194 Longbottom Rd. to Gilbert Overlook

    Almost four years ago we found out about a section of the OH/BRT that isn’t shown on most maps (I call it the secret trail).  Beginning west of Grinders Ferry in the tunnel under SR 65 and following the Buffalo River downstream to the Maumee Trailhead, this section has been complete for years, but is still rarely seen on maps of either the Ozark Highlands Trail or Buffalo River Trail.

Scenic view beyond the Buffalo

    When we quite accidently found the ‘secret trail’ while hiking around Tyler Bend (see: 94 Tyler Bend Loop) we vowed to start exploring this ‘new to us’ section of the Ozark Highlands/Buffalo River Trail.  And just a few months later hiked the short segment from Grinders Ferry to Illinois Point (see: 104 Grinder Illinois), but I haven’t returned since, so today I decided more exploration is long overdue.

hill going down from parking area

OH/BRT intersects road

    Driving north on Longbottom Road (SC 426) I pull off to the right into the woods on a ridge, I found this parking spot while in the area on another past hike (see: 141 Lane Bend).  On the ‘driveway’ it’s obvious this little road gets its fair share of use, I drive in almost 200 yards then park near the top of a steep hill, off the road.  If you don’t like this nice parking area in the open woods, there is a long ‘wide’ spot just a little further north on Longbottom Rd, just south of the OH/BRT crossing.

view beneath the powerlines

approaching Boone Grotto Falls

    Down the steep hill (still on the road) about 250 feet I intercept the combination Ozark Highlands/Buffalo River Trail with white blazes in both directions.  I head south which is also downhill, soon is a hairpin curve back to the north at the edge of the cleared utility easement under the high-tension lines.  Now I cross the same road again just further down the hill, then begin a long sweeping curve around to the west and down into a small drainage.

@ Boone Grotto Falls

    At the creek crossing the trail heads east and soon continues downhill, the creek with some nice cascades over smooth bedrock drops down much steeper than the trail.  Not much further I’m above the top of what appears to be a tall waterfall but the steep hillside with loose rock and dead leaves is too dangerous to consider trying to reach the top of the falls, so I continue down the trail to the next hairpin curve.

in Boone Hollow

    This sharp turn right, is also on the edge of that same utility easement and is a great spot for a picture of the Buffalo River down to the left.  After the turn the OH/BRT goes down into a beautiful grotto with the waterfall that I contemplated approaching the top.  Here at the base of the falls I’m glad I waited, after all the base of a waterfall is always better.  This ‘beautiful grotto’ has a high wall on the south side with the waterfall maybe forty feet tall, and a big rock overhang on the north side back out of the grotto about seventy feet.

Buffalo River floodplain

short bluff @ floodplain exit

    The trail circles around in front of the falls, west then east, crosses the little creek and heads out of the high walled grotto area right into the cleared utility easement and under the power lines.  East of the power lines and back in the woods the trail turns south and soon crosses Boone Hollow with nice cascades above and below the solid bedrock crossing.  Just up the bank east of Boone Hollow is OHT mile marker 181.

another bedrock creek crossing

occasionally views of the river open up through the woods
 

    The trail up to this point has been almost entirely downhill, but now levels out heading east along the top of the Buffalo River floodplain.  Easy going up here on the trail but down below is a scene of mud sand knocked down trees and lots of debris in the trees and on the ground.  This floodplain is wide, it’s 100 yards or more across to the river, not finding an ‘easy’ way down the steep muddy bank to cross the debris field to the river, I stay on the trail.

across the Buffalo is Gilbert

    After about a quarter mile the trail turns south up into the next small drainage, at the turn is a short and low rocky bluff.  At the first little feeder stream are a couple short ledge falls about six feet each, one above and one below the OH/BRT.  Right after the feeder stream the trail descends and crosses the ‘main’ creek over solid bedrock.  Downstream below the trail is a lovely little gorge with cascades and a round ‘bathtub’.

views from Gilbert Overlook

    Now the climb begins, in the next 700 feet the elevation gains 150 feet, along the way are three switchbacks.  This isn’t bad, nothing steep just a steady continuous climb to where an old road trace briefly enters then exits.  After which the trail levels out as I head north then around a big sweeping bend to the east and once again easy hiking on the clear well marked Ozark Highlands/Buffalo River Trail.

truck on the sandbar

    A little over a third of a mile past the faint old road trace (fort) is the next creek crossing, and just like all the others this is over solid bedrock.  All these creek crossings have had some flowing water but not enough to get my feet wet, not even enough to get the smooth stone surface slippery.  With a little more water this would be a different story, and the many waterfalls and cascades would be amazing.

a scene through the forest

    Anyway, about 300 yards after this last creek crossing is mile marker 182, then onward around Wisconsin Point which is pretty ‘nondescript’ as far as landmarks go.  Continuing east around the top of a little dry drainage with some old rusty junk that probably washed down from somebodies dump up above.  Around the next bend, I’m now looking down through bare trees at the little town of Gilbert on the north bank of the Buffalo.

shots from along the trail

    For almost a mile now, I've seen brief glimpses of a house or some other building in Gilbert, but here I’m looking directly up Main Street with its houses and businesses.  On the river is Gilbert's canoe landing where a family is out on the gravel bar with their little dog.  Then another utility easement crosses the trail affording a good unobstructed view of Gilbert and the Buffalo River.

a leaf suspended in time

see the round bathtub?

    This spot under the powerlines is known as Gilbert Overlook, but don’t mistakenly think (as I did) that this is some nice flat rock outcrop with fantastic views of the town below.  No, not at all, it’s a cleared steep hillside with a power line running down the middle into town.  But anyway Gilbert Overlook is where I ‘planned’ as my destination and turn around point for today’s hike.  Sort of a non-climactic end point as it turns out, but a nice view none the less.

back above the floodplain

Boone Grotto ahead

    Heading back I leave the trail at Wisconsin Point going down the hill on the ‘point’ to see if I can find something (a vista, a big rock, anything) that justifies the naming of this point, but I find nothing.  A little further as I near the upcoming descent with the 3 switchbacks the trail is littered with big chunks of white gravel all part of the steep hillside.  I spot a piece of white stone with a perfect fossil of a small leaf, maybe something in the aspen family (I’m no botanist).   I leave it beside the trail where maybe someone else will notice it, surely there are lots of fossils to be found along this hillside for anyone interested.

Boone Grotto

dry landscape this side of river

    But I continue back the way I came on the very good Ozark Highlands/Buffalo River Trail, there are two areas on this hike with significant elevation change, today my total elevation gain was 630 feet and the distance hiked 4.4 miles.  Overall scenery was nice enough, the ‘great’ part of this hike was found early on; the fantastic grotto and waterfall in the little side drainage off Boone Hollow, which I’ll call Boone Grotto Falls until someone steps up with a previous name.

on the Ozark Highland/Buffalo River Trail

Longbottom Rd. to Gilbert Overlook:  Statistics Chart 194     A nice off the road parking area is pretty easy to get to, just over 0.3 miles south of Tyler Bend Road turn east off SR 65 on Blue Ribbon Road (SC 48), follow Blue Ribbon 1.2 miles and turn left on Longbottom Road (SC 426) go north about 0.6 miles to what looks like a driveway, here along this ridge are lots of places to park off the road.

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