In early March, 2025, I took my first stab at hiking the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) in Northwest Arkansas with two friends.
What is the OHT?
The Ozark Highlands Trail runs east to west, beginning at Lake Fort Smith State Park near Mountainburg, Arkansas and runs 207 miles through the Ozark and St. Francis National forests in the Boston and Ozark Mountains.
The trail originally extended 164 miles to Woolum at the Buffalo National River. The trail has been extended another 43 miles of marked trail for a total of 207.6 miles. There are plans for adding trail extending all the way to the Missouri border for a total of 317 miles. Here is a link to the Ozark Highlands Trail Association's general information page about the trail.
The Crew
This time, I set out with two friends; Andy, who I met on the Ouachita Trail, and her friend Mike. Mike was brand new to backpacking, but he's an avid trail runner and generally fit guy.
Andy worked to get Mike outfitted for the trip with all the gear he would need. I loaned him my Durston X-Mid Pro 2 tent.
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| Mike, Andy, me, from left to right at Lake Fort Smith State Park, mile 0 |
Because this was Mike's first ever attempt at backpacking, Andy suggested a shakedown hike in Hot Springs. We did the 12 mile Sunset Trail loop with loaded packs so Mike could get a feel for a day of hiking over hills with a loaded backpack. He did well.
The Plan(s)
Andy and I had initially talked about doing the original 164 miles of the OHT as a thru hike, ending at Woolum on the Buffalo River. Realistically, I knew I was not going to last that long on the trail (gnothi seauton), so we decided to go for the first half of that instead. I want to be a guy who can go out for weeks at a time, but I know that I get worn down and struggle to keep going. Our revised plan was six days, doing 84 miles from Lake Fort Smith to the Ozone/Hwy 21 trailhead.
Planning miles for each day and locations to camp can be challenging on the OHT. There are a lot of good campsites, but they aren't all marked. There are also some stretches of trail that have no viable campsites for miles. This was the first draft of our daily itinerary.
There were two days with bigger mileage (first and penultimate), but all were under 20 miles and the majority were less than 13 miles.
I found a couple of alternative campsites to break up that 19.6 mile day, but spread the mileage a little more evenly. Here was the alternate schedule I came up with.
The highlights identify the changes. We had digital copies of both plans while we were on trail, and it was useful to have gone through the trail to make both plans and consider alternatives.
The end point for Day 4 was a campsite I found by looking at comments on the FarOut app by water source icons near the area where I was hoping to find a campsite. "Samuel's Lookout" campsite was sort of listed in FarOut, but it wasn't shown like the typical campsites.
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| Samuel's Lookout campsie shown with green icon |
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| Other campsite icons shown with brown tent icon |
I don't know why that campsite is shown with a different icon. Maybe it's a more developed campsite with amenities of some kind and usage fees, but those types of campsites are typically accessible from a road. This one is not. Samuel's Lookout campsite can also be found on the paper OHT maps as well as Google Maps, but it's not listed as a site in Tim Ernst's trail guide for the OHT.
The whole reason I raise this issue is that it's good to tap more than one source for trail information as you plan your trips, and if you use FarOut it's very helpful to check the comments around the area for information, even if you don't see an icon at the exact spot. The app icons are helpful, but not always accurate. Commenters also get things wrong, so triangulating information from multiple sources is always a good idea, especially if you are backpacking in a new area.
Staging
I chose the spot to drop my cache by choosing a location that was accessible from a paved road near the halfway point that we would reach around the end of the fourth day. At mile 49.9, there is an intersection with a spur trail from the Indian Creek recreation area on Hwy 215.
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| This spur trail was only on my paper map |
I drove out Tuesday in the afternoon the day before we would start the trip, hiked in to the trail intersection, and dropped my five gallon bucket with three days worth of food and other supplies behind a large rock. I then walked back to the trail and looked back at the rock to see how visible the bucket was from the trail. It was too visible, so I walked back to the rock to better conceal it with sticks and leaves.
I took a few different photos of the trail intersection and area, so I could consult the photos if I wasn't sure I was in the right location. The photo above shows the specific rock on the hill behind which I stashed my cache bucket.
I will save the suspense, it was still there and unmolested when I returned to retrieve it. I will share other thoughts about this choice later.
When I returned to my car, I drove the rest of the way to Lake Fort Smith State Park where I had reserved a beautiful cabin for the evening. LFS cabins are super nice. The one I stayed in was ADA accessible and pet friendly. They are a little pricier than I would normally go for, especially to stay at for myself, but I went for it because of the convenience of being right there for the start the next morning.
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Andy and Mike would drive out from Central Arkansas the next morning and meet me at the trailhead around 8:30am. We had initially planned to start on Tuesday the 4th, but there were storms forecast for that day, so we opted to start on Wednesday the 5th. This was a good call because there were powerful winds and some hard rainfall on Tuesday. When I was dropping my cache, I caught a break in the storms, to hike in and back.
Our Experience on the Trail
Day One
The weather was chilly and quite windy when we started our trek on Wednesday morning. Mrs. Gavagai and I had done the first mile at LFS State Park about a year ago as a day hike. The lake itself is lovely and scenic, but there are also some seasonal waterfalls and old stone chimney remnants from homesteads. Lake Fort Smith is a manmade lake, so those homesteads were there when there was just a river flowing below, Frog Bayou.
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| Fireplace #1 taken by me over a year ago. I will figure out how to take better photos eventually. |
One of the first trials we knew we would be facing that morning was crossing Frog Bayou. Frog Bayou is a seasonal creek that flows into Lake Fort Smith. In the late summer months, it is frequently bone dry, but after rains, it is often a wet crossing, and sometimes unsafe because it's a torrent. That morning, it was not to the point that officials were discouraging us from crossing, but they said use caution.
Opinions in the comments on FarOut during wet crossing times varied. Some commenters said that they found places to cross that were easier/safer by bushwacking upstream. Others said they went downstream to cross when water was high. We scouted in both directions and worried that the water was deeper in those spots than the designated crossing. After more than 30 minutes of fighting our way through thick bush, we decided our best option was to cross at the spot where the trail takes you.
Here's a video of the creek that morning from after we crossed.
The water was icy cold. My legs went numb.
Wet River Crossings
There are debates among backpackers about whether to do wet crossings in your hiking shoes or to use water shoes of one kind or another, then putting your hiking shoes back on after you're finished. In the past, I have leaned toward just crossing in your regular hiking shoes and socks. That is the way I crossed Frog Bayou that morning. My companions crossed in water shoes at Frog Bayou so they had dry shoes after. However, there were other crossings that I did on this trip where I opted to use my sandals, and after seeing me do this crossing, I believe Mike did the rest of the wet crossings in his hiking shoes.
This table sums up my general thoughts on the two options.
If you aren't hiking long distances and the delays don't matter or if it's the end of the day and you just don't want shoes that are completely soaked just before getting to camp, I can see opting for changing shoes. There are benefits for changing, but all things considered, forging ahead with trailrunner type hiking shoes that are lightweight, quick to dry, and saving any spare footwear for dry feet at camp makes the most sense to me.
...but I digress.
We continue
The boundary between the State Park and the National Forest is around mile 5.4. There is a designated campsite with a short trail spur and signs. We didn't check it out because we were aiming for White Rock Mountain (18 miles total) that day.
I don't recall exactly where we stopped for lunch that day, but I believe we stopped at a small creek somewhere between Jack Creek and Hurricane Creek to refuel our bodies with some snacks and rehydrate.
The trail crosses Hurricane Creek at mile 10.0. Which is another wet crossing. This one wasn't as deep or fast moving. But I believe it was after that section that we began to run into more frequent tree falls on the trail that required extra time to either climb over, under, around, or through. In addition to the extra time, these tree falls can pose some risk, depending on how the tree is laying across the trail. For example, if the easiest path around the tree is to go around the base of the trunk because the tangle of branches completely blocks the trail, it's possible that when you step off trail, you're on a steep slope with loose scree or other debris. Clear trails are difficult enough, but trails with constant obstructions are precarious and physically and mentally taxing as well. They can also be rough on your clothing and pack.
The Ozark Highlands Trail Association does regular trail maintenance work, and they organize volunteers to help clear the trail. They had recently cleared these sections of trail, but the storms and wind were undoing their hard work, even as we hiked through. We literally heard at least two very large trees fall in the areas where we were hiking that day with winds gusting to 40 mph. None were close enough to us to give us a scare, but just hearing the sound in your area makes one appreciate the massive power and inertia of a mature falling tree. It almost sounded like thunder, but there were no storms that day. The giants of the forest fall hard.
Wildlife
Somewhere along our climb, we encountered an armadillo. When he spotted us, he ran ahead of us along the trail for about 50 yards. It was the fastest I've ever seen an armadillo run. Andy won the award for spotting the most wildlife. She had a snake go between her legs, and when she was hiking behind me on another day, apparently I stepped right over one without seeing it. I did turn around and get a look at it. That was a colorful one with pinstripes down its sides. Andy was also startled by a squirrel on our last day. It was lying in ambush behind a rock until she was right next to it. Then it jumped up, ran up a tree, and scrambled across a narrow ledge on a nearby bluff.
We continue
From Hurricane Creek to the top of White Rock Mountain, it's a long hard uphill climb. We knew that the overnight low that night was forecast to dip below freezing, and with the wind whipping the way it was, Andy asked what we thought about the prospect of renting one of the cabins at White Rock Mountain (WRM). White Rock Mountain National Recreation Area is one of many National Forest Recreation areas with designated campsites, facilities, and trails. Having a cabin would mean that we wouldn't be subject to powerful winds overnight, we would get a better sleep than we would on the ground, and for Mike especially, he's not a veteran at setting up a tent in calm conditions, let alone windy conditions, where the tent has to withstand gusting winds. He was using a trekking pole tent, and they can be difficult to secure properly (read about a night where I experienced a tent collapse during a storm here). We all liked the idea of getting out of the weather that night, but the check in office and general store at WRM closes at 6pm. It was now after 4pm. We still had 3 miles of hard trail to go and our progress was slow. Mike and I were especially beginning to drag. Andy seems to have no limits on her energy. She offered to run ahead of us on the trail (yes, literally running with her loaded pack) to get to the office before they closed to secure the cabin for us. She called ahead and asked them to reserve one for us, that she was going to book it ahead of her two companions. Please can the staff stick around a few minutes longer in case she can't make it to the office before 6? They agreed and contacted the staff at the office. Andy left Mike and me as she surged ahead.
A bit of cheating
Right around mile 15, the trail crosses a road. Looking to the left, the road the trail crosses comes to a T intersection with another road. A sign on that road pointed uphill and said 1 mile to White Rock Mountain. We knew that there was around three miles remaining to get there on the trail, that the trail was also likely far more rugged and difficult than road walking would be.
We did the calculations in our head. It didn't take long. Ordinarily, I would be more of a purist and insist on taking the trail, but we were both beat, and I was also worried that Andy would still have trouble making it to the office in time.
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| Shall we? Indeed. |
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| Mike and I followed the grey road leading to the recreation area. Andy followed the red trail path around the southern rim of the mountain. |
We proceeded slowly up the hill to WRM. Even at our snail pace, moving unimpeded by rugged trail, tree falls, and an extra two miles of distance, Mike and I arrived at the WRM office before Andy. Mike called Andy to let her know we had cheated with our shortcut on the road and we were taking care of the cabin, so she could slow her pace and take her time. She was nearly at the trail junction anyhow, but no more need to rush and possibly risk injury.
White Rock Mountain
There was some mildly humorous confusion about our party by the staff at WRM because, the manager and had contacted asking for grace about our arrival time made the assumption that Andy's backpacking companions were two women. When Mike and I showed up saying we needed a cabin for three consisting of a party of two men and a woman, the staff believed we were a second group of three due to arrive, and that Andy and her two lady friends were also going to arrive shortly. We got things straightened out within a few minutes.
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| Cabin photo snagged from the Google |
This isn't a photo of the cabin where we stayed. I should have taken a photo of it, but this is representative of the cabins at WRM. They are truly rustic cabins. I believe they were built as CCC projects, back in the Great Depression. Our cabin had a main living area, a small kitchen equipped with a fridge, stove, sink, and dishes and utensils, bathroom with tub and toilet (no shower), and a bedroom with three beds.
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| Bunk beds! |
There was no central heating for the cabins. The walls were constructed of stone, so no real insulation. The main room was heated by the fireplace and an electric blower. The bathroom and bedroom were each heated by a small electric space heater. They do have wifi in the cabins. Linens for the beds can be rented. Towels and washcloths are also available to rent. We paid the fee for the towels, but used our sleeping bags on the beds.
We made dinner, and I think we were all in bed asleep by around 8pm that night.
I'll say more about this later, but the meal I made that night was the Peak Refuel "Backcountry Bison Bowl". It was gross. I will never buy that meal again. There are a lot of Peak Refuel meals that I actually like, but this was a complete dud. When I bought it, I didn't realize it had buttermilk biscuits in it. They never seem to reconstitute properly, and it's difficult to break them up. The flavors and textures were also a complete miss for me. I think I'm just going to generally steer clear of any meals with red meat of any kind, but there will be more about food in my lessons learned section below.
Andy hiked 18 miles that day. Mike and I took our road walk shortcut and did around 16 miles, and we had 4944 feet of climbing elevation.
Though the day was hard, it really is a beautiful trail with many scenic views of the valleys and surrounding mountains and hills. There are creeks with multiple shorter cascades as well as proper waterfalls over moss and algae covered bluffs. It's a challenging hike, but worth the effort. The recent rain meant that all the mountain waterworks were running. It made the creek crossings a bit more challenging, but still manageable.
Day Two
On Day Two, Mike and Andy woke early and got the fire going in the main living part of the cabin. I woke, but wasn't aware they were up yet because it was dark. By the time I realized they were already out of bed and moving, their fire was blazing. If you ever stay in one of those WRM cabins, here's a pro tip. There are fire starters inside the decorative container on the fireplace mantle. It makes starting the fire much easier. Great find, Mike!
We made and ate our breakfasts, packed up, and we were back on trail by 8:45 that morning.
Mike was having doubts about finishing because the previous day had been grueling. Andy urged him to persevere, pointing to the lower mileage for this day. Our itinerary had us going only 12.5 miles on Thursday, from WRM to a campsite near Fane Creek. We also determined that we would take a longer lunch break to rest and recover, and we could proceed at a generally slower pace. They put me at the front of our procession for that reason. Haha.
The trail begins with a long descent off WRM. The first creek you cross is called Salt Fork. I believe it was between Salt Fork Creek and Spirit Creek that there was a recent prescribed burn area. The flames were gone, but there were still a handful of stumps that were smoldering in the forest as we walked through. The ground was black on either side of the trail and the smell of smoke was heavy in the air.
Prescribed burns knock down a lot of dead trees. Strong winds can also knock trees down. This stretch of forest was exposed to both factors in recent days and our path was once again blocked by dozens of tree falls over rugged trail.
The Spirit Creek valley was truly the highlight of our whole trip. It is one of the most scenic areas I've seen in all my experiences hiking and backpacking. There are bluffs on one side of the creek, then on the other. As you proceed along the creek, there were waterfalls and bluffs formed on both sides of the creek. It was beautiful.
One of the several waterfalls as we came into Spirit Creek valley.
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| Waterfall next to the place where we crossed the creek to the right of Mike |
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| Waterfall in that same locate just to the left of where Mike was standing |
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| Andy crossing Spirit Creek |
Between Spirit Creek and our campsite at Fane Creek, there was another mountain to climb, but it was smaller than the others we had done. I don't recall exactly where we stopped for lunch that day, but I believe it was next to one of the forest roads that the trail crosses. I may or may not have dozed off briefly while lying in the sun.
As the trail descends on the other side of this mountain (Black Mountain), the trail joins a raised road bed just after mile marker 26. While we were hiking, it was clear to us that it was constructed as a road of one kind or another because it had a consistent level slope for a couple of miles, and it was also raised up from most of the surrounding forest floor. Turns out this was a railroad bed that was used to transport timber from the area and it was built in the 1900s.
Eventually the trail turns off the railroad bed and you descend to Fane creek. There are cascades and waterfalls along the creek that you can see from above. It's pretty.
I believe it was around 5pm that night that we rolled into the campsite. Andy and I scouted around for trees to hang our food from and slung our lines over the branch we found. We all set up our shelters and beds, then started making dinner. That night I had a cheesy chicken and broccoli with rice meal. It was much better than the meal I had the previous night, but I still had trouble finishing it.
There are three campsites near Fane Creek. We stayed at the first one you encounter heading east. There is another very nice spot on the same side of the creek, but further downstream and also further away from the trail and the creek. The third one is on the opposite bank after the crossing.
Our location was nice. The campsite is situated between the creek and the trail at a location where Fane Creek is joined by a tributary creek. There is a forest road about 100 yards away on the opposite side with a bridge over that tributary creek. The road does not cross Fane Creek.
The photo above was actually taken the next morning just before we packed up. I had already put my tarp in its snakeskin sleeve, but you can see Mike's tent in the back, Andy's bivy tent on the right, and in the foreground, my hammock. Mike and Andy are working on filtering water.
From WRM to our camp at Fane Creek was about 12.5 miles. Our climbing elevation for the say was 2287, and descending was 3645, so it was mostly downhill on Day Two.
Mike was about ready to pull the plug that night, but he agreed to see how he felt in the morning. I slept very well that night. Possibly one of the best nights of sleep I've had in the backcountry.
Day Three
Morning came at Fane Creek. We looked at Mike and asked him for his verdict. Mike said he was done. It was about 5.5 miles from Fane Creek to the Cherry Bend trailhead. That's where we set our goal for the day. My car was at Lake Fort Smith State Park, so I arranged for a shuttle to pick me up at Cherry Bend. Andy's husband was able to pick up her and Mike. I also needed to retrieve my resupply bucket.
Before any of that however, we needed to cross Fane Creek. We spent a little time trying to figure out if there was a way to get across the creek dry. There was not. And any route we considered would have also entailed a good deal of bushwhacking to get back to the trail. We ultimately decided to cross at the designated trail crossing.
The water was moving somewhat swiftly, but the water wasn't super deep. One neat feature of the creek in this location is that the bed of the creek consisted of giant flat slabs of slate rock. We were a little concerned that they would be extremely slick, but we went slowly across and it wasn't bad.
I actually did a shoe change for this crossing because I didn't anticipate there would be another wet crossing that day, it was only half a day of hiking, but I would be wearing those same socks and shoes at least until I made it back to my car at Lake Fort Smith, but probably until I made it up and down the other mountain to retrieve my supply bucket. I opted for dry feet.
Near the top of that climb, the trail crosses an open right of way for a gas pipeline (the pipeline is buried). It's a grassy open spot with a view and we stopped for a break there.
As we were making our way down to the Cherry Bend trailhead for our rides, we were nearing the final mile marker we would pass. I saw it as we were approaching, but I glanced down at my feet and the trail. When I looked back for the marker, I lost track of it. I thought perhaps I had walked past it, so I turned around at the trees on my left to see if the marker was mounted there. Unfortunately, as I turned to look, I also stepped backward. There was no trail behind me and a steep slope. I tried to go forward to catch myself, but it was too late. I couldn't catch my footing. I fell backward into a small ravine that was cut into the mountain by water. There wasn't water in it that day, so I stayed dry. My pack took the brunt of the fall from my back and butt. A tree on my left side helped to stop me from continuing to fall further down the hillside, but my ribs on that left side got crunched and the wind was knocked out of me.
It took me a couple of minutes to recover. Andy and Mike had me unclip my pack and they lifted it up to allow me to climb the few feet back onto the trail above. We had less than half a mile to go, and I had to get an injury like that. Stupid.
As we exited the trail and made our way across the highway to the parking area, my shuttle driver (also named Mike) called out to me from his truck. Andy's husband Scott was minutes away. We said our goodbyes and I hopped in the truck with the new Mike.
Mike the shuttle driver took me to a local restaurant called MJ's Tin Box Cafe in Mountainburg for a delicious homestyle lunch on our way to Lake Fort Smith. I ordered the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. It was awesome. I had chocolate cake for dessert too. They are only open 11am - 2pm weekdays, but if you're in the area and looking for a good lunch, I recommend it.
It also turns out that Mike-shuttle-driver plays pickleball, so we had plenty to discuss on the drive and at lunch between the topics of the trail (I had questions) and the sport of pickleball.
After getting to Lake Fort Smith, I refilled my water at the visitor center, then hopped in my car to head back to Indian Creek to fetch my resupply. I had an additional 0.7 miles to hike in, up the side of a mountain, with injured and tender ribs, then back down the same distance carrying a 5 gallon bucket filled with unused supplies.
When I did my drop on Tuesday, I didn't take my Garmin GPS tracker, but this time, I brought it with me. I didn't think I would need it, but I thought, if I slip and fall, there are some sheer drops near the beginning. I don't know that I could self rescue if I fell. Better to have a way to call for help if the worst happened.
I made it out and back. It was dark by the time I made it home.
New Gear I Carried This Trip
I had two new pieces of gear for this trip. Both worked out great.
The first item was a windbreaker jacket from Zpacks. It's called the Ventum. It feels so light weight that it's like a plastic bag grocery sack, but it's remarkably tough for its weight, 1.95 oz/ 55 g. It compresses into a tiny pocket to a pouch about the size of my fist. They are expensive, but I managed to get mine with a discount code. Zpacks throws them out to your email once in a while.
I also invested in lighter weight rain gear. Up till now, I've had a couple of $15 ponchos. One was from Amazon and packed small, but was on the heavy side. The other was a FroggToggs poncho that was lighter, but bulky. It took up a lot of space in the outside pocket of my pack. With my FarPointe midlayer hoodie and this windbreaker, I believe I could get away with temps down to freezing.
I also picked up a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano Tarp Poncho.
It's lighter than either of the other ponchos, packs smaller, and it also has lashing points that can be used to convert it to a rain tarp/shelter.
Both of these items were great additions to my kit. Even with both in the outside pocket of my pack, I had more room than I'm used to having. When it got too hot for me to keep my midlayer on, I was able to stuff it into the outside pocket rather than having it lashed to the outside of the pocket where it could get snagged and abraded by branches and rocks.
Lessons Learned
First, I want to be a guy who can stay on trail for many days at a time. I'm just not that guy. I really do enjoy being in the forest and passing through the remote places. I enjoy getting to spend the nights outside. There are a lot of things I genuinely enjoy about the experience of backpacking. But I don't think I'll ever really be at a place where I want to be on trail for more than about three days at a time.
Now, if Mike had been loving it and I was the only one dragging, I probably would have pushed myself, but I don't think I would have enjoyed myself. As soon as it was apparent that Mike was getting ready to hit the eject button, I was thinking "great! Me too!". What is really dumb (and Andy will point this out - rightly so) I had discussed going further and longer on the trail with her only a few months ago.
This is apparently a lesson I need to relearn over and over. In my defense, I did ask to cut down the distance and time a couple of times after initially discussing the longer 164 and 84 mile thru hikes. Even with three day trips, I feel like I'm always ready to be done. Getting finished and being home is half the fun of being away. What did I say at the top? Gnoti seauton. What's that? Haha.
Second, I think we made itinerary choices that made things a bit more difficult for Mike than it needed to be. Shorter days with earlier starts, especially in the beginning, might have helped him to get his backpacking legs.
Getting those early morning starts can also be a little tricky with a group. When I'm by myself, I typically pop out of my hammock before the crack of dawn and get started. When there are other people in the camp, I feel like I don't want to disturb them. It might help to set a goal to be ready to hit the trail by no later than... [time]. Whatever it needs to be for the miles for the day. If you get done early, you can always find things to do or talk about at camp. You can gather wood for a fire, process the wood, tend the fire, and just hang out and talk. All three mornings, we started after 8am. That's more than an hour of daylight used up. And I would much rather start hiking in the dark than to finish in the dark.
My third lesson learned was related to food. I'm going to have to figure out some other food options beside just freeze dried meals. Even when they aren't terrible, they aren't great, and it can feel like I'm literally choking them down just to get the calories. On two nights in a row on this trip, I wasn't able to finish the meals. It was wasteful, they are expensive, and my energy for those days was low because of it. I lost about 6 lbs over just two and a half days on trail. I could use to lose weight, for sure, but doing it that quickly when I need energy isn't ideal.
Related to the food issue, I think I need to increase the amount of electrolyte supplements I was using. I felt like I was drinking a lot of water, but that it wasn't quenching my thirst. I have Salt Stick electrolyte tablets and some electrolyte drink mixes. Those were good, but I probably need to pop the tablets more frequently.
I also tried these recovery gummy things from Garage Grown Gear.
They are sweet and tasty. I like the orange flavor best, but the ginger apple is okay too. I will continue to carry these. Garage Grown Gear sent a free pack of them with something I ordered earlier this year and I finally tried them on my LOViT trip. They are a great treat after a long day.
My fourth lesson was that I get more careless about footcare when I'm with people and also toward the end of a trip. I got blisters on my heels because I didn't want to inconvenience my companions by stopping to doctor them up. And on the final day, I didn't stop because "we're almost done". Stupid. Do better, Gavagai.
Finally, this was the first time I dropped a cache. It may be the last time because it's not bad carrying 2-3 days of food. I wouldn't probably even do a cache drop for four days, and as I stated in my first lesson learned, I may never be a guy who does weeklong trips. With that said, the cache of resupplied items was there and unmolested when I returned to it. That was a success.
However, if I ever do use a cache like that again, I will definitely not deposit it where I have to hike up a mountain to get to it. It would have been so much easier to drop it somewhere where the trail crosses a road or highway. Easy access for the drop. Easy access for the pickup after I'm finished.
Well, I think that wraps up this adventure. I think we'll all be back on the OHT in the future. From what I gather, the best parts are yet to come.
Thanks for stopping by,
Gavagai
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