Jay BP Upper Buffalo

We haven't decided where exactly we'll go yet, but we plan on being in the woods for 3 or 4 days.

Edit: This is going to take place the week of May 25th. I was still playing with the calendar when I posted this, and I realize now that it doesn't show the date when you view only the post. Still working on that calendar doo-dad.

I did the section from the convergence of Big Buffalo Creek and Reeves fork just above Dixon Ford, to the upper Boxley trailhead. Awesome hike. This is definately the time of year to do that hike. I did it in January. The terrain forces you to cross the river several times. Jan. was not the time to cross the Buffalo several times. If you do this section I recommend some good gaiters. The bushwhack along the river is thick with green briar vines.

I am going to do the section from Redstar (west end of Cave Mountain) down to Dixon this fall.

Hey, thanks for the info Hillbilly. It looks like my cohorts aren't going to be able to make it on the date we originally planned, so it's going to be put back a couple of weeks...(which is a bummer, because it's gonna be getting HOT!)

I'm looking forward to it. My backpacking gear is all stacked in one corner of my house, ready to go, and I have to walk passed it every day while I'm yanking cabinets off the kitchen wall, installing new ones, taking the new ones down because the damn microwave doesn't fit right, rehanging them again....

I'm ready to get away from the sounds of power drills and miter saws, and back to the melodies of chirping birds and trickling water...

My hiking buddy Coastie and I are heading for the Upper Buffalo tomorrow after work. We are starting at the west end of Cave mtn road near Redstar and are going to the Boxley trail head. The hike will be an approximate 25 mile bushwhack along Big Buffalo creek and the river. I soloed the section from Dixon ford to Boxley last year in late Jan. The temp was in the low teens and the wind was blowing. That was my coldest trip that I have made. There are alot of sink holes on the limestone benches above the river. I was on the south side about 100 ft above the river walking a bench. I jumped a huge flock of wild turkeys. I was right on the rim of the sinkhole and the birds were in the botom. I think the birds and I both had mild heart attacks when they took flight. I estimate 50+ birds and I was 25 feet from the closest. They took off like a covey of quail when I jumped them.

HBH

I have returned in one piece. I will post a trip report after a bath and dinner.

Sweet. I hope HBH ends up on my team since he has some 2009 mileage! (Hillbilly, you gotta sign up for the 2009 Challenge!)

Glad you made it back. Can't wait to read your report!

I left work a little early to head out from Ft. Smith.
Coastie lives on the other side of Pruitt and I didn't want to drive all the
way to his house that late. I decided to car camp at Dixon Ford and meet him at
Boxley Friday morning. I arrived in time to get a fire started and pitch my
tent before the football game started. I listened to the game and read under an
awesome full moon. When the game ended it was time to hit the sack and rest up
for Friday. Friday I meet Coastie at Boxley and headed to the west end of Cave
Mountain Road. We headed off down into the valley. The area had been burnt in
the last couple of years. The under brush made this part a true bushwhack. We
dropped into Big Buffalo creek and the going became easier. After a short
distance we hit a 4wheeler trail that bordered the creek. The creek bottoms
were apparently settled at one time. There was evidence of a few
homesteads…rockwalls, foundations and such. The 4wheeler trail followed the
creek for most of the distance to Dixon ford. There were a few areas that the
trail went up and around terrain but we stayed with the creek. We arrived at
Dixon, took a breather and then forged on. The river was running fairly high,
enough to force wading crossings. We decided to camp at the mouth of Adkins
creek for the night. This was approximately mile 11 for the day. We set up camp
with a weather prediction of cloudy, then rain, then cold the next morning. I
was carrying a 10x12 silnylon tarp for shelter. The rain prediction held true but I stayed dry. The next morning
the temp was 25 with a brisk north wind. We decided to leave the packs at camp
and go up Adkins creek. We went up about a half mile. This creek was in a
narrow valley. The creek bed was a jumble of large boulders and logs. The mossy
rocks and numerous small water falls made this a beautiful little valley. There was a small feeder creek coming in
from north east. The falls on this little creek were cut into a shale
formation. There were two drops of 20 to 30 feet with nice pools at the base of
each fall. After this awesome site we
decided to head back to camp. The first thing after leaving camp we had to
cross the Buffalo. This was a good way to get the blood flowing. The terrain forced several creek crossings
before lunch. A few time we decided to
forgo crossing and chose to go over some of the hills. There has been quite a
bit of rain so the hillsides were very slick and muddy. The last section we
went through had been hit by a tornado in the past. There was not standing
timber left. The blowdowns and new brush made for rough passage. At this point
I decided that I needed to add a pair of clear safety glasses to my pack list
for bushwhack trips. We pressed on and
camped at the mouth of Whitaker creek below Cloudland (Tim Ernst’s) house. The full moon was very bright. We sat around
a nice fire, had supper, smoked a cigar and hit the sack. The clear sky made
for a cool night. I awoke during the night with a moustache full of ice from
breath vapors. Sunday morning we had coffee and oatmeal then stuck out to
finish the trip. We stopped at a couple
of old house sites to look around and admire the pioneer spirit. The last crossing of the day I decided to
boulder hop and not get wet. That did not work out to well. I ended up walking
the last mile with my right boot full of water. The trip was great. We saw a
lot of great scenery and enjoyed the solitude. The area between Dixon ford and
Boxley is in the wilderness area. We traveled the whole stretch and saw little
evidence of recent human activity other than a few fire rings and footprints. I
have made several trips into the are and I will go back. I think the Boen Gulf
area is my next visit to the area.

Great report, HBH. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

I really liked how you said that you guys stopped to "admire the pioneer spirit" at the old homesteads. Man, that just really brings home the cost of the generation gap. So many kids just don't care about that stuff anymore. Adults either, to be honest.

It sure puts a smile on my face knowing that I have friends who do appreciate the courage and ingenuity of the folks who came before us, and the respect to stop and give a nod to the all that they left behind.

You inspired me tonight sir. Thank you.

Trip reports like this bring back a flood of good memories of when I used to drive up from Arkadelphis when I was at HSU and stomp around the Buffalo! Verry good read, thanks for sharing!

OH