Outdoor Adventures in the Ozarks

     Tomorrow winter weather makes its return, today is going to be warm and windy as the cold front slides in, maybe I should get out there for some hiking while the weather agrees.  A few days ago, visiting Loafers Glory WMA for the first time I was investigating a possible route into a remote area of BNR (see: 219 Loafers to Painted ) .  Today I’ll be doing more of the same, except this time I’m going to Gene Rush WMA. Lick Creek      A couple months ago in Gene Rush I explored upper Lick Creek on a nice easy loop hike that involved a few of the many ‘firelanes’ in the Wildlife Management Area (see: 210 Firelanes ) .   Today my primary goal is to access some remote areas along the Buffalo River, and to do that I’ve decided to follow lower Lick Creek down to the Buffalo.   Parking at designated camping area #2 just off NC 4265, I begin my hike on Firelane 1105. parking @ camp area 2 Firelane 1105      The first thing I...

     Lately I have been looking for options for entry into some of the more remote areas of Buffalo National River.  The park consists of around 95,700 acres with access points along the state highways that cross the river.  There are also lots of back roads that will get you a little ‘deeper’ into the park, but with all the private property around BNR, getting to the remote areas can be challenging for day-hikers. Buffalo River      I guess the challenges vary for different usage groups : horseback riders have a much longer range than the typical day-hiker, but they need access points accessible to trucks with horse-trailers.  Recently I’ve been looking at Wildlife Management Areas, which seem to cater to both.  Many WMAs share common boundaries with BNR and seem to have some big parking areas. green info-board at parking area      There are a few smaller Wildlife Management Areas around the Buffalo, today I’m going to...