This reminds me of this video.
At 1:30 a 4Runner did the same thing as that 80
At 1:30 a 4Runner did the same thing as that 80
May Arkansas Overland Trip Thread
- Thread starter wngrog
- Start date
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What a great trip. Thought i would give a quick recap but first want to thank Dave Lay for picking out the route and for running point. It would have been impossible for us to do all the stuff we did and see what we saw without him.
Meet spot for Thursday was at Bomar's house...he offered us all a place to sleep because of the weather, and we invaded like a bunch of squatting SOBs. Hammocks, RTT, TrailerTT, and lots of couch/sleeping bag action. Thanks to John and family for letting us crash.
We rolled out on Friday morning, headed up scenic Hwy 7 for about 2 hours, and met up with Dave and his buddy Albright in Dover AR, about 30 mins south of where we went offroad. Quick fuel stop and the weekend was on.
Gravel started about 15 miles north and west of Dover, the first of around 100 miles of off pavement travel that we'd knock out over the weekend. Dave was out front, leading the way through the area, which he knows like the back of his hand. There is a literal spider web of interconnected forest service and county roads in the Ozarks, and i'm pretty sure Dave knows them all. It's impressive to watch.
Morning and mid afternoon were spent on good gravel and light trails. Aside from a quick stop that netted out about 100 new group members (ticks...they were everywhere all weekend) everything was smooth and relaxing. Lunch was 'eat it when you can' as we hopped from spot to spot.
Mid afternoon stop was Pilot's Knob, a narrow peak that used to hold an old fire tower that offers 360* views of the entire area. You can see for miles, and it's a great spot to take in the scenery. All 9 of us fit up there...barely, and Nolen got some awesome drone footage.
Nolen and PMC are responsible for some of these pics...
Meet spot for Thursday was at Bomar's house...he offered us all a place to sleep because of the weather, and we invaded like a bunch of squatting SOBs. Hammocks, RTT, TrailerTT, and lots of couch/sleeping bag action. Thanks to John and family for letting us crash.
We rolled out on Friday morning, headed up scenic Hwy 7 for about 2 hours, and met up with Dave and his buddy Albright in Dover AR, about 30 mins south of where we went offroad. Quick fuel stop and the weekend was on.
Gravel started about 15 miles north and west of Dover, the first of around 100 miles of off pavement travel that we'd knock out over the weekend. Dave was out front, leading the way through the area, which he knows like the back of his hand. There is a literal spider web of interconnected forest service and county roads in the Ozarks, and i'm pretty sure Dave knows them all. It's impressive to watch.
Morning and mid afternoon were spent on good gravel and light trails. Aside from a quick stop that netted out about 100 new group members (ticks...they were everywhere all weekend) everything was smooth and relaxing. Lunch was 'eat it when you can' as we hopped from spot to spot.
Mid afternoon stop was Pilot's Knob, a narrow peak that used to hold an old fire tower that offers 360* views of the entire area. You can see for miles, and it's a great spot to take in the scenery. All 9 of us fit up there...barely, and Nolen got some awesome drone footage.
Nolen and PMC are responsible for some of these pics...
From Pilot's Knob we pushed further north, basically making a large loop up and around to a crossing on the big piney, then back down past car wash falls, which is a place on the trail where water drops off a ledge above. When levels are high you get a good bath...wasn't flowing too much though, so we only got a quick spray.
Pretty decent creek crossing shortly after the falls
From there we headed south out to pavement, and toward Haw Creek Falls campground. Was a good stop, the falls there are easy to get to and make for some good pics and scenery. Backtracked a tad when we headed out, across an old bridge. Nolen went up front and took some great pics of the crossing.
Rock midget in action...
Pretty decent creek crossing shortly after the falls
From there we headed south out to pavement, and toward Haw Creek Falls campground. Was a good stop, the falls there are easy to get to and make for some good pics and scenery. Backtracked a tad when we headed out, across an old bridge. Nolen went up front and took some great pics of the crossing.
Rock midget in action...
It was getting late in the day, so we pushed south towards Dave's super secret sandbar campsite. JT, John, Trey, Dave and I had camped here during the infamous 'crocs trip' so we were excited to get back. We went in from the south this time, hoping to avoid some of the tight spaces and tougher trail that the north approach has...no such luck. The trail in had gotten significantly worse in the past year...that said it did make for some great driving. I followed PMC in, and got to see first hand how the m series trailer tracks behind the 100 on a trail.
We got into camp with plenty of daylight left, and after sorting things out with a lone camper that was there before us (we moved down the stream some), everyone got setup and settled in. Bomar heated up an awesome brisket that he brought, Nolen cooked up some Rudy's beans and corn, and we all dug in, then topped off with some oreo/ice cream dessert that Nolen whipped up.
Camp did not disappoint, that is a great spot to spend the night...
We got into camp with plenty of daylight left, and after sorting things out with a lone camper that was there before us (we moved down the stream some), everyone got setup and settled in. Bomar heated up an awesome brisket that he brought, Nolen cooked up some Rudy's beans and corn, and we all dug in, then topped off with some oreo/ice cream dessert that Nolen whipped up.
Camp did not disappoint, that is a great spot to spend the night...
Woke up to a great morning, and were out of camp by 9:30.
Took a slightly different route out, and weren't disappointed by the choice. Several good obstacles on the trail. Also saw a place where all the ATV guys had spent so much time it looked like a dozer had manicured everything...was crazy. If anyone has a pic of that post it up.
Once out on good gravel, we back tracked some, then turned back north toward a scenic overlook that offered us views of the previous day's travels.
Good gravel for a while as we headed north, then Dave hooked a left and we were back on a really cool trail. 4-5 water crossings, some serious maple thickets, and the aforementioned sticking of Bossman's 80 took up the next few hours.
The drone footage Nolen took really added to the trip.
Took a slightly different route out, and weren't disappointed by the choice. Several good obstacles on the trail. Also saw a place where all the ATV guys had spent so much time it looked like a dozer had manicured everything...was crazy. If anyone has a pic of that post it up.
Once out on good gravel, we back tracked some, then turned back north toward a scenic overlook that offered us views of the previous day's travels.
Good gravel for a while as we headed north, then Dave hooked a left and we were back on a really cool trail. 4-5 water crossings, some serious maple thickets, and the aforementioned sticking of Bossman's 80 took up the next few hours.
The drone footage Nolen took really added to the trip.
Quick break then back on the road headed north
Really liked this one of Bossman's rig...we were moving pretty good on this part of the trail.
Quick detour off the main road took us by a really cool waterfall. Kids, dogs, and grown kids played in the water.
Really liked this one of Bossman's rig...we were moving pretty good on this part of the trail.
Quick detour off the main road took us by a really cool waterfall. Kids, dogs, and grown kids played in the water.
It was right around this point that it was obvious that a few of the group were going to have fuel issues. After pushing on a bit further, we made a beeline toward the only fuel possibility around. Dave said he knew they had a pump, but sometimes didn't have gas. Got lucky this time, and everyone fueled up. At this point it was getting late in the day, so we decided to abandon the original route to our 2nd campsite and run pavement for a while. It got us up where we wanted to be quick, and gave us a peak at Snowball AR, a cool little town that we'd visit as our final stop on the way back.
Hooked a left at Snowball, ran up and over a peak that gave some great views, and then dropped down into the richland valley, which runs south and east of the Buffalo. A few minutes onto the trail, we had to clear the first of quite a few downed trees that blocked our path. A few locals in pickups were unhappy about the delay, but we lost them pretty quick at the first water crossing. Think they were pretty amazed we went through. It was deep.
Just after that crossing, we ran into a pretty large tree over the road, just short of the Nars. Some discussion, good chainsaw work by Dave, Bossman and JT, and were were back on our way.
Hooked a left at Snowball, ran up and over a peak that gave some great views, and then dropped down into the richland valley, which runs south and east of the Buffalo. A few minutes onto the trail, we had to clear the first of quite a few downed trees that blocked our path. A few locals in pickups were unhappy about the delay, but we lost them pretty quick at the first water crossing. Think they were pretty amazed we went through. It was deep.
Just after that crossing, we ran into a pretty large tree over the road, just short of the Nars. Some discussion, good chainsaw work by Dave, Bossman and JT, and were were back on our way.
Tree out of the way we pressed on to the Nars...about 100 yards up the road 
The Nars is short for The Narrows, which is a crazy high, crazy narrow rock formation that overlooks the buffalo river. Some unreal views up there. Before we knew what was going on, JT Uranium had scampered across and up the other side. Few more guys ventured across...not me. Nope.
Nolen's drone footage from up here is great. If you haven't seen the video take the time to check it out.
The Nars is short for The Narrows, which is a crazy high, crazy narrow rock formation that overlooks the buffalo river. Some unreal views up there. Before we knew what was going on, JT Uranium had scampered across and up the other side. Few more guys ventured across...not me. Nope.
Nolen's drone footage from up here is great. If you haven't seen the video take the time to check it out.
J.T.T.M.F.T
After clearing some more downed trees (pointed by Bossman, Bomar and crew), we arrived at our destination for the night, a rock bar on the buffalo river. Another truly awesome campsite.
#bigchill
Dinner was steaks, potatoes (kind of), sausage, boudin, and lots of other stuff. Fairly late night around the campfire, and some awesome conversation. Everyone sacked out, lots of us in hammocks, and brought the day to a close.
Really cool fog rolled in early Sunday morning
Awesome sunny day got everyone moving, and we hung around camp for a couple hours. Hated to leave.
Trudy and Scout played. Hard.
Headed back out the way we came, toward the Richland creek crossing that was fairly deep the day before.
After clearing some more downed trees (pointed by Bossman, Bomar and crew), we arrived at our destination for the night, a rock bar on the buffalo river. Another truly awesome campsite.
#bigchill
Dinner was steaks, potatoes (kind of), sausage, boudin, and lots of other stuff. Fairly late night around the campfire, and some awesome conversation. Everyone sacked out, lots of us in hammocks, and brought the day to a close.
Really cool fog rolled in early Sunday morning
Awesome sunny day got everyone moving, and we hung around camp for a couple hours. Hated to leave.
Trudy and Scout played. Hard.
Headed back out the way we came, toward the Richland creek crossing that was fairly deep the day before.
Last stop was Snowball, quick break before hitting the road. Some cool old buildings there.
From there we all booked it south, everyone peeling off to head their own ways. Was a really great trip, saw a ton of stuff, hung out with a bunch of cool folks. Can't wait for the next one.
Nolen throw up some of those cool overhead shots of the campsites...
From there we all booked it south, everyone peeling off to head their own ways. Was a really great trip, saw a ton of stuff, hung out with a bunch of cool folks. Can't wait for the next one.
Nolen throw up some of those cool overhead shots of the campsites...
Views from top of the Nars
Jealous I didnt get to join ya. Ive been to almost all those places. Would be great to go with a group.
Richland creek 2010. Did u notice the road names around snowball?
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Awesome recap, Andy.