The Ozarks.
The Ozark National Forest in Arkansas, should you ever have the chance to go, is a very unique place. With so many different trees, animals, and vegetation, there's no telling what you may find. I was lucky enough to stay with some excellent tour guides. Mountain View is a small town with lots of folk music; it's kind of their thing. Unfortunately, I didn't see much of it. I traded a tour of the town for some of Arkansas' most beautiful scenery. Keith, Meg, Wendy, the best trail dog ever, and I got started hiking as soon as I got to their place. The small, one bedroom, second floor apartment was just the right size. Located in the National Forest above a pottery studio with a balcony lit by white christmas lights, the decor was right up my alley. The record player in the corner with multiple Dead albums to choose from was an added bonus. After I introduced myself, I was immediately asked if I wanted to go for a hike then or wait until later. Since I had been driving for a little over three hours it was nice to have the option, but of course I said now. I would much rather go while it was a beautiful day than save it for another when it could be snowing. Ok, yes, that would be extreme since it felt like it was easily in the high 60s, early 70s Monday, but remember when I went to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and that happened? Exactly. I've learned my lesson.
Off on the first hike we went, Wendy leading the way. Also in the National Forest and part of the Syllamo mountain bike trail system, the White River Bluff Trail is about a 2.5 mile loop overlooking the outskirts of Mountain View. The trail varies from fields of what looks like tall wheat grass to Sycamores and Cedars, or as Keith likes to call them, wise old hippie trees. I love that. The view from the Bluff reminded me of the view from the hike Bill and I did at Harpeth River State Park outside of Nashville; colorful homes below and a manicured green landscape. Hot from the hike and not quite done exploring for the day, we went around the corner to Rosa Hole in North Syllamore Creek. Refreshing and freezing, on the count of three we jumped into the deeper area, the current fighting to send us farther downstream. I never get to just jump into a creek, so freezing or not I was not missing out on swimming in the Ozarks. A bluff, in case you are wondering, is a broad rounded cliff. They form walls along the trails and are everywhere in all different sizes. Not too far from the creek parking lot was a rather large one with with water trickling down the front creating a small waterfall. Walking up the short, rocky path I was blown away. It was huge and the small trickle of water stained the rock with drip marks at the top and landed in a puddle at my feet. I didn't know at the time, but there would be an even better version of this Tuesday on our next hike.
The fourth musketeer of the group, Buddy, joined us for dinner Monday night and went on the hike with us the next day as well. Long straight hair, as long as mine used to be, and a long beard to match, he really was the nicest person I've met. When I told him I was headed to Little Rock, Arkansas next he instantly offered to ask some friends of his if I could stay with them. There's that synchronicity again. Grateful for the kindness, I accepted his offer. That's something I do really enjoy about the south, the hospitality. We spent the evening swapping stories over drinks, I told them all about my plans for the rest of my trip, what I'd seen so far, and we planned our hike for the next day. It was going to be a long one but I couldn't wait, another notch on my walking stick was exactly what I wanted. All this time spent in cities seeing museums and street art is definitely interesting but I was ready to get back to the outdoors.
Buddy came over for breakfast early and the four of us scarfed down Meg's delicious sausage and gravy with biscuits. I love breakfast in the south. If I had to pick one big meal to have here everyday, it would be breakfast. Who am I kidding though, I will always pick breakfast. Boots on, stick in hand, day pack ready to go, we headed for the hike. Since it was close to a five mile hike and unfortunately was not a loop, we planned ahead and dropped off Meg's car at the end of the trail and headed back down to the same creek as the day before. The bluffs and caves along the side of the trail came in handy when it poured in the beginning of the hike. Luckily for us it was a brief shower and as soon as it was over we got back to it. We passed so much interesting scenery including another rounded bluff with a small waterfall. This one seemed grander than the one the day before and certainly had more shelves for the water to flow down before reaching the hiking trail. Stopping here and there for photographs and water breaks we saw everything from a small snail along the trail to cacti, oddly enough, along other parts. I loved the areas flanked by what looked like green moss, only cushier, like if you step on it you would float on top of it just like you would a pillow or big comforter. At one point, I looked back and the trail was perfectly cut out of this, like someone had taken a narrow lawn mower and plowed their way through to the other side. The bamboo section was particularly interesting and came out of nowhere. All of a sudden it was like we were in a whole other forest. That's the thing about the Ozarks though, it sneaks up on you and when you least expect it, it's a completely different place. Behind the shoots we discovered another bluff with clovers and moss starting to grow up from the ground onto the rock face. Beautiful and unique, it made it seem like the rocks blended in with the earth. I have yet to see that anywhere else. I can definitely see why Buddy thinks the fairies and little people live there, parts of it do seem a bit magical. We had a few other encounters along the way, a long black snake being one of them at which I promptly froze until assured it was harmless. Snakes and I, well, they're cool but I don't want to hold one any time soon.
After having lunch on a sandy, rock covered bank at Pogue Springs, we finished the hike and headed for a few quick sightseeing stops in the forest before our final destination. Mitchel Cave was the first stop, a large, round cut out of a much larger cliff. The second was one of the two natural entrances to Blanchard Springs Cavern, a small and beautiful opening in of the side of a bluff with water pouring out of it, filling the creek and continuing down stream. The last stop was the old grist mill down the road. Having never finished it after WWII, the remnants of a building still stand and in the background is a gorgeous, two tier waterfall. The mist coming off the first fall left a cloud in the air and the cave on the other side of the shallow creek bed made a great shelter and an even better photograph. I could look at that view everyday. For now though, I will have to settle on looking back at my photographs.
The last and final adventure of the day was the Blanchard Springs Cavern, also in the Ozark National Forest. Did I mention Keith and Buddy are rangers that give tours at the caverns? What an awesome job, even if it is only seasonal. We got there for the last tour of the day and since we were the only ones there, Meg and I got our own private tour. The short cavern was definitely not small. The cathedral room was similar to others I had seen with all the stalactites and stalagmites, but was much more impressive. It's 180ft. at it's widest point is the length of four football fields! The guys used their cheesiest jokes while giving us the grand tour and made sure to show us some of the "characters" they've discovered from touring for so long. They pointed out a white rabbit, magic chicken, and a battleship, similar to when you guess what a cloud in the sky looks like. Of the eight mile, three-level cave system, we only walked through maybe a half mile, but in that small span there was 900ft. of continuous cave formation. Pretty crazy. My favorite of the things they pointed out was the 65ft. high speleothem that reminded me of Ariel's castle in The Little Mermaid. Thanks to the guys, that was definitely the best cave tour I have been on yet. It's probably going to be the standard I hold all other caves to from now on.
I am so happy I got to couch surf with Keith and make three new friends, four if you include Wendy. On the drive to Mountain View, listening to a new CD and taking in the vast flat farmlands around me, I had no idea what I was going to find in the Ozarks. I found way more than I thought I would, that's for sure. A good friend of mine and experienced solo traveler gave me some great advice recently. When traveling alone talk to everyone, make lots of friends, and stop to ask for directions even if you already know where you're going. Above all, more often than not, the people are what make a place so memorable. I'll be back one day, maybe this time I will bring my brother. I think he will really like that.
- G.
The Photo:
The gang on the waterfall bluff.
Ozark National Forest.
Mountain View, Arkansas.
3/21/17.
