By Shelley Smart, on February 2, 2012  [This post was originally published on June 14, 2011 on "A Hiking We Will Go."]
This past weekend, we headed back to the Buffalo River to see the famed Hemmed-in-Hollow Falls. We had our friend Dan join us. Since there were two cars, we opted to park on at the Compton Trailhead and hike back to the other car at Steel Creek campground, thinking we would avoid the dreadfully steep climb back up to Compton.
To ensure an early start, we camped Friday night at Steel Creek. I went for a walk back up the road into the  camp and got to spend some time watching a doe having a little dinner in the field.
After a rather sleepless night due to the raucous and rowdy behavior of other campers in the park, we were up at 4:30 a.m., and decided to grab a bite to eat in Ponca while the tent dried out from the dew condensation. Wet tents are no fun, but the early morning fog makes a pretty picture.
 To get to the Compton Trailhead, we went north on Highway 43 from Steel Creek, through Ponca and turned right on County Road 19, which was marked with a sign. Unfortunately, for the next turn, the sign had fallen down and after a couple of failed attempts, we figured out we were supposed to take a right.
About a mile down the dirt road, there is one more right for the trailhead parking. The hike to the falls is only 2.5 miles, but it’s straight down, most of it on stair-stepped rocks.
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By Shelley Smart, on February 1, 2012
 [This post was originally published on April 10, 2011 on "A Hiking We Will Go."]
This past weekend, we went back to one of our first hikes, the Lost Bridge trail by Beaver Lake. The weather forecast called for rain in the afternoon, so we made an effort to get started early (okay 9 a.m.) to beat the weather. I blogged about this hike in January, and it ranked as one of our favorites so far. This time did not disappoint either!
The dogwood trees were blooming, and it was very breezy. The wind coming off of the lake made it seem like it wasn’t as warm as it really was. Now that I’ve had the chance to try some more challenging hikes, this one did not seem very difficult at all.
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By Shelley Smart, on January 27, 2012 [This post was originally published on March 31, 2011 on "A Hiking We Will Go."]
This past weekend, we opted for some easier hikes. With cold gray skies overhead and the looming threat of rain, I didn’t want to get too far from my blanket. I had wanted to check out the Historic Van Winkle Trail at Hobbs State Park, near Rogers, Arkansas, since I had watched a segment about the trail on AETN’s Exploring Arkansas. The trail is very easy and is more interesting for its historical information than for its hiking challenge.
Stuart’s comment was “that was a trail for little girls.” However, after the marathon backpacking challenge from a few weeks ago, that was the perfect level for me.
The trail is a half mile long and goes through the historic home and mill sites of the Peter Van Winkle family during and after the Civil War. The buildings are gone, with only the foundations remaining, but there are several interpretive signs along the trail that give the history of the area and provide pictures.
It’s hard to believe the area was an industrial hub in the 1800’s, providing much of the timber and milling services for the northwest Arkansas area.
The pictures below show what remains of the spring house and the raised garden. There is also a stream, which I believe is Little Clifty Creek.
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By Shelley Smart, on January 24, 2012 [This post was originally published on March 15, 2011 on "A Hiking We Will Go."]
The Buffalo River Trail (BRT) in the Buffalo National River is a 36.5-mile trail that goes from Boxley to Pruitt. The Buffalo National River was established as a National Park in 1972 and is administered by the National Park Service.
We decided to hike the BRT from Ponca to Kyle’s Landing, about 10 miles. Camping is allowed in the wilderness, so we broke the hike up and camped one night in the back-country. Dogs are not allowed on the trails, so Buster and Katie had to sit this one out.
We drove up on a Friday afternoon and camped the first night in the Steel Creek campground. Initially, we were going to stay at Lost Valley, but the campsites were so close together and the bathrooms were locked. We decided to check out Steel Creek.
 Getting down to the Steel Creek required traveling down a steep gravel road, but at the bottom we were awed by the sight of the bluffs along the river. The campsites were more open and widely spaced. Although the campground was still winterized, there were vault bathrooms and water spigots available.
The park caretaker, Jeff, stopped by and told us there was no longer a phone at the site, but he was in a cabin at the end of the road if there were any problems.  There was definitely no cell phone signal.
The campground was a little busy, with the start of spring break. It was not quite the escape to nature I had envisioned, but it wasn’t too bad.
We set up our campsite and had some hot chocolate while the sun went down and planned out our next steps. We tucked into our sleeping bags and listened to the revelry of the campers (and the late arrivals … I’m glad we were not having to set up our tent in the dark!).
The first night it was COLD. I mean … really cold.
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By Mike Newman, on January 15, 2012 I had a cool visit to Mt. Nebo State Park with my son and his girlfriend a few weeks ago. I posted here the cell phone video I took of the waterfall. (When flowing, it is located on the Gum Springs Trail, just a little bit below the rim level at the mountain’s south end.)
Here are some photos I took of the waterfall.
 Waterfall at Mount Nebo State Park, Dardanelle, Arkansas  Underneath the Mount Nebo Waterfall Continue reading …
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[This post was originally published on June 14, 2011 on "A Hiking We Will Go."]
camp and got to spend some time watching a doe having a little dinner in the field.
To get to the Compton Trailhead, we went north on Highway 43 from Steel Creek, through Ponca and turned right on County Road 19, which was marked with a sign. Unfortunately, for the next turn, the sign had fallen down and after a couple of failed attempts, we figured out we were supposed to take a right.
