Upper Buffalo River Wilderness Area

“Has anyone hiked the Upper Buffalo River Wilderness area in Arkansas. I would like to know if it is possible to hike and stay out of the river. I am interested in the portion from the convergence of the three formation creeks to Boxley Bridge.”

“You might get more response to this question if you posted it on backpacker.com. Tim Ernst and others famaliar with the UBW watch that site and often reply.

I've done a lot of hiking around the Buffalo but mostly on-trail. It's probably my favorite area in the State.”

“Thanks. The Buffalo area is definately some of the prettiest country in Arkansas. Statdewd had a post on TT from 2003 where he soloed it. It sounded like his route of march was pretty rough. The topos show a couple of choke points that you may not pass with out wading down the river. I am going in the middle of Jan. reguardless. I may have to back track and go around.”

“If'n yer a REAL hillbilly, wading across the river won't stop you. I've done it many times in the winter (don't know 'bout the UBW tho).”

“I be a Hill Billy. I have a phobia of water above the nutz in Jan. Hmm...I could carry a dry suit (report to the Most Unnecessary gear thread).”

“Me and Stratdewd hiked there a lot back in the day. From what I remember the Upper gets really low from late summer until spring.
No trails - but you can find some old logging roads to walk on sometimes. The bushwack in Jan will be much easier than in late summer, so some of those areas where you may have been forced to wade deep may not be an issue.
Check out Tim Ernst's web site - he walks all over the place year round.”

“Thanks. The plan is to go down the river bed. I did a bushwhack in from Boxley bridge to the valley below Whitakers point. That covered a portion of the trek I am going on. I was not sure if there were any shear walls above that would put you in the creek or have to change sides every little bit (It was dry when I went). I have not seen any info in Ernst books on going down the Upper end. (Possibly there I have not read all of them) Statdewds trip report sounded like he stayed in the water alot.”

“Dixon Ford to Upper Boxley. My hiking partner had canceled so I spent Friday morning looking for a shuttle. I found one and was at the jump off point at noon. I had been warned that the area was rough terrain and I was probably going to get wet during creek crossings. I quickly discovered the creek was low enough to cross by rock hopping and I was going to cross it frequently. The terrain is such that you can traverse one side for a quarter to half mile and the terrain turns into a bluff or gets to rough to travel with a pack so you then have to cross. The areas that were level were covered in thick under growth that were comprised of at least 50% saw brier vines which are mean to travel thru. The weather was gorgeous as was the scenery. There were several old homesteads marked by rock walls. I have always been impressed by the fortitude it took to build these walls. I have always premised that the kids built them as entertainment because they did not have TV.
Around 6:00 I found a campsite and got a fire started. I cooked and ate supper and read for a bit. After admiring the clear skies and complete lack of man made noises I went to bed. The temp was supposed to drop to 12 so I had a Marmot 15 degree bag and a surplus poncho liner. I was warm until I was awakened at mid-night by a terrific gust of wind. I heard my rain fly for my hammock come loose and start flapping. I got up and restaked it and put large rock on the stakes. I did not put a shell layer on when I got up. The wind cut thru my fleece and I was cold when I went back to bed. The rest of the night was a fitfull sleep at best. The next morning I found that I had forgotten to put my fuel canister in the bag with me. The best I could get was a sputter out of the stove. I started a small fire and warmed my hands and the canister. Coffee was made and things looked up. I packed up in the dark and waited for daylight to head out.
The wind continued to blow but I warmed when I got going. The farther down river I went, the bluffs got taller and the scenery more beautiful. I walked up on a massive flock of wild turkeys. We all startled each other so I got no pictures. I stopped and looked at caves along the bluffs. None were very deep but interesting anyway. The area is limestone so there are several caves. The riverbed dried up at several points where it went underground. I saw several large springs running out of the base of bluffs.
Around noon I got into an area that I had explored from the down river end. At this point I started moving quick to try to make the truck before nightfall. I had decided that I did not want to spend another night. All in all it was an awesome hike. It was great just being out. This was my first really cold weather hike. Happily, I was well equipped and actually over packed clothing. I decided to add gaiters to my pack next time. I was missing quite a bit of hide from the legs when I got to the truck. I am not much of a photographer and my pics do not come close to capturing the beauty of this area but here they are anyway. http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/562205272ynSOeq?start=12”