Last
month as I was sitting on my tailgate lacing up my hiking boots, two young Park
Rangers on ATVs stopped for a short visit (see: 191 Dillard’s to Kimball). I was curious to know if any ‘plans’ are in
the works to extend the OHT/BRT east of Dillard’s Ferry, the answer “No…but
there is the Social Trail although much of that is a bushwhack”. Come to find out, what the National Park
Service calls a ‘social trail’ is what most of the rest of us refer to as a
‘volunteer trail’.
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The Castle
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Many
folks call this particular volunteer or social trail; Lower Buffalo Bushwhack
(LBB) beginning here at Dillard’s and ending at the Spring Creek OHT Trailhead
in the Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest. Parts of the route are on good existing
trails, Tea Table Trail (see: 153 Devil’s Tea Table) is part of the LBB
as is the ‘volunteer’ Brantley Bend Trail and a portion of the Big Creek Trail (see:
149 Big Creek and Cold Spring Schoolhouse).
Many sections of the LBB follow old road traces, but a lot of the route
is a bushwhack, thus the name. |
| east of bridge @ Dillard's |
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little building with drain pipe
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Today
I park on the east side of SR 14 at the Dillard’s Ferry picnic area, behind the
restrooms and up a little grassy hill I notice what might be a trail going
east. At the east end of this mowed path
is a small building which appears to be a pumphouse, at least
that’s the assumption since a white PVC pipe extends from the building 50
feet or more. This pipe emits a steady
stream of water which flows down the hill, beyond where the mowed grass ends. |
first pedestal is a leaner
|
Just
above this scene is a long rocky drainage ditch that looks like an old road if you’re standing below it. I follow
this ditch a short way until a faint trail appears, definitely a volunteer
this trail meanders around, up and down but basically keeps heading east not
far from the Buffalo below. I soon have
to cross a steep little gully, then just over 100 yards another ravine this one
with flowing water lots of moss-covered rocks and a solid ledge of stone where
I cross. |
the bluffs start at 30-40 feet and get taller farther east
|
Past
the second little creek a bluffline begins to grow above me, the smooth stone
glistens with water running off for the next couple of hundred yards. A nice pedestal leans against the bluff, the
trail pretty much disappears in the fallen trees, cane and brush. About 200 more yards of bushwhack is a third
little creek crossing, this one bigger. |
it's not far from Buffalo to bluff
|
And
much more interesting, the bluff by now is well over 50 feet tall creating a
nice wet weather waterfall. I climb the
stream bed over big flat mostly dry rocks up to the base of the falls, with
water flowing over the falls but not enough for it to be really impressive just
enough to get the idea. I’m able to
continue east behind the waterfall on a ledge that’s a little slick with mud
but dries out as soon as I’m past the falls. |
wet weather fall over 50' tall
|
This
bluffline is no longer ‘smooth’ and it’s still growing taller, now the jagged
bluffs have rock overhangs above, along with many interesting formations pock
holes and crevices. Forward progress is
getting more and more rugged as I continue east, around a corner leaving the
little inset drainage a split rock overhang far above has a hidden waterfall
plunging down a narrow crevice, the bottom of this crevice is moss covered with
pock holes in which some little birds seem to have found lunch. |
cracks, crevices, moss and ledges
|
Soon
is another ‘inset’ in the bluffline and a dead end, here up tight against the
bluff on a narrow ledge I get about half way around. To continue from this
point requires getting down on hands and knees for almost a hundred feet
through a low shallow ‘shelter’ about thirty feet up on the bluff with many
jagged rocks below. In the 'lead' photo at the top you can see this long low 'crawl space' below 'The Castle'. Hiking alone, with
no one to call for a Med-evac when I fall and break my neck, I don’t even
hesitate to turn around and head back. |
| bluff and river... |
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...next door neighbors
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Stopping
at a convenient flat boulder for a break and some trail mix, I check the map,
the bluff continues east for about 800 more feet. When the bluffline started, this bushwhack
was easy but got increasingly rougher the further I went, this makes me wonder
if there may be a trail along the top of the bluffs. That would almost certainly mean easier
hiking conditions, I guess I’ll just have to come back and see what I find,
another hike for another day.
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'end of the line'
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Heading
back, after the bluffs end and the little gully/ravine crossings I veer
north just enough to get down on the edge of the Buffalo. The river is high and fast, a long Jon-boat
powers upriver, I hear it coming long before I see them. A gravel bar along here is a couple hundred
yards long but only 10 to 20 feet wide with lots of knocked down debris
and mud above that. The river is
beautiful as always, I stay on the gravel bar all the way to it’s end then head
up a sandy gully right up to the parking lot at Dillard’s. |
| Passage Pedestal |
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tight crack at Passage Pedestal
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I
had hoped to get much further today, at least to Rock Creek, so a return visit and (hopefully) an easier route up on top the bluffline is in order. But today’s cut short excursion along
the base of the bluffs and the Buffalo River was still highly enjoyable with
lots of fantastic scenery, even though a short hike of just under 2 miles and
only 197 feet of elevation gain I still had a great time east of Dillard’s
Ferry. |
| through the passage |
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The Buffalo, beautiful as always
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East of Dillard’s Ferry: Statistics Chart 193 Getting to Dillard’s Ferry is very easy,
just south of the SR 14 bridge over the Buffalo River turn east into the
Dillard’s Ferry picnic area and park in the big lot near the restrooms. Under the bridge on the west side of the
highway is another large parking area for the canoe landing and OHT/BRT
trailhead.
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| base map before fair use alterations is property of USGS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License |
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