50-Miler

In June 2006 several members of Boy Scout Troop 106 embarked on a "50-Miler" in northern Arkansas.  Scout participants were Wilson Sims, Stuart Coles, Reid Copeland, David Pollard, J.D. Bridgforth, and Jackson Walker. Adult leaders were John Rudder, David Sims and Fred Hyatt.

The primary objective of the 50-Miler program in Scouting is to promote activity that will result in personal fitness, self reliance, knowledge of wood lore, and a practical understanding of conservation.  To qualify for the 50-Miler Award, the Scouts must:  (1) make complete and satisfactory plans for the trip on a suitable trail and/or waterway; (2) cover a route of not less than 50 consecutive miles, taking a minimum of five consecutive days to complete the trip without the aid of motors; and (3) during the time on the trail or waterway, complete a minimum of 10 hours each of group work on projects to improve the trail, springs, campsite, portage or area.  

Although there are several excellent high adventure bases in the country with opportunities to earn a 50-Miler Award, living in the "Natural State" we decided to plan our own 50-Miler adventure here in Arkansas.  Planning for the trip began almost a year in advance.  In June 2005 Mr. Sims and Mr. Rudder drove to northern Arkansas to scout out possible areas for our trip.  Maps and guidebooks were obtained, and eventually our route was decided.  In January 2006 the Scouts began working on the Backpacking merit badge, learning about the equipment and provisions to take, refreshing their first aid, camping and orienteering skills, and reviewing the principles of Leave No Trace camping.  Scouts also started acquiring their personal equipment for the trip, including backpacks and hiking boots.  In April 2006 the crew had its "shakedown" practice excursion, backpacking on the Ouachita Trail near Pinnacle Mountain west of Little Rock.

Finally the date for our adventure arrived.  From the Fairview Campground (Newton County), about one hour north of Russellville, we started backpacking on the Ozark Highlands Trail and continued 40 miles through the Richland Creek Valley to Woolum (Searcy County) on the Buffalo River.  Then from Woolum we canoed another 15.3 miles on the Buffalo River to Tyler Bend.  (To view the area covered during our 50-Miler, click the map to the right to see a larger picture of the map, then use your web browser's Back button to return to this page.)  During the trip our sources of water were creeks, streams and the Buffalo River, so the water was treated by using either iodine tablets or by boiling.  Our meals on the trail were lightweight with none requiring refrigeration.  Only our dinner meals required cooking, and for those we used lightweight stoves and dehydrated meals.  Since we were in bear country, at night we hung a "bear bag" from a tree to safely store food, trash and other "smellables."  

Below is a journal kept by Mr. Sims, together with a few of his photographs from the trip.  (Click any thumbnail picture to see the full size picture, then use your web browser's Back button to return to this page.)

We left the Scout House Friday afternoon, stopped for dinner at McDonalds in Conway, then drove to Fairview Campground in Newton County near Pelsor.  It was almost 8:30 p.m. so the sun was beginning to set.  We quickly set up our tents and campsite before it got too dark.  We were the only campers at this site.  After a group meeting to review the ground rules for the night and our plans for the next day, we called it a night.  Chirping crickets and the occasional whippoorwill lulled us to sleep.

                       
Ready for Adventure               Fairview Campground            Our Camp Site

We got an early start on the day, broke camp, and started our hike on the Ozark Highlands Trail after breakfast.  The trail was well marked and visible, but a good portion of it was covered with brush and poison ivy. Mr. Rudder pointed out our first sign of bear – stones overturned off the trail where they had been looking for grubs.  It took us all morning and most of the afternoon to get to the old Civilian Conservation Corps ruins.  We picked out a campsite and then let the boys play down at Richland Creek.  We used the stoves to boil water for our dehydrated meal – beef stroganoff.  Our food for tomorrow and our trash were put in a bear bag and hung from a tree limb.  Everyone’s been picking off ticks today.  Also, everyone’s tired and should sleep well tonight.  Before we went to bed someone wondered what the loud noise was coming from Richland Creek. It was a big ole bullfrog.

                       
Ready to Hike                          Trail Obstruction                      Rest Stop

                        
CCC Camp Ruins                    Richland Creek                       Bear Bag in Tree

For some reason everyone was slow moving this morning.  A Scout is reverent, so after breakfast we had a Sunday devotional based on Psalm 40:2 (NLT) – "He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along."  Afterwards we started the day’s hike.  We saw some beautiful scenery, but today’s trail was even more challenging than yesterday’s.  We soon crossed Richland Creek and then had a very steep trek up a nearby hollow.  The rest of the trail had varying degrees of difficulty – some steep, some parts at a lesser incline.  Mr. Rudder pointed out our second sign of bear – droppings.  By the end of the afternoon we were glad to see Mr. Hyatt and our "resupply vehicle" at Richland Creek Campground.  After a dinner of chili mac we let the Scouts play down in the cold waters of Richland Creek.  The night concluded with a campfire and roasted marshmallows.

                       
Crossing Richland Creek       Near Ben Hur Trailhead         Richland Creek Camp

Today was a day off so the Scouts got to sleep a couple of hours later this morning.  After breakfast, for a service project they went to the various campsites cleaning litter and repairing fire rings.  The rest of the morning they washed clothes and relaxed.  After lunch we spent all afternoon swimming in Richland Creek.  There was a lot of swimming, splashing, sunbathing and climbing.  The water was full of fish, crawfish, huge tadpoles, and at least one snake!  After a dinner of beef stew we concluded the evening with a large campfire.  We went to bed with the sounds of the whippoorwills, tree frogs, and an owl, ready for a challenging day tomorrow.

                       
Stove Setup                             Washing Clothes                     Clothesline

                       
Richland Creek                       Climbing                                   Campfire

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Last night Mr. Hyatt told us that when you hear tree frogs like we were hearing them it’s going to rain.  Sure enough, we were awakened early this morning by the sound of thunder rolling down the Richland Creek Valley.  We quickly took down our tents and packed our gear.  After breakfast we reviewed our lightning safety procedures and our plans for the day.  One of the Scouts asked, "What’ll we do if it rains all day?"  The answer, of course, was "Then we’ll hike all day in the rain!"  We waited for nearby lightning to pass, then began our hike for the day.  We crossed Richland Creek then began on the Ozark Highlands Trail through the Richland Creek Valley, ascending another 1000 feet in elevation by that afternoon.  It rained all morning, making parts of the trail difficult because of the wet leaves and slippery rocks.  During a break in hiking we found a patch of ripe huckleberries.  The trail was very scenic.  We also saw our third sign of bear – a handwritten note pinned to a tree to watch for bear cubs (we didn’t see any).  The sky began to clear that afternoon, and we turned onto a gravel road to begin our descent back down to Richland Creek.  After a few more miles we got to the creek bed.  To our surprise this section was bone dry!  We had planned to refill our water bottles and camp in this area.  Instead of cooking we went ahead and ate our lunch for the next day as tonight’s dinner, then continued hiking on the gravel road.  We finally met a nice woman living in an old country house who let us fill our water bottles out back and directed us to a pavilion down the road where we could camp.  We headed to the pavilion which was a part of Hall Cemetery.  We set up our tents in a grassy area nearby.  Some Scouts thought it was eerie that we were sleeping in a cemetery on June 6, 2006 (6-6-6).  Exhausted, we all called it an early night.

           
Hiking in the Rain                     Wet Boulders

           
More Wet Boulders                 Hall Cemetery

In view of the long exhausting day yesterday, we were in no hurry to get started this morning.  After breakfast we broke camp and continued hiking down gravel roads to a different section of Richland Creek.  We crossed the creek again, this time through two feet of water.  After crossing we cooked for lunch what would have been last night’s dinner – lasagna with meat sauce.  We then hiked several more miles down gravel roads to Woolum on the Buffalo River.  Here we waded across the river with our gear and met up with Mr. Hyatt and our "resupply vehicle."  We set up our campsite in a nice field by the river.  After a dinner of beef stew the Scouts swam in a deeper part of the river by our campsite.  Later they built a campfire and roasted marshmallows.  Also, a neighboring camper brought us some hot fried fish and hush puppies, which were thoroughly enjoyed.  We saw some beautiful country today as we hiked surrounded by the mountains of the Richland Creek Valley.  The day was very hot but the night is wonderfully cool with a sky full of stars and a bright moon.  Today was an important milestone – we’ve successfully completed the 40 mile backpacking portion of our trip!

                       
Crossing Richland Creek       Arriving at Woolum                 Crossing Buffalo River

Today was another day off, and again we allowed the Scouts to sleep a little later.  After breakfast the Scouts again did a service project of picking up litter at the campsites and repairing fire rings.  The rest of the morning they washed clothes and relaxed. After lunch the afternoon was spent swimming in the Buffalo River.  They did take a break to enjoy a cold watermelon.  The weather was sunny and hot.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  Later in the afternoon the Scouts saw a snake swimming in the river with a bullfrog in its mouth.  They decided they had swam enough for the day.  After a dinner of spaghetti we had another campfire and this time made "smores."  We’re looking forward to a good float tomorrow.

                       
Our Camp Site                         Swimming                                Watermelon Break

Today is the final leg of our 50-Miler – 15.3 miles of canoeing down the Buffalo River.  The first few miles of the float from Woolum had some shallow sections, requiring us to get out of our canoes to walk them.  But eventually the water got deeper, giving us a great float.  Some sections were slow moving.  Others had enough small rapids to keep it fun.  We saw lots of fish and waterfowl.  A great blue heron fishing in shallow water caught a fish before flying away.  The weather was sunny and hot, making the cool river waters refreshing.  We finally reached Tyler Bend around 6:00 p.m. and thus completed our canoeing and our 50-Miler!  Early in the trip the boys had figured out that we hadn’t brought enough food for all the dinner meals for the week.  After setting up camp and getting cleaned up we told them why – we were driving them to nearby Marshall, Arkansas for a celebration dinner at the local Pizza Hut.  Afterwards we returned to Tyler Bend Campground, looking forward to our trip home tomorrow.

                       
Canoeing                                  More Canoeing                       Lunch Break

                       
Canoe                                       More Canoes                          Tyler Bend

Everyone got up early this morning without any prodding.  After breakfast and breaking camp, we began our drive back to Pine Bluff – eager to see our families and to tell them about our adventures!

           
Unloading Upon Return          The Only Bear We Saw This Week