First Trip of 2022 is in the books!
Well, the first trip is in the books and boy was it exciting! On Thursday afternoon, I started prepping our gear. My kiddos came down to the gear room and asked if we could go on a walk. Knowing that I was going to be out on the trail for the next 3 days; I said yes.? That was a deal for me when we said yes to starting Equipped Outdoors; that I would still have time for my family.
Anyway, we left to go for our walk. When we got to the park, the kids played on the playground and then we decided to go for our walk. Within moments, one of the kids brought me a seed pod and asked me to open it. I pulled out my freshly sharpened pocketknife and proceeded to wow their little eyes with the seed treasures inside. Little did we know that they would see the inside of something else! My knife slipped and I sliced a 1.5” incision on the top of my knuckle. I looked at the cut and opened it up like any reasonable person would. When I saw how deep it was and blood pouring out; I immediately looked at Carissa and told her I’d see her at the van. Putting pressure on the cut helped until I got to the van and pulled out our first aid kit. I kept pressure on it and only took the pressure off long enough to pour water on it. I then pressed gauze on it and held down.
By then, Carissa and the kids arrived and we packed up the fam and off to an urgent care. It was there that I had to tell them I was a backpacking guide teaching wilderness survival skills like how to handle a knife. Haha it was Awesome! My kids were even continuously reminding me that I did not practice knife safety. So thankful for them.
The nurse at the Urgent Care cleaned it up and put 6 stitches in it before sending me home without a lollipop. When I got home, we put the kids to bed and I finished packing my backpack, with some added challenges this time; before settling down with Carissa.
The next morning, I got up, made coffee and breakfast and stepped outside to meet my newest fellow backpacker. This trip was supposed to have 5 participants; but 4 cancelled for different reasons so it was just one guy and myself. It was actually very refreshing. We talked most of the way down to the trailhead about life, his work as a firefighter, my family and more.
We arrived in Ponca around 1 and decided to go check out a trail that led to a cave I had heard about. It was AWESOME! We left our packs in the truck and outfitted our daypacks with snacks, water, other supplies. The 1.5 mile trail led up in elevation and ended at a huge rock face with water coming out of it. We took our packs off and put on our headlamps; then proceeded to enter the cave. About 30’ in, it got narrow and dark quickly. About 50’ in, you couldn’t see anything without your headlamp (I tried because I turned off my headlamp to see what it was like). Within a few more feet, my 6’2” 248lb broad shouldered self was touching the rock walls on all sides. Around 125’ in, we had to get on our hands and knees in a space no more than 30” tall which led to a cavity about 6’6” tall and 20” wide. It was tight. There were a couple 2’ drops; but we finally ended up about 250’ into the mountain side into this huge space about 30’ wide and 30’ tall, pitch black with a 25’ waterfall. What a cool experience.
When we finally made it out of the cave and back to our truck, we got back in and drove to the Ponca - BRT trailhead. We met some cool guys who were starting the same trek as us. We chatted, took some pictures and off we went. It was misting most of the day Friday and by the time we were ready to get off the trail around 5:30, we were wet; although our rain jackets kept us dry. I taught Andy some tips around starting a fire with a ferro rod in the cold, damp weather. We set up our tent, gathered wood and threw on our foil packets (my favorite part about the first day!!). The next morning, we got up, ate some amazing biscuits and gravy from @PacketGourmet. I really loved the biscuits and gravy; but it was a little more involved than I’d like for a backpacking trip. I’ll get better
That day, we covered a lot of ground. We hit the Goat Trail and Big Bluff, Granny Henderson’s cabin and more. We had big ambitions to see Hemmed Hollow; but with the rain the day before, the Buffalo river was way to fast so we never made it. We even had a nice canoe couple ferry us over the river for one of the crossings where it was up to my waist and I wasn’t even at the deepest part! That night, we camped in a really nice spot on the opposite side of the river (which we crossed on foot) and up against a huge bluff. There was a bubbling creek that ran past our campsite which put me to sleep that night. I was trying out other meals from @PacketGormet which I was really impressed with (All American Works Burger and Chicken Fajita Burrito). I also brought some of my favorites (Hatch Green Chili Mac-N-Cheese and Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo from @Backpackerspantry).
The last day, we woke up, ate breakfast (I had a Sausage-Egg-Cheese Breakfast Burrito from @PacketGourmet). We then finished our trek by hiking out the remaining 5.5 miles back to our truck and a 4hr drive home.
This trip was fun! It was great company and we found some awesome new areas (i.e. the cave and a cut-through connecting the ORT and the BRT) making this trip significantly more manageable for future trips!!! I cannot wait to bring another group down to the BRT and ORT. Some of the things I love about this area is it is a great opportunity to learn simple skills and put them to the test. We filtered water, practiced off-trail navigation, crossed fast moving water with packs on, started fires using wet wood but always found dry(ish) fuel/kindling, and more. You guys, if you have any interest in going backpacking, this trip is a trip that you should go on! It is fun, on the easier side and will definitely give you something to remember! Go check out our trips this Fall if you are interested in coming on one of our Arkansas trips! Otherwise, if you have previous experience, I promise the Maroon Bells trip this September will be a trip of a lifetime!!!
See you on the trail,
Drew
