson that will protect you the rest of you life.
We learn more from our failures than we do from our victories!
@@SeekingLost Your CDT vids were the 3rd series I watch of that trail. Your NM ones made me fall in love with that section. No other section of any trail am I looking forward to as much as I am NM.
The NM section is pretty great once you get past the first 100 miles, I think it definitely beats the expectations most hikers have when starting the trail. Enjoy your time on the CDT and give the trail my regards :)
@@SeekingLost Thank you for your thoughts. I'm yo-yoing the GDT here in my homeland of Alberta starting this spring, then I hope to yo-yo the CDT in 2022. From were I live I can walk onto the GDT from my home and connect to the CDT in about a week. That's for the inspiration.
@@WilliamTheDestroyer. Heck yeah, that's awesome! The GDT looks amazing, and the CDT yo-yo sounds intense. Good luck man!
Wow those waterfalls are beautiful.
I know right? There are many more along the trail that I would love to see someday.
Man, that White Rock overlook, was AMAZING! I never knew ARE-KANSAS was this beautiful! Incredible! Also, congrats, on that super creative crossing, at Spirit Creek 👍
Haha thanks! I had always vaguely heard there was some cool stuff there but only recently started to hear more specifics. Did some digging for quartz crystals too at one of the mines nearby after the hike, that was a TON of fun!
It’s a super tough trail. Have you attempted it again?
Not yet, I really don't get down to that part of the country very often. I like the desert southwest much more this time of year, warm and dry! Just got to AZ to spend the winter in my camper van. But would like to get back to Arkansas again. I did a quartz crystal dig after this hike, that was a lot of fun, want to get back for the amazing crystals out there too!
I failed this thru hike too. Did it in March and did fort lake smith to haw creek mile 104. I couldn’t take the rain anymore. The rivers got worse everyday it rained. Some river crossings were sketch and counted like 25 one day. Beautiful trail but def has its challenges! Prepare to get wet 😂
Oh! Happy New Year 🎆
It's wonderful. I enjoy every moment with you..loved from Sri lanka
Thanks for watching, all the way from Sri Lanka! I bet you have some beautiful places to hike in your country :)
@@SeekingLost Yes ..There are so many I love hiking..please visit here to Sri Lanka
Those Ozark S.P.U.D.s (short pointless ups and downs) will wreak havoc on the ol' patellas.
Happy New Year Eric. There is no failure. May you have glorious days ahead of you! Thank you for this vid.
You too Vlad! Happy new year, may it be filled with many conifers :)
Great video! I went from a Gregory to the Zpacks Nero to reduce load weight and the Zpacks still gave me some shoulder issues (other than that it’s a great pack) so I ended up getting the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 and it’s a phenomenal pack! No issues whatsoever and with the carrying capacity, it’s still a lighter pack.
Don’t get too hard on yourself, trail injuries get the best of us.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Dale! I'm glad you found a pack that works for you. Those nagging issues can really become a nuisance after a while on trail. My Osprey Exos shoulder strap was driving me insane on the CDT! I was looking at the Mariposa too before I settled on the Arc Haul. I've carried 40lbs in the Arc Haul and it handles just as well as the Exos, and the pack weighs half as much. Some durability issues with the webbing on the back though.
I really just fell bad about bailing since I was with a partner. He didn't have to get off trail, but he did too. And I feel bad about that. If it's just me, no big deal. I would be a lot more upset if I had to bail from the CDT or the BRT, but I had a lot more invested in those hikes. Ahh well, still got to hike in the woods for a few days, right? Happy trails in the new year!
You are amazingly superhuman! Thanks for sharing your human side. Love everything you do! Thank you for a lifetime of inspiration and allowing me to go on these journeys with you! Your the best! 😊
Thanks for coming along! Happy New Year :)
That was a good reminder video to get in shape for the next thru-hike even though one has thousands of miles under his/her belt. May the next one go better! My, that was quite milky water in the OHT streams.
Hi! Hoping to do this trail in March or April. I noticed that the water here seemed very smoky. What would you describe as the cause of the cloudiness? Sediment? Algae? Does it cause a poor taste? Would you suggest cloth straining it before filtering? Thanks!
It's a high clay content in the soil. I think more frequent backflushing Is all that's needed. I've heard that people filtering water from the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon will sometimes use a powder called alum. They will get something like a collapsible bucket, fill it with the silty water, put the alum in, and then wait overnight for the alum to attach to the sediments in the water which will then fall to the bottom of the bucket. Then in the morning one can filter clear water. But I haven't heard of anybody going to those measures for water on the oht. The water tasted just fine, and filtered well enough.
Still love that Ibanez guitar, in the background 🤘!!
Nice to see someone hiking out in my neck of the woods (almost). Did you know they eventually are going to connect the Ozark Highlands Trail to the Ozark Trail in Missouri (about 700 miles total)? I do most of my hiking in the MO Ozarks in the winter and head out to CO and attempt a 14’er in the summer. Most people don’t even know these trails exist. I’m hoping for a trip down to AR this winter myself to do a little hiking. Been following you for a while. Still planning on going to the Winds (this summer) after seeing your CDT hike. You do beautiful photography on the trail; definitely my favorite. Happy Trails Brother!
Haha almost! I heard about that, eventually connecting the two Ozark trails together. Very cool! I'll be honest, I didn't know what about the Ozarks before this hike. I was surprised how many people are out there hiking the OHT and Ouachita Trails, because you're right, I don't hear people talk much about them. Sounds like you have the right idea, hike the Ozarks in the winter and summer in CO. I still like the desert in the winter but the Ozarks are half as far! Thanks for watching and happy trails to you in the New Year!
I feel sorry for Perry.
Trust me, i felt bad having to back out on him. I offered to hang out in the area and pick him up at the end, but he declined.
Great video Eric, i don't think getting off trail is failure, it's not worth it going on and getting injured for real. It takes some true grit to do those long Thru hikes you did so i don't think you have to prove anything to anyone anymore haha :)
Oh and ehm, Happy new year man! ;)
Thanks Yuri! Happy new year to you as well. I feel super bad about having to bail because I was with a partner. And whether he wants to admit it or not, I let him down by being unprepared. Next time I will be ready!
Gortex Casacadias? Why them vs the normal Cascadias? Interested in your thoughts since your kit is pretty close to mine. Thanks man
Nope they're regular Cascadia 13s, not goretex. I stocked up on the 13s when they were at close-out prices two years ago since I like the shoe so much.
What time of the year was this?
The Ozarks Aren’t even that bad?
Nope, the terrain is pretty easy. I just had a fluke issue with my knees, unfortunately. Literally the only time I've had that issue since like 2012.
How deep is Frog Bayou? Knee Deep. Knee Deep.
R-Kansas was disappointing live near the oht looking forward to video but stopped right there R Kansas not ok
R-Kansas is offensive? We all know it's ArkanSAW, just like it's spelled.
There's even quite a debate over whether Arkansas residents are Arkansans or Arkansawyers. To further complicate matters there is an Arkansas City, Kansas that locals pronounced "AR-Kansas", and Kansans call the Arkansas River the Ar-Kansas River, but no one else does.
What time of the year was this?
Early December
@@SeekingLost We will be on that one and the OT starting February
@@sarahsundstrom1425 awesome, have a good hike!