Another memorable moment for the Coplins! Luke, Pippet, and I had some fun family time by taking a 2 night backpacking trip in the Ozarks. What a refreshing trip! It took about 5 hours to get to Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas - close to Oklahoma. We tried to hike the Eagle Rock Loop (26 miles), but debating how to cross high water crossins prevented that. We ended up hiking about 15 miles of the loop. Here is the link for more information on the trail: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/maps/documents/TR-36_Eagle_Rock_Loop_000.pdf
Luke and I had a blast, but the first day proved challenging due to the water crossings. We had called ahead to the ranger station to make sure the water wasn't too high or dangerous. They approved the trail, but someone had their info wrong. I think it has rained more this fall than the spring. As a result, these water crossings were waist deep instead of being "stepping stone-ish." You can see all of the pictures on the link below, but here you can see that Luke was getting very deep into the rushing water.
I did not take any pictures past this because I was FREEZING. I really believe that my feet have never been that cold. I was wearing my Teva sandals. We could not make a fire due all of the recent rain. That was very frustrating with my feet being so cold. I hate to be a baby, but I really do not remember my feet being that numb. Luke was my hero and boiled some water to put in a nalgene bottle inside my sleeping bag. I did not partake in the instant potatoes that night in fear that I might get cold again getting out of my bag ;) But the next morning it was gorgeous! Praise God :)
That morning around 10AM we walked about 2 more miles and got to another deep water crossing. We got across the first part after about 20 minutes and then realized we had another that was even more difficult right away. At that point, we decided to turn around because we would need to walk over10 more miles for that day and it was already past noon. We went 5 miles back to the start and then a 300 foot climb to a narrow rocky ridge overlooking Albert Pike. This was called the Winding Stair Trail. It was beautiful. We made it about 3 miles into that side of the trail before camping out and cooking a well deserved meal!
You can view the rest of the pictures below. Enjoy!
I did not take any pictures past this because I was FREEZING. I really believe that my feet have never been that cold. I was wearing my Teva sandals. We could not make a fire due all of the recent rain. That was very frustrating with my feet being so cold. I hate to be a baby, but I really do not remember my feet being that numb. Luke was my hero and boiled some water to put in a nalgene bottle inside my sleeping bag. I did not partake in the instant potatoes that night in fear that I might get cold again getting out of my bag ;) But the next morning it was gorgeous! Praise God :)
That morning around 10AM we walked about 2 more miles and got to another deep water crossing. We got across the first part after about 20 minutes and then realized we had another that was even more difficult right away. At that point, we decided to turn around because we would need to walk over10 more miles for that day and it was already past noon. We went 5 miles back to the start and then a 300 foot climb to a narrow rocky ridge overlooking Albert Pike. This was called the Winding Stair Trail. It was beautiful. We made it about 3 miles into that side of the trail before camping out and cooking a well deserved meal!
You can view the rest of the pictures below. Enjoy!
You are invited to view Lindsey C's photo album: Arkansas Backpacking Slideshow
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