Shakedown Hike-Day 1 (cont.)

Sunday Oct. 5th (cont.)
Our Shakedown Hike on the Ouachita National Recreation Trail

It was 1:00 p.m. by the time we actually started walking down the trail, following our photo op at the Ouachita Trail sign at the U.S. Hwy. 259 trail crossing.

After weeks of planning and anticipating this hike we are all a little giddy with excitement for what lies ahead of us in the next few days.  Pyro walks along with us as we head down an old road trace,

 chatting with each other, not really paying close attention to the "blue blazes".  It is so easy to be lured down an "easy" path, like an old road trace, especially when with a group of hikers, and not notice when the trail makes a sudden turn back into the woods.  That's exactly what we did.  Suddenly we realized we weren't seeing any more blue blazes on the poles so we turned around and backtracked just a short ways and sure enough we had missed a turn, the trail left the road trace to the left and entered the woods.

This was where I said goodbye to Pyro.  Thanks for all your help in getting us to the trail, Pyro.  You are so awesome!   I'll miss you!

 We three gals headed off into the woods, now very conscientious about following the blue blazes.  We took turns leading, stopping occasionally to take photos, and just enjoying the incredible beauty of the Ouachita National Forest all around us.

                           Titmouse looks like she is having fun!

 The forest canopy is really nice to have today providing us with shade because there is no breeze and it is a warm day.

 As long as the tread is smooth and flat Titmouse moves along pretty good however when there are rocks, boulders or any kind of uneven terrain she very slowly picks her way across seemingly very unsure of herself.  What a trooper she is though!  She is weighed down with a heavy backpack and is a novice at backpacking so I admire her spunk in getting out here and attempting this hike.

Hey millipede!  You may get stepped on if you sit in the middle of the trail!

What are those red things attached to these bright green leaves? 

My sweet friend, Titmouse, posing by a beauty bush with its bright purple berries!

Overall the trail is very well graded and marked quite well.  I am actually really enjoying this hike today.  I really did not think I would ever be out here again, but here I am backpacking again!  And liking it!

Just putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, one day at a time.  This should be a very leisurely hike.  We plan to do 3.6 miles today, to the Pashubbe Trailhead Campground, then that will only leave us 17.5 miles, over 3-4 days, to get back to Queen Wilhelmina State Park where we left Tundra's vehicle today.  If we only walk 5.8 miles each day after today, we will finish on Wednesday.  If we can do 4.3 miles each day we will still finish early Thursday.  Either way is good with me since I don't have to be back to work until Friday morning, Oct. 10.

After walking for one hour we stopped and took a 20-minute, packs off, break.  The trail winds a little and has some small ups and downs along the way, interesting but not too challenging.  I feel that I have a bit of an edge being that I have thru-hiked the A.T. and sort of know what to expect while backpacking.  It is a lot mental.  Just continue moving forward.  That is the only way to get from one point to the next. 

I am pretty pleased with my pack's weight for this hike.  I learned the hard way on the A.T. to only carry what I will use every day, not what I "might" need, and no "what ifs".  I am not sure if Tundra and Titmouse are there yet.  And it takes awhile to "get your trail legs".  That is why I planned such low mileage for each day, for Tundra and Titmouse to learn, to walk, and to get used to "living" in the woods.

We passed one pond that was borderline, murky looking and a tad slimy, so we continued on and shortly came to a second pond, much better looking for drinking water.  It had a gentle slope down to the clear water so I just walked down with my pack still on, and leaned over and filled my water bottles and then filled Titmouse's bottles.  Tundra came back to check on us but she said she had plenty of water.

 I am really enjoying this Ouachita Trail!  Nice trail, pretty flowers, lots of shade trees!

 Nice switchbacks to make the uphill and downhill easier.....

By the time we had been walking for three hours, I figured we should be getting to the Pashubbe Trailhead Campground any time now.  Just after we passed MM34, we were surprised to see this Shelter sign!  Not listed in our guidebook!  You know we were not going to pass this up! 

                          Titmouse is one happy hiker!

                                           Nice new shelter!

I read in the Shelter Register that this is the Pashubbe Shelter, constructed by volunteers of Friends of the Ouachita Trail
http://friendsot.org  in June 2013.  Thanks to all the volunteers who worked on this nice shelter for us hikers.  It is nice to have to sit, eat, rest, organize our packs, etc.

However Tundra and Titmouse have not slept in their new tents yet, so up went the tents!   Remember, all their gear is brand new and must be used and tested!

Tundra has a Big Agnes brand tent just like mine and we both love our tents!  Tundra is such a strong hiker that she was in front most of the day so I got hardly any photos of her.  I mostly drug up the rear and let them set the pace.  They covered 3.6 miles (while carrying heavy backpacks) in 3 1/2 hours and I am so proud of them!

I know, I know, there is a nice shelter sitting there and all three of us set up our tents!  I have always liked the privacy of my tent better than a shelter, even though we would have had this one all to ourselves!  We have not encountered a single person on the trail today!

 Tundra immediately built us a fire in the provided fire pit.  There are large rocks to sit on around the fire and also some log benches.  We enjoyed our dinner at the picnic table, signed the shelter register, and were in our respective tents before 8:00 p.m.

I'm telling you it was tricky to get into my tent and not let a host of granddaddy long leg spiders in with me!  Those guys are crawling everywhere!

A great first day on the Ouachita Trail!  I enjoyed it and I hope Tundra and Titmouse did too.