First Hang in "real nature" - Eagle Rock Loop (Ouachita National Forest, southwest Arkansas)

[MikeCD]

Below are some photos and some descriptions of my recent experience backpacking and hammocking in the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. I hope you enjoy!

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For Spring Break (March 13-16) I went backpacking with my brother-in-law and two nephews; the nephews and I camped in hammocks. It was a 4-day, 3-night trip, and we hiked the Eagle Rock Loop, a very popular path across 4 trails. For me, this was my first time backpacking in 20 years, and for the rest it was their first time ever!

Gear:
We 3 hammockers all have different hammocks. I sleep in a new Simply Light Designs Trail Lair, one nephew sleeps in a Hennessey (maybe the ultralight classic? I'm not sure), and the other in a cheaper Amazon hammock, possibly a OneWind. We used tree straps, naturally (me and second-nephew used One Wind straps as well. He uses the provided buckle system, I becket-hitch my straps to homemade UCRs. My other nephew uses tree-huggers from Hennsessey, that he ties his hammock's spectra cord directly to). My brother-in-law used a Paria Bryce 2P tent. All of us slept comfortably.

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2 of the 3 hammocks, and the tent. I really love how a hammock can be on a slope and you still sleep flat!

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There was a tremendous rainstorm Thursday night which spawned a tornado 80 miles east of us and dropped baseball size hail in Dallas, TX. We 3 hammockers all have Onewind rain-tarps with "doors" - instead of being a hex shape, these tarps are true rectangles, and you can fold the corners in, using provided shock-cord to carabiner them to opposite corners, thus enclosing the tarp - which worked really well! We got these after getting soaked while car-camping previously :-) I used my hiking pole for the side of the tarp's guy-outs to make the area inside the tarp roomier.

On the first morning I used my OneWind snakeskins (just realized I have their straps, tarp, and snakeskin - this isn't an ad, I promise!) to bundle up my hammock. I love these, as they are large and I can use them to collect/store my hammock, pillow, top quilt, underquilt, and integraded bugnet all at once!! Then I shove these into my backpack and press it down and boom! My shelter and sleep system as packed and stored for the day's hiking! I left my tarp deployed because it was sprinkling, and the 4 of us huddled under it making breakfast and coffee and staying dry. I also have a set of Hennessey snake-skins which are much smaller diameter, and I use those to pack up my tarp once we're ready to head out.

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After the rain, the water in the Little Missouri river was HIGH! We did a couple water crossings that looked like this, both times up to my mid-thigh.

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Many water crossings over creeks looked like this, and weren't a problem at all!

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Another creek.

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Lovely waterfall in the distance. Or maybe a very, very vertical creek.

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Redbud trees were blooming. I love these so much!

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Redbud and raindrops from the storm.

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I am not sure what these trees are, but the leaves were yellow (sometimes closer to white) and dry from the winter. I didn't see spring growth yet.

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There was a lot of wildlife that we had never seen in person before, like Luna Moths! We saw a couple snakes, some millipedes, beetles, butterflies and moths, some wasps, and heard birds. We didn't see any mammals - probably the trails are too populated with humans and the rest of the wildlife knows to stay pretty far from the trails.

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This was a HUGE millipede! Whoa!

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Lizard!

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One of two water moccasins/cottonmouth snakes that we saw. This one was less than 6 feet from the trail, sunning in the leaves. We barely saw it, and it didn't react to us at all.

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The first salamander any of us have seen in person!


We had a great time! We didn't complete the trail, due to time constraints and not wanting to cross the more hazardous river crossings after all the rain. It was a terrific trip, and sure to be the first of many.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and trip report. Happy to chat about whatever or answer any questions.

[cougarmeat]

MikeCD - what a great eye for nature. Thank you for sharing your adventure. Some of us are still waiting for the snow to melt.

[MikeCD]

One good thing about snow is it's water! Since this was our first backpacking, we picked a spot with plenty of rivers and creeks because we were worried about water availability. But snow! That's ready-to-use water everywhere! Assuming you have enough down to stay warm

[xMagnolia]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a fun group that will gather again. It's always nice to here about multi-generational trips.
I love the Redbuds, too- a sure harbinger of spring.

Charlotte

[cougarmeat]

MikeCD - here's a hint about "snow water". Depending upon the season's snowpack, there may be layers of snow that are "softer" than others. That's why, on iffy slopes, wise skiers will dig a snow pit to see/feel those layers. The snow in those layers is almost water. That means you won't need as much fuel to turn that slushy snow into liquid.

So it's worth the effort to dig down a little and then push your fingers in the side of the hole at different depths. If you find a weak layer it will save a lot of time/fuel to convert snow in that layer to drinking/cooking water.

And you know about always having some water in the pot that is melting the snow, right?

[MikeCD]

MikeCD - here's a hint about "snow water". Depending upon the season's snowpack, there may be layers of snow that are "softer" than others. That's why, on iffy slopes, wise skiers will dig a snow pit to see/feel those layers. The snow in those layers is almost water. That means you won't need as much fuel to turn that slushy snow into liquid.

So it's worth the effort to dig down a little and then push your fingers in the side of the hole at different depths. If you find a weak layer it will save a lot of time/fuel to convert snow in that layer to drinking/cooking water.

And you know about always having some water in the pot that is melting the snow, right?

Cool! I didn't know about having water in the pot, but I immediately see the benefit (more surface area being touched by the faster-warming liquid). And the tip about finding loose snow is very clever! That said, as a Texan, this is not likely to be something I worry about any time soon. Especially before I get some sub-freezing quilts! Still, super glad you shared these tips - I'll file the info away, and hopefully others see it as well!