Ouachita Trail - Section 5 Big Brushy Campground (Hwy. 270) to Hwy 27

Beauty berries at Big Brushy Camp Trailhead

Thanks to FOoT volunteers for their hardwork on the Ouachita Trail. The trail and shelters on Section 5 were in tip-top shape. My “Nothing Lacking in Slackpacking” Section hike of the OT has had a few bumps in the trail, but that is part of the challenge of completing it. It has been awesome.

Rhonda and Lacey, my hiking friends, were not able to hike Section 5 and I sure missed them. They will be back on the trail soon and I am sure looking forward to it. When I found out Rhonda and Lacey were not going to be able to hike Section 5, I started planning a solo hike and the more I thought about it the leerier I became. I contacted a couple of OT trail experts on the OT group Facebook page and was fortunate to connect with two ladies, Kristy aka Topo, and Lorie aka Spark Plug, with impressive hiking resumes to join me on my Section 5 hike. I like the concept “safety in numbers” on a lengthy hike in the middle of the national forest in case of injury, attack, or other bad event. These two ladies are great to hike with and know so much about the trail. Kristy brought her loppers and did some trail maintenance while we hiked. We stayed at the Highway 27 Fishing Village in Story, Arkansas with our nighttime comforts.

Hiking the OT during the months of November to March has it benefits. We did not see many flowers on our recent hike due to a dry fall, but we also did not see gnats, ticks, or snakes. Weather wise, it was perfect. Each day our hikes started out a little cool, but it did not take long for the hill climbing and the sun to warm us up!

We hiked Section 5 the last week of November which is still deer season. On day one of the hike, we met Lori at Bluebell Cafe' at 6:30 a.m. Even though I had an orange bandana tied to my neon green backpack, a deer hunter at the Bluebell Cafe' thought I needed some more orange, so he gave me some plastic ribbon that I tied around my ponytail. I have had several trail names, but on this trip, I was Celine Neon.

Lori followed us to Rainy Creek to leave a vehicle. She then shuttled us to Big Brushy Camp to begin our hike. It sure felt good to be back out on the OT. It was fun getting acquainted with Kristy and Lori. They have both had some great experiences and adventures. Kristy was our leader on day one. They let me lead us the next two days to build my confidence of following the trail and blazes. Anyone that knows me well, knows I suffer from the squirrel mentality. My biggest fear of solo hiking is getting lost and having to stay in the woods in the dark by MYSELF! When hiking with Rhonda and Lacey, I was always bringing up the rears and usually lollygagging stopping often to take photographs. Rhonda never complained, so Lacey and I just let her. When she gets back out there with me hiking, I am going to impress her with my skills of being able to pay attention and not get us lost. She likes to lead, but she needs a break on occasion.

Day 2 we started early again. Lori followed us to Round Top Loop Trailhead and we left a car. She then dropped us off at Rainy Creek. We made great time the second day. We stopped for a very relaxing break long break, and I could have easily taken a nap using a fallen tree for a head rest. At the end of the hike, we had a little less than a mile of downhill bonus mileage on Round Top Loop Trail to reach the car. We had a nice dinner at the cabin and turned in early.

Day 3 we made suitable time shuttling and we were on the trail by 6:30 a.m. The hike up Round Top Loop Trail to reach the OT get our heart pumping and we warmed up quickly. We hiked and talked. At the Story Shelter, we caught up with some friends we had met on Day 2, Red on the Thread and Jessie. They had stayed the night in the Story Shelter and were getting ready to head out on the trail for the day. They are both from Oklahoma and they were working on finishing their thru hike in December. Fun ladies.

My slackpacking logistics are in the works for Section 6 and cannot wait to get back out there. Each trip I make to the OT makes me love it more. It is endless of the adventure the trail and surrounding area offers to an outdoor lover!

Every bit of color was eye catching in all the neutral colors.

These rocks made me think of the Green Thumb Program. You know they had to move a lot of rocks to build the OT!

Trail trees were manipulated many years ago by local Native American tribes to help them navigate the lands. They are of great cultural importance to the people from those tribes, and if you are wandering around near one, then you might have stumbled into a sacred place reserved only for Native Americans. There was a method of tree bending that was developed by Native American tribes across the North American continent to help them navigate the land. Nature preservationists have been documenting the trail trees since the 1800s, and that process is still going strong today. The trees were bent to indicate to those who could follow them directions to landmarks and sources of food and water. They were like an early method of signposting, only there were no words written on them.

Closest shape to Oklahoma I spotted

Leaf Kabob

Highway 27 Fishing Village cabin

Campfire and good food!

Adirondack chair at Suck Mountain shelter. I could have seriously stayed there all day!

Can you see the trail? It was tough without depending on the blue blazes.

1/2 mark of the Ouachita Trail.

The fall foliage was scarce, but I snapped a photo of every hint of it I spotted.

FoOT had the trail markers in tip-top shape.

Bonus mileage on the Roundtop Loop trail to access the OT. It was a little less than a mile of a good challenge.

We headed down Roundtop Loop on Day 2.

…..up Roundtop Loop trail on Day 3! Due to my huffing and puffing, I stopped to take several photos of the 7 a.m. sky.

Is it just me or does this rock formation resemblance the face of a snapping turtle?

Cool tree remnant

I like big burls and I cannot lie

The first morning a deer hunter gave me some ribbon for my hair. My neon green backpack is great to hike in the woods during deer season. I think they would be able to see Celine Neon!

We met Red on the Tread and Jessie on Day 2 on the trail. Day 3 we caught up with them again at Story Shelter and had a nice visit. Fun ladies from Oklahoma.