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ICE DAMAGE UPDATE: - all of themain section of the Ozark Highlands Trail from Lake Ft. Smith to Woolum is open and available for hiking. The forest service will NOT ALLOW volunteers to work on the Sylamore Section of the OHT and so it remains closed.
DAYHIKES New Outings Coordinator is David Cagle
May 2nd, DAYHIKE to Lost Valley and Hawksbill Crag. These are two of the most popular hikes in the Buffalo River area and offer plenty of bang for your hiking buck. Meet at the Lost Valley Trailhead at 10am. We will make the gorgeous 1.1-mile hike up Lost Valley, past waterfalls and bluffs along Clark Creek, to a three-tier waterfall at the back of the valley. Round trip is 2.2 miles rated easy to moderate. We will have lunch back at the trailhead, then caravan and car pool to the Hawksbill Crag Trailhead on Cave Mountain Road. We will hike 1.5 miles to Hawksbill Crag, a promontory overlooking the Upper Buffalo Wilderness. This is one of the most stunning overlooks in the Ozarks. If it was McDonalds it would be over 1 billion photographs taken. The roundtrip hike is approximately 3 miles rated moderate to difficult. The Hawksbill Crag hike is not recommended for children due to high, dangerous cliffs. Bring lunch and water. Trip leader is Flip Putthoff, 479–925–2977 or send e-mail to fputthoff@nwaonline.net.
May 9th, DAYHIKE Dockerys Gap to Lake Fort Smith State Park. Hike length approximately 10 miles rated moderate and includes two creek crossings. Park Interpreter, Brad Hyman, will meet us at the Frog Bayou crossing and share information about the development of the state park and history of the area during the last three miles of this hike. Meet at 9:00am at the Lake Fort Smith State Park Visitors Center just south of Artist Point on Hwy 71. We’ll shuttle from there to Dockerys Gap. Bring water, snacks, lunch, and creek crossing shoes. Trip leader is Jim Warnock—email him at jdwarnock@cox.net or call 479–632–2166.
OVERNIGHT FUN HIKES
May 30–31st, OVERNIGHT CANOE OUTING from Woolum to Tyler Bend. Total 15 river miles. Contact Dean LaGrone by e-mail at Dlagrone@cox.net or call 479–750–2550. NOTE - this trip is now FULL!
TRAIL MAINTENANCE New Maintenance Coordinator is Roy Senyard
There are no maintenance work trips scheduled. Please send any maintenance questions and reports to Roy Senyard.
CLUB MEETINGS
June 14th, OHTA GENERAL MEETING and POT LUCK DINNER in Springdale. Our POT LUCK DINNER will begin at 7pm with our meeting to follow at 7:30. Our program will be presented by Vickie Martin who represents the Buffalo National River Partners. Please bring a tasty treat to share with the group, including breads, salads, main dishes, or desserts (and your own table service). To get to the meeting site from Hwy. 71 B in Springdale turn EAST on Emma street, go several blocks, then turn LEFT/NORTH onto N. Main Street, then pull into the parking lot on the right behind the building (across from Shiloh Museum—here is a map).
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NEW OHTA WEB PAGE AND ADDRESSES We are switching things around a bit and have a pair of new addresses for you: www.OzarkHighlandsTrail.com will be our online home from now on (this new web page will be active later in May). The old address will remain active for a while in case you forget—but be sure to bookmark this new address. Our e-mail address is now OHTA@OzarkHighlandsTrail.com. We will also have a brand new mailing address in Fayetteville for delivery of membership forms and other correspondence soon. AND we hope to be able to accept membership dues online via Pay Pal. Check the new web page for these new items later in May.
ICE DAMAGE—All of the OHT is back open for hiking! It took a monumental effort and a lot of time, money, sweat, and even a bit of blood, but our volunteers completed the reopening of the entire OHT corridor after the massive ice storm that hit at the end of January, and got it done and open for hiking by mid-March. A total of 44 OHTA volunteers contributed more than 2,000 hours during 203 days of chainsaw work to open up the trail corridor. The cost to OHTA was about $5,000—plus at least that much and probably a great deal more was spent by our volunteers.
Volunteers who worked more than 20 days each: Roy Senyard, Jim McDaniel, and Tim Ernst. 10–20 days each: Jeromie Ward, Bob Robinson, Dawna Robinson, Duane Woltjen, Judy Woltjen, and Mike Lamaster. 1–9 days each: Bob Bowker, Sandy Bowker, Pam Ernst, Ron Ferguson, Charles Ellis, Grey Owl Barrett, Wayne Fulmer, George Fulk, Gary Vandewbos, Mark Holt, Chris Adams, Bob Raney, Ed Hall, Norma Senyard, Kevin Middleton, Eric Henretty, Sean Prewitt, Andy Booth, Gary Weir, Jim Warnock, Steve Sampers, Danny Hale, Pamela West, Gary Hodges, Donna Price, Lou Ebling, Bill Shaw, Judy Shaw, Carol Swindell, Carol Gray, Lorraine Dusco, Dale Boeh, Jimmy Lawrence, Char Taylor, Bill Steward, and Dana Steward. THANKS ONE AND ALL!!!
MY FIRST CAMPING TRIP was in 1960 when I was five years old. Dad loaded my brother and me up into his little Crosley car and we motored our way to Lake Shepherd Springs where we spent an incredible weekend sleeping out under the stars, fishing, and having a grand time. Years later during my first college spring break I returned to that same spot to map out and hike what would become the Ozark Highlands Trail corridor, spending a week bushwhacking through woods I had grown to know and love while deer hunting. Today the official beginning point of the OHT is less than 200 yards from where we laid out under the stars on that very first trip so long ago. It seems that I have come full circle, my OHT journey is complete, and it is time for me to step down as president of this club. Together we have contributed more than 300,000 volunteer hours to this country, and have built up an organization that at times has been more than 900 strong from 25 states and several different countries. We put in a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears while carving one of the greatest hiking trails in the United States, and we had a pretty good time along the way. I leave the club in very good hands with a strong board of directors, more than $50,000 cash and mutual funds in the bank, and property worth in excess of a half million dollars. I believe I have also built up a hiking community that is committed to the maintenance and continued life of this great trail, and who will take the trail and our club to even greater heights. I have appointed someone to lead the club for now who has been with us since the very first meeting back in 1981, and who has served on the board longer than anyone else other than myself—Scott Crook. I have led this club for 27 of our 28 years of life, and I think I leave it in very good hands. THANK ALL OF YOU SO VERY MUCH for all that you have meant to me and to our great trail. Keep on hiking! I hope to see ya in the woods someday... - Tim Ernst
OHTA Officers Scott Crook, Acting President, 479-521-6340 Keiko Wilke, Treasurer, 479-927-1999 Roy Senyard, Maintenance, 479-409-6156 Bobby Shepperd, Meeting Programs, 479-587-0200 David Cagle - Outings, 479-283-1010 Duane Woltjen, At Large/Membership, 479- 521-7032 Mary Collins, Secretary
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