AR OHT in march

Rain is definitely possible in march on the OHT. In arkansas the weather reports are usually accurate for a few days at least. March is one of the better months for hiking in arkansas. Have Fun!

If you have Tim Ernst's OHT Guide, then you could plan to hike Sections 1-3 for a total of approximately 57 miles, starting at Lake Ft. Smith and ending at Lick's Branch TH. Sections 2 and 3 have some of the most awesome views of the entire OHT.
Now for the bad news. Northern Arkansas recently experienced some of the worse ice storms in recent years. This has caused massive amounts of downed trees and limbs. The OHT has experienced its fair share of this type of damage. The Forest Service has closed all designated campsites until further notice.
The OHT is opened, but it will be extremely difficult going in places. Check out the OHTA website and http://www.hikearkansas.com for the latest information.
Good Luck,
Jim

E-mail from Tim Ernst:

"No telling. We hope to have most of the trail open by then but it is really bad in some spots and the going is slow. I just came back from about 6 hours of chainsaw work and I only made it .6 mile. The trail from Fairview to Woolum may be entirely devastated – we don't really know since no one has hiked it. The eastern end of the trail still has many bad sections we think – no one has hiked it. The middle sections appear to be OK for the most part but no one has hiked them. What we need is a lot of folks to get out and hike these sections and let us know the conditions. I'll continue to post updates to the web page as we get hard information. March is a great time to be out for sure!"

Thank you all for your insight.
I do have Tim's book and I checked the trail updates. I am not overly worried since I plan to only hike on the western part of the trail. The sections I plan on hiking are at worst listed as having "some heavy damage on ridgetops". I plan to go ahead with it anyways and persevere regardless. As long as I can still roughly follow the trail I don't think there should be much of a problem.

I am very excited about this trip:-)

Phil

Hi Phil
I am very jealous of you right now and then again Im notJ
I though hiked the trail a few years ago and loved it except for the painfully thick blackberry bush’s on section 2,They where bad enough to get me to make an ultra light brush blade.
I will never forget OZONE ether, I can still hear the banjos playing!?!?!?!
Great burgers though!
Good luck and have a great time.

Phil,

After going back and forth, I have decided to thru-hike the OHT starting March 6th. If I can't make my daily mileage I will just turn around.

If you want PM me with details of your trip maybe we can combine shuttling or something.

Let me know if you get any quotes or info regarding the shuttle companies in the guidebook.

Likewise I will share anything I learn in this thread.