Hiking and Kayaking

Just to answer a few questions I have had about our project: wooden deck to stone patio.  No, it was not done in a day, or even a week or two!  We actually tore out the wooden deck at the end of April/first of May.  Then all the prep work, tilling up the ground, leveling the ground, spreading and leveling the white rock/caliche, spreading and leveling the sand, is what was the most time-consuming.  Additionally the multiple trips to a nearby town to purchase/load about 400 stones at a time, and unload/stage them near the prepared patio pad was also a slow process.  The actual "laying of the stones" was the easiest part of all!  Tom was an expert at developing a pattern and going with it!  We did all this in the evenings after work or on our days off.  Our goal was to finish by the first of August, so when we finished at least a week ahead of that, we were happy.

We are very pleased with the end results, such a nice place to sit and enjoy the great outdoors......

Last week I was fortunate enough to go on a short backpacking adventure with my friend Titmouse and then join a group of my women friends for a couple of days kayaking on the Mountain Fork River in Oklahoma.

Titmouse and I headed up to the Ouachita Trail, leaving my vehicle at the Big Cedar Trailhead (our endpoint) and parking her vehicle at the Winding Stair Trailhead (our starting point).

 We look so happy and full of life, so exuberant, ready for adventure.   Backpacking!

Here is Titmouse's new trail mascot/buddy...."Lamb Chop".

We set off after 6:00 p.m. on a very warm Summer day hiking east toward the top of Winding Stair Mountain where we planned to stay overnight at the Winding Stair Shelter at the top of the mountain.  We had only gone a few steps when Titmouse realized she did not have her cell phone.  Gasp!  Gotta go back to the car.

 

Titmouse searched thru her backpack, thru the trunk of her car, inside the car, under the seats, everywhere, and found no phone.  She had about decided that maybe she had dropped it at the Big Cedar Trailhead where she picked me up when I left my car there.  Finally she told me to use my little emergency TracFone to call her cell phone.  Of course. Why didn't we think of that sooner.  Immediately we could hear her phone ringing/vibrating.  She kept searching.  Nothing.  I called her cell phone again.  We can hear it ringing.  But she still can't find it, looking down and under everything.  I call her cell phone for the third time, Titmouse finally raises up and sees it laying there on top of her car!  If you will notice in the above photo of "Lamb Chop" you can see her pink phone in the top left corner of the photo, laying on top of the car right where she laid it.  Too funny!

 

So off we went again, following the well marked trail, soon coming out on the old fire road that leads to the top of the mountain where years ago there was a fire tower.

 It only took us about 45 minutes to hike the 1.3 miles to the shelter.

Nothing left of the old fire tower except the concrete foundations.
What is at the top of Winding Stair Mountain is an enormous rock cairn, growing ever taller over time by hikers placing one stone on top of another, many times over.  Of course, Titmouse and I added our stone to the huge pile!

I was a little shocked at how much brush, weeds, and grass had grown up around the shelter since I had passed thru here in April, only four months earlier.  (This photo was taken in April)

 
This photo is now!  The area around the shelter definitely needs a little T.L.C.

 I pulled up some of the grass and weeds growing inside and right next to the shelter.  Every little bit helps.

BooBoo is a happy camper now that she has a new trail friend, Lamb Chop.

When I passed thru here in April, I tented to the left of the shelter, however the ground was entirely too deep in brush/grass for me to pitch my tent, so Titmouse and I both set our tents up under the shelter overhang. hoping to catch a little cross breeze on this very warm night.

I did not sleep well because I had no pillow!  Normally on a backpack trip I would have extra clothing in a stuff sack to use for a pillow, but on this short overnight hike I carried no extra clothes.  I even slept in my hiking clothes, mostly on top of my sleeping bag, too warm to crawl inside. I just bunched up what ever I could find (my shoes, socks, water bottles) to put under my head for a pillow.  I woke up every hour or two and looked at my watch, waiting for daylight to come.  Can't wait to have a shower and sleep in a comfy bed the next night!  Oh, the things we take for granted in life.

 

When it was barely light enough to see, Titmouse went out to retrieve our "food bags" that we had suspended from a high limb on a tree in front of the shelter away from any marauding critters.

 

At daybreak I looked up to see the most awesome sky! 

 

We were on the trail soon after 7:00 a.m. hoping to make it down the mountain (5.5 miles) before it got too hot today.  I was reminded once again how beautiful the Ouachita Trail is. 

Incredible views along the way..... 

....a rock bench to sit on while enjoying the view. 

 

We went down, down, down on a nice switchback trail, arriving at a flat spot where there is a primitive campsite.  BooBoo and her new trail friend Lamb Chop are having a grand time!  

 

Following a short break at this nice campsite, we continued on.  Even though the tree foliage is pretty full we could still catch glimpses thru the tree branches of the surrounding beauty of the Ouachita Trail.  

The trail pass thru beautiful hardwood and pine forest here. 

 

We stopped again for a short snack break just before we reached Red Spring.  I got out my camera and told Titmouse to smile like she is having a good time.....not sure if she is smiling or grimacing?

I am just happy to be out here and happy that Titmouse is here with me!  I am so blessed with good health and the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of the woods along the O.T. 

We soon arrived at Red Spring.... 

...that water is pouring forth from that spring so clear and cold!  It has a lot of iron in the water, enough that the ground is red where the water is draining down the hill.  Titmouse and I had packed enough water that we could have made it all the way to my car however when we saw Red Spring running so good, I immediately drank my entire last 20 ounces of water down and refilled both of my 20 ounce bottles (and treated the water) so I could drink even more during our last two miles to the car.  That was a real treat on a warm morning of hiking. 

Again, I am just in awe of this wonderful trail!  Tom and I have now adopted this 2.2 mile section of the Ouachita Trail between Red Spring and Big Cedar Trailhead.  We plan a trip back up here soon to do some pruning and lopping! 

 

 

We finally arrived at the rock glacier.  I stopped and waited for Titmouse to cross it. 

Soon after passing the rock glacier, I was walking along and chatting with Titmouse, obviously not paying attention to my footing,  basking in the joy of being out here again, as the trail skirted the side of the mountain, on my left straight down, on my right straight up, and suddenly as I turned to look back at Titmouse to say something, my left foot slid down off the steep side of the trail and down I fell onto my right knee/right elbow!  Oweeee!    

Silly me!  That will teach me to watch where I am placing my feet! 

 

I knew we were getting close to my car as I hiked on, soon losing sight of Titmouse again.  I knew she had hiked this section with me back in April so I did not think she would have any problem following the trail since it is so well marked with those 2"X6" blue blazes and we were so close to the car.

When I came with eyesight of Big Cedar Creek I was amazed how low the water was!  There were rock bars along the way where the water was not even running across.  What a difference from when I was here in April! 

Then when I got to where the Ouachita Trail crosses Big Cedar Creek, it was just a trickle, only one step across on the big rocks.  Wow! 

This is that same creek crossing four months ago!  Plenty of rushing water!

 

Anyway, I made it to the car, shed my backpack, took off my hiking shoes and socks, put on my sandals, got me a cold drink, and waited for a few more minutes and still Titmouse had not arrived.  So I grabbed a cold Gatorade for her and headed back up the trail to look for her.  I had only gone a few steps when I saw her coming up the trail, with a tale of how she fell in the creek!  Wish I had been there with my camera, but she said she was glad I WASN'T there with my camera!  Ha!  Don't know how she managed to fall into that little trickle of water at the creek, but I was just glad she made it to the car all in one piece.  

 

This was definitely a hot time of year to be out backpacking on the Ouachita Trail, but I am glad we did it.  Even with the warm night and warm morning (90 degrees at 11:00 a.m.) I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.  I know if I was alone I could have easily made that 5.5 miles from Winding Stair Shelter to Big Cedar Trailhead, all downhill, in a couple of hours.  But having companionship on the trail with Titmouse's slower pace is better than hiking alone.    

 

I still can't believe I am saying that after how many times I said (back in 2011) that if I could make to Mount Katahdin and complete the Appalachian Trail that I would never backpack again.  Well I have had to take back those words.  Amazingly I am enjoying my short backpacking trips on the Ouachita Trail!

 

After getting off the trail, we went back to the Winding Stair Trailhead to get Titmouse's car, then we both headed south toward Broken Bow, Ok. on the very winding and scenic U.S. Hwy. 259.

 

We stopped when we got to the Blue Rooster Café  (near Hochatown) for a delicious fried shrimp lunch and in honor of Titmouse's upcoming birthday we also enjoyed fried pie with ice cream!  Yummee!!

 

Then we headed over to the "cabin" where we were to meet the rest of our women friends. 

 This is not what I consider a "cabin", it is more like a resort in the woods. 

Love the fire pit (even though we did not utilize it)!  Loved the hammock (I did use it!)!  There was horseshoe pits and a game with red and blue balls on either end of a string.....you throw them over to the other rack trying to loop them over the cable....don't know what the game is called?

 This area has a lot of these "cabin" rentals available.  Our cabin is named "Family Time" and it has all kinds of things to keep any family busy and entertained.

 I availed myself of this great hot tub as soon as I arrived (after showering off the trail grime) at the cabin.  We women enjoyed having our coffee out on this deck and enjoying the cool mountain mornings.

 The "Family Time" cabin has five (king size) bedrooms, three baths, and this great living/kitchen/dining area.

 Of course there is WiFi, DVD movies, a flat-screen TV in every room, all sorts of board games, and almost anything else you might need. 

This was mine and Deb's bedroom to share, but Deb was unable to make it so I had the room to myself.  Missed her! 

The first night we were there, the women in the other cabin invited us over for delicious grilled burgers along with all the side dishes that our cabin provided. Good food and good conversations!

The next morning when I awoke and opened the venetian blinds to look outdoors there was five deer, a buck, three does and a baby...right out front of the cabin!

 When I turned back into our room I saw this sign on the wall.  Perfect!

When I went out the back door to sit on the deck and enjoy my coffee I saw this hawk in the top of a dead tree in the woods behind the cabin.

 

 

We headed to Ambush Adventures for a day of kayaking on the Mountain Fork River.

 Tom and I have been coming here for several years and it is always a fun trip down the river.  The river level is controlled by how much water is released each day from Broken Bow Lake, just north of our put-in point on the river.

 Ambush Adventures shuttles us up to just below the dam, we then float for five miles back to Ambush Adventures.  The fun of navigating thru what is called the "Rock Garden", lots of ancient looking boulders scattered about, is right at the beginning of the trip!  Always fun and sometimes challenging to find the best route thru and around all the huge rocks without getting stuck or tipping over!  Even if you tip over in this area, not to worry, the water is shallow, but the rocks under the surface of the water are slippery.

Further along the river are these huge protruding boulders where the more adventurous gals climb onto the top to then jump into the cold river while the rest of us grab hold of a cypress knee and watch the fun!

Another interesting place is called Presbyterian Falls, except this day the river is running pretty high so the falls are only a little over a foot drop off.  {We have been here before when these Falls are an exhilarating three to four foot drop!} 

Later we make it to what we call "pebble beach" where we stop for lunch.  It is a rock-covered sand bar jutting out into the river, and depending on the river's water level this can be a very small beach and a quite large beach. 

We ask a passing kayaker to snap a group photo.  All 17 of us!

All these river photos were taken with a disposable waterproof camera that I brought along.  Not too poor of quality for a cheap disposable camera.

 

We kayaked the river the following day also, in fact six of the women got up early and did a quick, fast 1 hr. 15 min. trip down the river, then went out again with the rest of us to go down the river again.  I told them they were "river rats"!  This was my first time to stay at the cabin with my women friends, even though I had met up with them for just one day on the river in previous years.  Most of them have been doing this same trip for several years now.

 

Great time with my women friends but so glad to get back home!  I missed my sweet Tom so much!