Ozark Highlands Trail

[wperrott92]

Attempting a 9-10 day 160 mile trip on the Ozark highlands trail in Arkansas in about two weeks before I report to rotc basic training. Does anyone have any experience on the trail or hiking in the southeast during the mid summer?

[Dogwood]

Both yes. I like backpacking in AR in the spring, fall, and winter. This include the OHT. For these reasons: http://ozarkhighlandstrail.com/trail-faq/
Add in ticks.

I've only got about 90 miles of the OHT. I'm eagerly waiting for the Ozark Trail in Missouri, Buffalo River Tr, and OHT to be linked making a hike from St Louis to Oklahoma possible. I liked the short Sylamore section and Buffalo River Trails. http://www.ouachitamaps.com/OHT.html

[MuddyWaters]

Ditto.
Ar is low elevation
Hot and humid as hell
The woods in the summer has all manner of bugs, flying and buzzing and crawling
Especially buzzing. Flies, bees, noisy insects, etc.
And they are usually attracted to people to investigate.
Its really not enjoyable imo. Especially not for sleeping.
Trails can get overgrown as well.

I assume you have tim ernst guidebook. Should be all you need.

[The Solemates]

I've hiked the whole trail in sections. The latest I would consider hiking this trail is March. I hiked it in May one time and it was absolutely miserable. I can't imagine July or August. You will get eaten alive if you don't dehydrate first. Choose another trail for summer hiking. You'll thank us.

[wperrott92]

I wasn't expecting the conditions to be pleasant be but neither will they be at basic training in July so I'll deal with it. My only other choice would be hiking part of the eastern portion ouachita trail but that's even lower elevation and has less water based on what I've read.

[Bronk]

Its going to be very hot. 90's this week. And you'll probably get covered in ticks. A couple of good reasons I switch from hiking to canoeing in April and then back to hiking in October.

[MuddyWaters]

Defining statement from OHT webpage:

The trail is not maintained from late spring until early fall, so summer hikers can expect to encounter heat, humidity, dense vegetation, wildlife including poisonous snakes and insects. Maintenance begins in mid September, continues into late fall, and responds to storm damage into late spring. Most hikers opt for leaf-off for hiking in Arkansas.

[wperrott92]

I understand it will be dicey but that's more or less what I'm going for anyway. With my Rotc schedule if I want to do anything longer than a day or two my only real options until I commission/graduate are long hikes mid summer or the dead of winter. I'm in exceptional shape but have discovered on several past hikes that I can't go as fast/hard as my endurance allows because my joints aren't quite used to hiking yet.

[Venchka]

New Mexico. Colorado where the snow is gone.
Lots of places.

Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[CarlZ993]

I tried to thru-hike it w/ my wife in April a few years back. She had a bout of heat exhaustion on day 3 or 4. We had to abort our thru-hike attempt. I'm thinking about trying it again in Nov or later. I wouldn't wish a summer thru-hike of the OHT on anyone.

As another poster suggested, head to the mountains & get some altitude training at a cooler & less humid locale.

[MuddyWaters]

Some excerpts from a trip report end of june-early july: http://www.fayettechill.com/blogs/ne...u-hike-journey

"There were times when the brambles and ticks and other difficulties made us want to quit. The trail was quite certainly overgrown. Countless trees have fallen across the trail, making the hike even more arduous."

"We didn’t expect to get lost for hours, to be covered in hundreds of ticks, or to have every inch of exposed skin scraped and cut from brambles. We didn’t expect that the trail would be so overgrown that we’d spend hours bushwhacking and frantically hunting for a glimpse of the white blazes marking the trail. We didn’t expect every single step to hurt. We didn’t expect that every night we’d want to give up and go home.

When we did get home, we both were exhausted, but we assumed that was normal. However, after a few days of feeling lethargic, achy, and running a low grade fever, we started to think something else might be going on. After a trip to the doctor, we both began a two week course of doxycycline, as all the symptoms indicated that we’d contracted a tick borne illness. Our lab reports came back positive for Lyme disease. Luckily we have no lingering side effects because we caught it early and started antibiotics."

And good pics and such of August :
http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=901167

[capehiker]

OP- this is a good lesson in leadership and listening to the troops. Let me put this in Army terms for you:

You...a soon to be officer, solicits feedback on a field problem. All of the troops with boots on the ground experience are telling you to abort the mission, yet you are determined to push on. This doesn't make you better....it makes you foolish. Do you want to risk injury, dehydration, and lyme disease just before a defining moment that will impact your life? Your senior NCO's are telling you it's foolish. Listen to your senior NCO's. Go hiking but just not on this trail.

[MuddyWaters]

Op should have mental picture of what occassionally will be encountered.
It can be done, and is occassionally. Its just not pleasant.

Nimblewill Nomad broke his leg hiking it in summer, stepped into hole not seen due to overgrown trail.

[Bronk]

Like I said, its going to be mid 90s for the next couple of weeks...overgrown, ticks. The ozarks is not a place you want to hike in the summer time. I walked a few miles last week, but it was 1/2 mile to a creek crossing and the rest of the "hike" was following the creek back to the road through knee deep to waist deep water.

[wperrott92]

It's unfortunate because in the past I've lived/hiked in both Arizona and NC which have much higher elevations especially Arizona. But I can't really leave the state at the moment due to time constraints. I did part of the bartram trail in NC a week back and encountered the hot/bugs/overgrown dynamic although probably at a marginally higher elevation.

[Venchka]

What about the Ouachita Trail starting in Oklahoma? The weather will be the same, but the trail might be in better shape. Inquire with the locals.

Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[wperrott92]

That's a good idea to ask around about, I do know somebody who started at the east end of that trail in the summer and it was even worse than the Ozarks. The water situation is also a lot more iffy.

[Venchka]

I'm currently in NC. I've been on Grandfather Mountain all the way to the top in the last week. The trail isn't over grown. Ironically, the past week has been dry and warm. There is an extensive trail network on and around the mountain. You could knock out a bunch of miles and a bunch of elevation gains and losses in a compact area.

Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[Zed]

I just finished a thru-hike of the Ouachita Trail two weeks ago. There were miles of gorgeous trail and miles of overgrown trail. Poison ivy and oak, and ticks were a constant. If you decide to hike part of this trail, let me know what sections you have in mind and I'll check my notes and let you know what to expect.

[Venchka]

I just finished a thru-hike of the Ouachita Trail two weeks ago. There were miles of gorgeous trail and miles of overgrown trail. Poison ivy and oak, and ticks were a constant. If you decide to hike part of this trail, let me know what sections you have in mind and I'll check my notes and let you know what to expect.

A friend and I are talking about a 2-3 night (20-30 miles) trip east bound from the Oklahoma end the first half of July. What do your notes say?
Thanks for your help.

Wayne