Weather has been very hot lately. This is not surprising for an Arkansas July, but this past weekend, we got some relief. I didn't have other commitments, so I decided it was a good time to take one of the trips I have been itching to take; an overnight kayak trip spent on a Lake Ouachita island.
The Trip
On this trip, I decided to start at Big Fir Recreation area. I arrived on Saturday afternoon. The campsite was full at Big Fir, but on the north side of the peninsula where the campsite is located, there is a boat launch. I brought a sandwich and chips to eat for lunch, so I got the boat off the car, loaded my gear on it, then sat down and ate my sandwich.
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| Dirt roads leading to Big Fir mean a dusty car |
Lake Ouachita is the largest lake in Arkansas. The Ouachita River feeds into it on the west end. The lake is dammed on the east end near Brady Mountain. Big Fir is on the far western end of the lake on a peninsula between where the Ouachita River enters the lake on the north end and the South Fork Ouachita River joins on the south side.
After lunch, I cleaned up my trash as well as some other trash around the boat launch area (clean up after yourselves, people), I threw my cooler on the boat and set out toward the island where I planned to camp for the night.
The major islands on Lake Ouachita have been numbered by the Army Corps of Engineers. There are actually signs with the island numbers on them, which can help with navigation. I paddled out to island number 26, exploring the coves and points until I arrived at a place that was accessible and where I could set up camp.
I found a point on the southern end of the island with a beautiful beach and wide view of the lake.
After I set up my hammock, I took a dip in the lake. The water was warm. I read for a while and watched the boats pass by. I made my dinner around 5pm, cleaned up, hung my food bag for the night, then went to bed.
The moonrise that night was amazing. It was a blazing pink and orange. The photo does not do it justice.
The next morning, I packed up camp, loaded up my boat and paddled back to shore. Unfortunately, I started back toward the wrong shoreline and didn't realize it until I got almost all the way there. The map below shows my approximate path out to the island (grey lines) and the orange line shows my approximate path on my return voyage.
It's hard to discern shoreline from islands and one shoreline from another on the Lake because it's so big and has such uneven shores. That side track probably only meant an extra 20-30 minutes of paddling, so not too bad. I had friends to meet that morning for pickleball though, so I missed out on a couple of games that morning. Haha.
New gear
I had a few new items on this trip that I was trying out. Here are my thoughts.Werner Shuna Paddle
I picked up this paddle from Ozark Outdoor Supply. I wanted to try something lighter weight that also cut through the water more smoothly than the Bending Branches paddle I started with. My assessment, this paddle is lighter weight and cuts through the water a little more smoothly. Here is a link on to the listing on the Werner website.
It's also a slightly higher angle paddle, which I like. I'm a bit of an aggressive paddler, so the high angle gives me more surface with which to propel myself.
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| Werner Shuna paddle |
Here is the Bending Branches paddle I started with for comparison. The Bending Branches Sunrise paddle has a lower angle and is less broad. It also tends to plunk into the water some rather than smoothly slipping in.
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| Bending Branches Sunrise paddle |
NRS Boaters Gloves
This wasn't the first time I have used these NRS Boaters Gloves, but I like them. They help reduce sore spots on your hands when you're paddling on longer days.
Optimus Clip-on Windshield
The Optimus Clip-on Windshield is something I purchased a few months ago, but haven't had much opportunity to use until this trip.
This windscreen clips onto the collar on the fuel canister. The lake was quite windy and I believe having this wind shield helped bring my water to boil much faster. I also wonder if my stove would have stayed lit without the windshield. I purchased this item from Ozark Outdoor Supply in Little Rock. Buy local if you can.
No Slip Deck Pads
The 2023 model of the LiquidLogic Kiawah kayaks we purchased last year did not come with any traction pads on the boat deck, but the 2024 version does come with deck pads. I wasn't sure what the response would be, but I decided to contact LiquidLogic to ask them if they could send us deck pads for our kayaks. I was pleasantly surprised, they said yes! Here is the before and after.
I think this improves the look, but it also helps make the deck less slick. If we ever have a dog that wants to ride along up front, then the dog will benefit from the front deck pads.
I still need to apply them to our other boat, but they didn't come with instructions, so I was concerned that they wouldn't stay stuck. So far, so good. Thanks you LiquidLogic!
Zpacks Sub-Nero Ultra 30L Backpack
I bought this backpack because I wasn't satisfied with the day hiking backpack I have been using. This kayak trip isn't a real example of the standard use of the Sub-Nero pack, but it was able to hold a lot of my gear and kept the gear I packed on the inside dry.
As I get more opportunities to test this pack on day hikes and other trips, I will be sure to do a more thorough review. One of the reasons I opted for this specific backpack was the fact that it does not have a hipbelt with hipbelt pockets. Even when backpacks have decent zippers on their hipbelts that allow for one hand opening and closing, I find it difficult to see what is in the pockets. And it's very irritating when they are not single hand open/close.
So in addition to the Sub-Nero pack...
Ultralite Packs Fanny Pack
I got this fanny pack as a compliment for the Sub-Nero day pack. So far, I really like it. For this trip, I had some snack in it, some quick access tools, like my headlamp, multi-tool, sunscreen and lip balm.
Here is a link. Ultralite Packs is a very small cottage vendor located in Arkansas. I think it is literally a one man operation. I also use their zipper cube ditty bags because they zip the full length of the widest side, so you can very easily access everything, unlike the roll top ditty bags with a narrow opening at the top. To get at small items on the bottom, you basically have to dump all the contents. It's annoying.
This fanny pack has a quality water resistant zipper. I strapped it to the frame of my seat in the kayak so I had easy access to it. The zipper is easy to work and it's easy to see into the bag. I wasn't sure if I should get the large or the regular size (minimalist/deluxe). I opted for the smaller size, and it's plenty big for the items I carry on my waist.
UGQ Quillow
This is not the first time I used the Quillow, but I haven't written about it in any post yet, so here we go. The Quillow is a very light summer top quilt. I would only take this as a top quilt option in weather that is 50°F for overnight lows or higher, and even then, you would probably need some extra layers to manage your temp. But in my mind, this is a great option as opposed to a regular top quilt that will wrap around you more and cost more than $100 extra. They weigh less than a pound and pack very small. If you get too hot, they are super easy to open up because it's truly a flat blanket. Here's a video. It's easier to see what this is than to describe it and it would require several photos.
I'm still working on getting a set of backpacking quilts that will accommodate the full range of temps I am likely to experience on the trail in Arkansas. This covers warm summer nights that dip down and/or get a little cool and breezy to be comfortable with no coverage.
It's interesting, UGQ used to have options for customized Quillow patterns and colors. It appears they have removed those options and you get a limited set of color options. I wouldn't normally go for the upsell option, but for this, I opted for a hex-cam exterior and purple interior. Here's what that looks like.
One last comment on this item. UGQ markets the Quillow as a viable pillow. The Quillow would be a terrible pillow if you wanted something to actually sleep on. The blanket always comes untucked from the pocket. However, they just released a new product that conceivably make it a workable pillow option, the Quillow Case.
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To me, this is not the reason to buy this quilt. But if you wanted to bring it on a road trip or some other type of travel as a travel pillow, plus an extra blanket when you got to a destination that has actual blankets, I can see that this Quillow Case might make sense.
Titan Deep Freeze cooler
This one was a little disappointing. I picked this up at Walmart. It was one of the least expensive options, so I guess, you get what you pay for. I brought some sodas to drink with my lunch and dinner, plus the sandwich.
Pros:
- Removable plastic inner lining for easy cleaning
- Plastic top tray to keep things like sandwiches from getting soggy
Cons:
- Shoulder strap does not have swivels, so it constantly gets twisted
- Disappointed with its ability to keep things cold
- The sandwich was in the cooler for 2 hours, and even though it was on the plastic tray, still got soggy
Lessons Learned
Find More Substantial Trees with No Flex
I think I'm getting a little better each time I set up my hammock. Still, I clearly have a bit to learn. The wind was blowing on the lake and my tarp ridgeline was not staying taught. It took me a while, but I finally realized, both of the trees I was hanging from were flexing a couple of inches when I got into the hammock. They were strong enough to hold me, but bent in with my weight. This created slack in the ridgeline from which my tarp was suspended. In the wind, that slack meant the tarp was flapping constantly. I ultimately put the tarp in its snakeskin, so it could still be deployed if I got rain in the night, but so it wasn't flapping around in the wind.
In the future, I will look for trees that are more robust with no flex.
Use of Foam Sleeping Pad Instead of Underquilt
This was my first experience in my hammock without an underquilt. Instead of an underquilt, I brought my ThinLight pad from Gossamer Gear. My Warbonnet Ridgerunner hammock has two layers to it, and you can slip an insulation pad between the two layers. Here's a YouTube Short that shows what a double layer hammock looks like (at least one type).
The problem with using the foam pad as insulation is that it doesn't breath very well. I found that whatever side was resting against it would tend to get a little sweaty. With a down underquilt, you pay a weight penalty, but it performs much better as far as being warm, but breathable. The sleeping pad was better than nothing, but I don't think I will probably use it as my underside insulation again.
That wraps up this article. I found this adventure to be very relaxing. The lake and island were beautiful. This is definitely a trip I would do again, and there are probably hundreds of viable campsites on the islands and shoreline coves around Lake Ouachita. As the moon was rising, I could see two campfires on the shoreline across the way. I wonder how many other people were camped around the lake that night between the designated campsites and primitive camping all around the lake.
Thanks for dropping by. Let me know if you have questions or comments.
Gavagai
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