This weekend I decided it was time to hit the trail. I did some internet research to try to find trails in the area, and narrowed it down to 3 possibilities. One was 40 miles, which would have been an all-out weekend, getting on the trail early Saturday and hiking until dark on Sunday. One was 26 miles, making it two full days but not too extreme. The last was a 17-miler. I settled on the short one at the very last minute (I was all set to go on the 26-miler) because I really wanted to sleep in.
I slept in on Saturday morning, exhausted after a full work week. I packed my stuff in a few hours, took a shower as a farewell to cleanliness, and loaded up the car. I was headed to the Little Blakely Trail System on the shores of Lake Ouachita in the Ouachita National Forest.
I started on the trail at 2pm, which on normal trail days would be after 5 hours of hiking and lunch. I started right in and made good time. The trail was well-blazed, easy to follow and relatively flat. It stuck to the sides of mountains along the lake, staying at one elevation. The trail traced the fingers of land that stuck out into the lake.
I did a good 10+ miles on Saturday, hiking past dark by headlamp. Just as dark was falling, right after I got my headlamp out, I came upon a very nice camp site, with wood already piled in the fire pit, situated right before a climb up to a rocky ridge. I of course passed it. That was not the best idea, and I kept pressing on for another hour, trying to find another camp site. Eventually, when "Rocky Ridge Trail" came to a flat part on an otherwise rocky ridge, I called it a night.
I found a relatively flat spot to pitch my tent, dug out all the rocks in the footprint, and made camp. I built a fire ring and lit myself a fire. I had decided to go stoveless, since it was just an overnight venture, and I was taking only my daypack, despite bringing my zero-degree sleeping bag, which took up most of the space. The fire was very nice to have for warmth and atmosphere. I ate my quinoa leftovers and tortillas with jelly and peanut butter next to my merry little fire, then called it a night. The stars were incredibly bright, since it was the middle of a national forest.
The next morning I woke up to a gorgeous view of the lake with the sun rising across it. The skies were a little overcast, compared to the sunshine of the previous day. It kept the heat down, so I wasn't complaining. I packed up camp and set off. Not 5 minutes down the trail I came to a marker that put me a lot farther along than I had expected. Apparently I had night-hiked for the entire ridgeline, and I only had four and a half miles before I was back at my car. I set off at a brisk pace, following the trail as it meandered around mountains spurring into the lake. I finished the trail in less than 2 hours, and settled in for the pleasant, scenic drive home.
It was a wonderful weekend alone on the trail. It's very refreshing to be able to get away and hike all weekend. The length of the trail was perfect, since I was able to sleep in on Saturday and get stuff done on Sunday, but still feel like I had a legitimate overnight experience. I had always thought that in order for a trail to be an overnight-er, it had to be over 20 miles, since I can cover 20 miles in a day. I had never thought about leaving part of the day to do other things. Perhaps this opens up a different approach to weekend backpacking. I don't like the idea of doing less than my personal maximum pace, or stopping early to sit around and enjoy sitting around. I've never resigned myself to 10 miles as a product of a full day's hiking. But a half-day's hiking, it makes so much sense!
So I hope that this is a precursor to many more weekend trips. They'll just have to wait until April, after baby season.
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