Eagle Rock Loop! (...well, the south end anyway)

Last weekend (September 23rd, 2023), my wife and I took a short trip out to the Albert Pike and Eagle Rock loop area near Langley, Arkansas. We hiked a short distance on the Little Missouri river trail from the Albert Pike recreation area (until we came across a large blowdown tree that would have required us to climb up and around it). My wife had already slipped and fallen hard that morning, so I didn't want to press our luck. We turned back and explored around a bit more of the Albert Pike area. After that, we drove up to the Winding Stair trailhead access to Eagle Rock Loop. From the trailhead, we hiked down to the loop trail and figured out where the Eagle Rock loop trail continued from there.

The purpose of that trip was really reconnaissance. I had never been to that area before. I wasn't sure what the road conditions were like and wanted to have an idea of how and where the trail could be accessed.

Fast forward to this past Friday, September 29th. I headed back to Eagle Rock with the intention to hike in from the Winding Stair trailhead and proceed for as far as I could go before sunset, camp for the night, then attempt to hike the entire loop the next day.

Little Missouri River near Winding Stair

Water Water Everywhere, not a Drop to Drink

I was not able to finish my plan due to water filter failure. From the Winding Stair trailhead, I hiked south to the Viles Branch trail along the southern end of the Eagle Rock loop then up the Athens Big Fork trail to Brushy Mountain. After descending Brushy Mountain on the north side to Saline Creek, I stopped to get water. My filter was locked up. I use the Sawyer Squeeze filter. For more reading on why I use the Sawyer Squeeze, click here. There was no feasible way for me to continue the trip.

When I realized my filter was clogged up, I tried to back flush it. I know that I had flushed and cleaned it after my last trip a couple of months ago. When I flushed it, I used distilled water, which I thought would prevent it from binding and crystalizing. For whatever reason, it still locked up. I may have even done damage to the housing of the filter, because at some point in my attempt to backflush it, water stared squiring out the side of the filter. It was compromised and unusable at that point.

Boiling Water for Purification

I neglected to bring my iodine tablets that I have planned to use as a backup. Plan B, boiling. I had never boiled water to purify it before. I know that you have to boil it for a minute. I used my camp towel to prefilter the water as I poured it into my cook pot. The whole time I was there at the creek, I was hoping someone would happen by who had a filter and would allow me to fill up. No such luck.

I didn't boil the water for a full minute. I had filled the pot too high. It's only 750 ml. It took a couple minutes to reach boiling. It seemed to take forever to cool off. I had three water bottles with me. I tried to pour into the first bottle and the water was still too hot. The bottle warped as the first ounces of water hit the plastic. I waited a few more minutes and tried again. It was still too hot, but I filled that bottle. In all, that stop took around 30 minutes and produced only about 700 ml of potable water. I almost burned my mouth on the hot water.

That section of the trail, Athens Big Fork, is far less popular than the Little Missouri or Viles Branch section, or at least it seemed to be on this day. The climb back to the top of Brushy Mountain from Saline Creek was relatively short. The descent down the other side is long. Here is a the elevation profile. It's essentially a mirror because I went back the same way I came. The dip in center of the top is the creek where I stopped.

A hiker at the bottom of Brushy Mountain loaned me his filter to fill up my bottles. I did my best to also camel up there, although I was already behind on my water intake. Without that help, I would have eventually either had to beg clean water off some other group or risk drinking unpurified water. 

In the future

I will be sure to test my filter before I leave. I plan to also carry a second filter and iodine tablets as a plan C. 

I also found this video on YouTube that addresses maintenance to prevent filter lock for these Sawyer Squeeze filters.

This is the sequence this YouTuber recommends to prep for off season storage.

1. Backflush
2. Sanitize
3. Rinse
4. Store wet

Underwear is Important

Even if I didn't have the water issue I had, I don't know if I would have been able to finish the loop due to severe chafing in my crotch. In the night, I slept in some full length spandex underwear. When I woke up, I decided that I would just keep those on under a pair of athletic shorts for my hike. My inner thighs chafed badly. When I got home last night and cleaned up (I actually took a bath, which I don't think I have done in like 20 years), the water burned on the affected area. It looks like hamburger. No photos will be shared here.

I have done some high mileage days in the past and haven't had any issues with the other underwear I have used. When I started, I was thinking that I might change out of those long underwear and into a pair of synthetic boxer briefs. The problem with that plan was 

1. I find it hard to stop once I get going
2. There isn't a changing room on the trail and this trail was relatively busy with families

I could have gone off trail behind some visual obstacle, but that takes more time and it's all I can do to stop for water breaks. I'll talk more about how I need to get over that later, but on this trip, I knew I was having chafing issues and refused to stop to do anything about it.

By the time I knew it was super bad, I had already determined that it was not spending another night and that I was high-tailing it back to my car (due to water issues), so maybe on a longer trip where I knew I was going to be on trail for multiple days I would have had the sense to stop and address the issue. ...maybe.

I am looking at purchasing some Bodyglide anti-chafing balm. People say it works well.

I will also be looking into some new long underwear. The pair I had was a cheap pair of spandex type that I wear at times in the colder months while playing pickleball (my other hobby). Having a pair of long underwear really helped me in the night, which brings me to my next topic.

Nighttime Camp Follies

My hike in Friday night was uneventful. I hiked about half a mile in, got to an adequate campsite and began setting up camp before the daylight was gone. I had eaten dinner on my drive to the trailhead, so no need to cook. I pitched my tent, set up my bed, took my medication, brushed teeth, and did my bear hang. Returning to my tent after hanging my food bag, I realized that I had left my toothpaste in my pocket after brushing my teeth. That scent can attract animals, but I was too tired and lazy to go back and fix it.

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

I hunkered down and started reading a book on my phone. Just as I was dropping off to sleep, around 9:30pm, a small group of hikers showed up and began setting up camp for the night, just across the creek from me. They weren't extremely loud, but they were talking about going about the business of setting up camp. Fine. But around 10pm, they turned on their music (country ...ugh). I tried to ignore it, but 10:15 or so, I finally got up and decided to go over to ask them if they minded turning it down. I didn't act upset at all. I essentially said "Hey neighbors" when they greeted me, and started a brief conversation. They had no idea I was camped where I was. My campsite was up on a hill. If I had lights on, they would likely have noticed me, but I was trying to get to sleep. I asked them if they minded turning their music down a bit. They apologized and turned it down.

Bearbag Errors

In addition to mistakenly leaving my toothpaste out of the bearbag, I accidentally put my earplugs in the bag, as well as my over the counter medications, like Benadryl, and my Breathright nasal strips. At around 3am, my allergies decided to act up. I couldn't breathe. I decided to get up, pull down the bearbag and just bring the whole thing back to the tent with me. I got what I needed from it, in order to deal with my allergies, then shoved the food bag inside my dry bag, which was inside my backpack. Once I took my Benadryl, had my earplugs, and put on my nasal strip, I slept quite well until I woke up around 6:30.

Pay more attention to what you put in the bearbag before you hang it. Make sure you haven't left anything out. Make sure you haven't left things in that you will need in the night. It's a pain hanging them. It's a pain getting them down.

Pillow Talk

I'm still torn about pillows. In this previous post, I thought I had landed on a final solution, but I have gone back and forth on the issue. I am definitely a two pillow guy. I sleep best with one pillow under my head and one under my arm. The Hikenture pillows that I have complained about in the past have actually grown on me. The strap doesn't work with the sleeping pad I use, but I have found that I don't really care about using the straps anyway. This trip, I took 2 Hikenture pillows. On other recent trips, I have taken a combination of Hikenture and the compressible Therm-a-rest pillow. I like those Therm-a-rest pillows too, but they are so bulky, it's hard for me to pack them into my backpack, especially when I am carrying a quilt. On this trip, I had the two Hikenture pillows, some extra clothes, and just a sleeping bag liner because the nights were supposed to be above 60° F. My pack had all the room I needed plus some to spare. The Hikenture pillows were adequate to allow me to sleep. It wasn't amazing sleep, but I had other issues that kept me up more than the pillows.

I will say, anytime I car camp, and/or travel and need to bring a pillow, the Therm-a-rest pillows are great.

Chilly Night

On some other recent trips, I have used the my sleeping bag liner on hot summer nights. If it's 70 or warmer, I am probably going to be stripped down to underwear in my tent. Sleeping directly on the sleeping pad doesn't feel great. I have been using the Sea to Summit Cool Max liner in those conditions. I just throw it over the sleeping pad like a bed sheet. I don't even get inside it. This weekend got down to around 60°. I left my quilt at home, but I did bring long underwear, a pair of long pants, a long sleeve hoody, and an extra pair of socks. I started the night in my long underwear and hoody. But before the night was over, I had put on my pants, warm socks, pulled the liner off the sleeping pad, and got inside it. Even then, I was a little chilly, but comfortable enough to sleep. If it had been breezier, I might have been in trouble.

Good to know that 60° is the threshold where I need to bring warmer gear for the nights. I'm sure other conditions could have also made it worse, even at that temperature (e.g. rain or storm).

Other Things

Here are some additional observations.

Why I Struggled on This Trip

This trip kicked my butt. I was exhausted and sore when I was half way done. My plan had been to wake up and do the entire 26.8 miles loop. I managed to knock out about 16 miles in about 10 hours, which included loss of probably more than an hour dealing with water issues. It took me a while to decide the filter was a lost cause, took me more time to boil and cool the small amount of water, and then when I found a loaner filter, I did all I could to camel up while filling my bottles.

By the way, that hiker had a Katadyn BeFree filter. I will say two things about my brief experience using that filter. The flow rate was excellent. It definitely beats the Sawyer Squeeze. I was not a fan of the collection bag. This guy had the upgrade larger bag, but it doesn't scoop water as easily as the CNOC Vecto bag I use with my Sawyer filter. If CNOC ever makes a Katadyn compatible collection bag, I might look at switching to the Katadyn filter, but their prices are higher than the Sawyer, so... hard to say.

Anyway, I was thinking back to the long trip I took earlier this year doing a section of the Ouachita Trail. For that trip, I started around 7am and hiked all day until around 5:30pm. That trip kicked my butt, but I knocked out more than 20 miles. I thought maybe it was easier terrain. Comparing the elevation profiles, that trip had more elevation changes than this Eagle Rock trip.

Climbing elevation for the OT section was over 3000 feet. The Eagle Rock trip climbing elevation was only 1000. How was I able to cover so much more distance on the OT? Here are my theories.

1. I was in better shape in the spring than I am in now
2. There were fewer creek/river crossings on that section of the OT
3. I did better staying hydrated and eating on the OT

Before I ran out of water and realized that I didn't have a functioning filter, I think I did fairly well staying hydrated. But after that, I was being overly conservative with my water and it wasn't necessary. The last sections of the hike were well trafficked and I could have easily found people to loan me water if I got desperate.

There were a total of 4 wet crossings of the Little Missouri river on the Eagle Rock trip (2 on my way in, and the same 2 returning). The distance to the other side, and figure out where the trail picked up again took some little time. That was also true on some of the smaller rivers and creeks I crossed on the Eagle Rock loop. There were a couple of times I lost my way or had to reorient myself on the Ouachita Trail, but in general, I don't think navigation took quite as much time for my on the OT.

I need to take more actual breaks to stop, eat, and relax a bit. On the OT, I had packed a sandwich because I left that morning from the house, drove to the trailhead on Highway 7, and after hiking for a few hours straight, I stopped, sat down, ate my sandwich, filtered water, and had a rest. I think that made a significant difference. On this Eagle Rock trip, I ate a Cliff bar for breakfast. The rest of the day, I had a couple handfuls of trail mix and half of a mini Cliff bar.

I don't know if I need to eat a big breakfast on the trail. On past trips, I haven't felt like eating that much in the morning. But if I do that, having a legitimate lunch is going to be important. I will need calories on a multi-day trip in order to tick off the miles.

I need to do more trips of distance, and doing at least one multi-day trip is going to be important if I am going to do a thru hike. I am beginning to think it might be good for me to start off by hiking a few more sections of the OT where I am on the trail for a few days.

Clothing Management

It's hard for me to put dirty clothes back on when I wake up in the morning. Yesterday morning, when I woke up in my tent, part of the reason I didn't change into my other boxer briefs was because there was a chill in the air, but another issue was that I didn't want to put on my dirty undies and I was hoping to finish the whole trail that day. No need to preserve the night time clean(ish) pair.

Yet another reason I need to do a multi-day trip. I have to get over that mental hang-up. If I had needed to spend another night in the woods this weekend, I would not have had a dry long sleeved shirt to wear. My long sleeve hoody was sweaty. It might have dried by bedtime, but if temperatures dropped below 60° and I was sweaty, that could pose a risk of hypothermia.

Power

I need to do some testing with my phone and power bank. I have 3 power banks. Two of them are 10k milliamps and one is 20k. I will need my phone to stay charged off those bricks for as long as 3 or 4 days at a time. The smaller bricks take a few hours to charge from completely depleted. And they all perform worse in cold temps. On top of my phone, I will be carrying Bluetooth ear buds and my Garmin GPS tracker. I had my Garmin set to ping my location every 10 minutes. That's the highest frequency and it drains the battery faster. On this trip, my Garmin went from a little over 60% battery to something like 20%. From a full charge, I think I can extend it out to the 3 day mark. If it gets low by a 4th day on the trail, I could have the Garmin sip off the battery pack if need be.

I'm really thinking out loud here. I will try to do some testing with my phone and battery packs to see how many charges I can get from the power banks.

Amish!

As I came back through the Winding Stair section heading back to my car, there was a family I believe was Amish setting up camp. I believe it was a single family with a mom, dad, maybe 3 or 4 girls and a couple of boys, all dressed in very conservative Amish clothing. Women were in full length dresses with aprons and bonnets. The boys had brimmed hats, collared shirts, suspenders, and slacks.

The dad was spreading out a tarp and they were making camp on the river bank. I so badly wanted to stop and ask them a million questions. I also wanted to take a photo, which I am sure they would not have appreciated. I resisted the temptations and kept going, but one of the biggest questions I had was just, how did they get to a trailhead? Do they drive? I know there are some less rigid sects of Amish and/or Mennonites who drive motor vehicles, but based on the super conservative clothing these people had, I wondered. The options seemed to be

• they drove
• they took their horse and buggy and the horse is somewhere
• they got a ride in someone else's vehicle or buggy

I feel dumb that I was so dumbstruck by seeing that family. I just don't see them much where we live, and never expected to see them out in the forest setting up camp. Good for them!

The variety of people and gear I saw was also worth noting. I saw everything from thru hiker cottage brand Dyneema tents to mainstream big brand backpacking and camping tents and gear, to Walmart brand tents. Something that surprised me more that that was the things some of the people were hiking with. I was almost all the way back to my starting point yesterday afternoon when I came upon a couple hiking in toward the Winding Stair area. The woman had a small pack on her front (she was wearing it backward) and another larger pack on her back. The guy was also wearing a pack. None of the packs were made for backpacking. I believe the guy was wearing flipflops. He had a number of random things strapped to his bag. One of them was a teapot! He was not an ultralite backpacker. 😄

Last Thing

I have now used my Durston tent and backpack on a number of trips. I feel they were well worth the investment. Quality gear. Easy to use. Comfortable. There is a learning curve with the tent, but I don't think it's more than any other trekking pole tent, and probably less than some others that require more stakes.

I will add that I am very glad I opted for the X-Mid Pro 2. There are people who talk about dumping all the contents of their backpack inside their tent in a "gear explosion". I don't do that, but I definitely appreciate having the room to maneuver inside the tent when I am setting up my bed situation. For those who have the X-Mid Pro 1, what do you do? You would have to be either on your sleeping pad or under it the whole time. I don't think the Pro 2 actually qualifies as a true two person tent. It's my understanding that Durston is getting ready to launch an X-Mid Pro 2.5 that will accommodate 2 wide sleeping pads with some extra room on the sides. We'll see. In my mind, the X-Mid 2 is really a 1.5 person tent.

Okay, that wraps up my thoughts on this trip. Here are some additional photos I took.

I definitely want to go back to Eagle Rock and finish the loop in the future.

**Update**

I returned in October of 2023 and successfully made the complete trek. Read about it here.

Thanks again for stopping by.