Ouachita National Recreation Trail - 2023
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This was the final 45 miles of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. We camped the previous night at Maumelle Park Campground. Having not seen one another for months, we talked around campfire until 11pm. On Friday morning, we parked one vehicle at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, and then drove to our starting trailhead on Forest Service Road 94 at Flatside Pinnacle. The weather was outstanding this weekend, with highs in the lower 80's and evening lows in the lower 40's. We had a beautiful day start out and started out on the trail around 10am. The first day goal was Nancy Mountain shelter, about 11 miles away. At midday, fellow hikers suggested we ascend North Fork Pinnacle. This was a great suggestion, and we had lunch in the sun with fantastic views of the forested valleys. Around 3pm, we arrived at Nancy Mountain Shelter. Fortunately, we picked up water about an hour prior to arriving, as the campsite had no water source. A thru hiker from Alaska came through in the afternoon, and sunset occurred around 5pm. We had a nice simple dinner and then settled into our hammocks and quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the previous late night and hike that day.
We knew the second day would be very long. It would be 17-18 miles, would be necessarily to get around the large Lake Maumelle. As it has in previous Fall hikes, water was again becoming a problem. Although we picked up water from a brackish area with many cypress trees, we reached Vista Park, we fully loaded our water bags from Lake Maumelle. At this point we were starting to get a little tired and dehydrated, so the sizeable fill-up was a welcome recharge. At this point, it was another 5-6 miles. Although the trail was a little less well marked, it was relatively easy to follow. A little after 4pm, we finally completed our day. It was over an 8-hour day. The hammocks were extremely recuperative, as you are suspended off the ground, and your entire body has a chance to rest. Since we finished rather late, sunset occurred very quickly. A good recharge of food and our dinner went down well. It was a beautiful star filled night looking up from the hammock, and it was not difficult to fall asleep.
The final day involved completing the eastward march around Lake Maumelle. While doing so, we came across increasing signs of civilization and many awkward easements in order to complete the trail. Walking along the edge of Highway 300, an old road and abandoned bridge, and land next to a power reservoir water supply were some of the strange sections we saw in this leg. Eventually, we reached the large Pinnacle Mountain State Park. Maybe the expectancy of it all changed our perception, but it felt like a long time getting through the park. Although we reached Pinnacle Mountain State Park Drive, we had another 300' upward to reach the trail terminus at the Pinnacle Mountain State Park Visitor Center. So, after another 20 minutes we finished the remaining 17 miles of the day and the last of the 223.5 miles of the Ouachita Trail. While we took pictures, looking back on it, we should have celebrated more. Unfortunately, I was very concerned about the 12 hours of driving I still needed to do to get back to Chicago.