Athens-Big Fork and Eagle Rock Loop

A couple of years ago I hiked the Eagle Rock Loop with my friend Brad. We had a good time and enjoyed some of the prettiest scenery in Arkansas. Now, by a strange twist of fate I was presented with a beautiful weekend in January and three days to do more hiking! I had been working on plans with Brad to hike the Buffalo River Trail, but he was stuck working and wasn't going to be able to make it. So I did a quick change of plans and decided to revisit the ERL. But this wasn't just a recreational trip, I also planned to map and survey the trail, campsites, and all the features for the Arkansas Hiker app. I finished the Ouachita Trail for the app last year, and it was time to add more to it.

So I left home Friday morning and made the drive down to the Athens-Big Fork trailhead. But not just along the ERL, I started off another 1.4 miles away at the ABF northern trailhead.  My goal for this trip was to map all of the trailheads and side trips, along with river crossings and campsites. It was a great day for hiking and I hit the trail with just under 20 lbs on my back.

My plan for the first day was to get all of the hills out of the way first. Which is no small task on the Eagle Rock Loop. By taking the Athens-Big Fork trail from start to finish, and back to the Viles Creek Junction; I managed to cross 8 high ridges including crossing one of them twice! It added up to nearly 3000 feet and 12.7 miles for the first day.

I found an astonishing amount of trash at the campsites I visited and did my best to haul out what I could. But when I came across a large blue tarp, rope, blue jeans, and a tent fly I had to draw the line. I did take the tent fly with me and found a few other stakes along the way. At the top of one hill I actually spotted the tent body that would have gone with the fly. I would love to know what happened on that trip. I hiked all day in beautiful weather and didn't see another person for the entire day. Of course that luck wouldn't hold out over the weekend. I found a nice campsite near Viles Branch and settled down for the night listening to coyotes.

Day 2

14.3 miles today.  Viles branch was gorgeous.  Hiked to Viles trail head and found great swimming hole.  Took a dip. The water was so clear I could see at the bottom clearly at least ten feet down.  Watched a turtle swim to the surface.  Plenty of traffic around winding stairs.  Too many people to count.  Saw two solo women but no solo men. One woman doing the loop.  Three guys from Texas also.  Warm day and no clouds.  Nice camp by Little Missouri. I was able to dump all the trash I've been picking up at the Winding Stairs trailhead. I picked up two water bottles I've been using tonight to store water at the campsite. It seems that I busted one part of my water treatment last night so I've been drinking from springs as much as possible and boiling water while in camp. 9 miles to go tomorrow.

Day 3. 9.46 miles. The weather wasn't as spectacular today. The humidity was up, and the clouds moved in; rain is definitely on the way. I started the day with a crossing of the Little Missouri, one of three for this trip. About a mile from the intersection with the ABF I ran into Mark from the Backpacking Arkansas forum. We talked as we hiked last mile to his truck. The first conversation I had for a few days. Just to make the trip complete I found a tick crawling up my pants leg when I stopped for lunch. I finished my hike just after 12:30 on Sunday with the final pack weight down to 14.15 lbs. I still had 1/2 pound of food left and a half liter of water. A great trip!