Eagle Rock Loop, Arkansas
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Eagle Rock Loop, Arkansas
Date: 01/23 – 01/25
Course: Begin at South Trailhead of the Athens Big Fork Trail and proceeded clockwiseA group of four of us completed this loop in January over 2 nights and 3 days of hiking (trip report is a little late). We were particularly excited about this trip because most of us had some sort of new gear to try out – either for the colder weather that was new to us or for the purpose of getting lighter. For me, for the colder weather I had a Feathered Friends Swift UL 20 and the Mont Bell Frost Smoke Parka and to get lighter I had a Yama MG Terraform that I picked up here on gear swap.
We started at 9 am on the first morning; it was in the low 30's with a light dusting of snow on the ground. After a few minutes of hiking, we had to put our down jackets back in the packs. Even at that temperature, it gets warm quick when you are on the move. There is merit to the saying “start your hike cold”. After 8 miles and 2500 feet of climbing we made camp early on the south bank of Straight Creek just off the trail. That stretch of the trail is pretty brutal for climbing and we were whipped by then. Besides, it was to get down to about 25 degrees that night (ultimately I think it hit 23 per my watch) which is the coldest our group has experienced by a stretch and we wanted to collect some dead wood so we would have a fire. I was told the two in FF 10 degree bags slept “a little chilly” just in their thermals but ultimately said they were fine. I slept perfectly fine in my Swift 20 but I came prepared with insulated pants and my new puffy jacket. The big problem that night was not the temperature but the condensation. As I noted we camped along a creek bank, and along with the plummeting temperature and a still night, it created an issue like none of us have had to deal with in the past. A frustrating night to be sure (I woke up to my bug net drooping onto, and ultimately helping soak, my sleeping bag), but ultimately a learning experience on campsite selection and tent ventilation.
The next day everybody was pretty cold (it was 25!) so we hit the trail early. One more climb this morning and then onto the Little Missouri. Hiking was FAR easier this day but we still decided to set up camp early, about a mile south of the Albert Pike Rec Area. Besides being a great spot (established fire ring, easy access to water and a great view) we needed to dry out some of our gear from the condensation the night before. When we pulled our tents out of our bags, the guy with the Flashlight pulled a softball sized piece of ice out of his tent; I guess it froze on the trail. I don’t know if that qualifies as ultralight! After setting up camp, getting a fire started and enjoying our dinner the night turned interesting. While sitting around the fire well into the evening, we saw a light approaching on the trail. In a nutshell, a hiker tried to cross the river at night and do it dry when it was clearly a wet crossing. He fell and got soaked. I don’t know if panic set in or what but he apparently bolted from his hiking group. He was trying to get back to his car before he froze but unbeknownst to him he still had 5 miles to go. Our fire helped him dry somewhat and his friends eventually caught up to him at our campsite (had to be at least an hour later), but ultimately they decided to press on. He had to do another wet crossing in near freezing weather, still pretty darn wet from his previous fall and in the dark. Not the best decision…
The next morning, we woke up to another perfect day on the river but we had to do 11 miles back to the car (not to mention drive back to Texas) and we’re not the fastest group so we broke camp at 9. This was the most beautiful part of the hike and we were happy we saved it for the last day. This was a great hike and we highly recommend it. But it’s not easy so come prepared to climb some hills!
Favorite piece of gear for this trip: The Mont Bell Frost Smoke Parka is awesome. For some Texas boys this was some seriously cold weather but I was never cold. And best of all it tips the scale at only 13 oz. Probably a permanent addition to my pack. I will say that I got a decent sized hole in the exterior (pencil tip sized) but there were some crazy thorns in the brush so I’m not going to hold it against the jacket. I don’t know that any others would have survived without a puncture.
Second runner up was killing my JetBoil and just going with a SnowPeak 600 over a GigaPower stove. I was worried about using that small of a cup for cooking (and the double duty of boiling water for food and then using to drink coffee) but it worked great.
Least favorite piece of gear for this trip: Yama Mountain Gear Terraform. There’s nothing wrong with this tent at all, just wasn’t for me. As much as I wanted to love it (I want to get light!), I just couldn’t get used to the front entry and the lack of space. I’m now giving the Tensegrity a try.
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