Outdoor Adventures in the Ozarks

     Last week we visited Hurricane Creek   (see:  84 Chancel to Sexton )  and enjoyed the beautiful scenery so much that today we’ve decided to come in from the other side and hike up to Natural Bridge, which is a highlight of this scenic wilderness.   We exit Highway 123 j ust east of the old one-lane bridge over Big Piney Creek and head north on Big Piney Road (JC5881).  It's about 1.5 miles to a small parking area with a little campsite, passing an OHT trailhead and a couple pull-out parking spots along the way. looking down on Hurricane Creek from parking      Parking is on the high bank overlooking Hurricane Creek with an old road heading upstream out the back of the parking spot, on this old road almost immediately two 4-wheelers come up behind us.   I try to get some information about this ‘trail’ from the young couple,  but they have never been here before, so off they go up the road with us following behind....

     Hurricane Creek Wilderness at 15,307 acres in the Ozark National Forest, is the second largest of the five ‘ONF’ wilderness areas, smaller are Richland Creek Wilderness 11,801 acres, and Upper Buffalo Wilderness 11,094 acres, my two personal favorites. The largest, Leatherwood Wilderness along the lower Buffalo is 16,838 acres, the smallest would be  East Fork Wilderness at just 10,688  acres. Buck Branch      Hurricane Creek Wilderness doesn't seem to have much information written about it.  Even though the Ozark Highlands Trail goes right through the middle, yeah right through the wilderness some purists may scoff, but I like having trails and don’t believe that a trail detracts from the wilderness experience at all…but allowing vehicles to drive in the wilderness is just wrong and should not be tolerated, no exceptions. road crossing at Buck Branch      We come today to see some of Hurricane Creek and do some hiking on...

     Today is the first day since the historic storm of February 2021 that is supposed to be warm, and I'm ready  for some hiking.   We decide on the Richland Creek area, somewhere we have never been, a t Dickey Junction we turn down Richland Road.  This road eventually takes you to the Buffalo River at Woolum, we’re not going that far.  The three miles down Richland Road to the trailhead is easy enough, we turn left at the ‘Stack Rock OHT Trailhead’ sign into the parking area outside a closed gate. you can't miss the trailhead      Our goal today is to see both Stack Rock Homestead Falls and Orange Rock Falls, we decided to pass on Punchbowl Falls which is the ‘premier’ waterfall in this area but probably too far for us today, especially since we haven’t done any hiking in over six weeks.   We head through the gate on the Ozark Highlands Trail north, and start downhill into a small drainage staying 100 feet or more from ...

     For the past year the most challenging thing about Erbie has been getting there .  The low water bridge over the Buffalo River has been closed for some time, the ‘low road’ NC 2890/NC 2900 off Hwy.7 has been impassible where Cove Creek washed out the road, the ‘high road’ NC 2800 also off Scenic 7 is always subject to water levels at the ford through Cove Creek, and then there’s Compton Road NC 2700 which has been terrible for years.   a home with indoor plumbing        Today we want to check-out some of these routes to Erbie and do a little hiking while we’re at it, that is  if we can get there.   No problem today crossing Cove Creek which is flowing well and maybe a foot deep, after crossing we turn left at the Erbie Church and head down toward the Buffalo to check on the progress of the new low water bridge over Cove Creek.  Good news, the bridge is finished and open for traffic, but the Buffalo River low water bri...