Hawksbill Crag, Buffalo River and Mountain Goat Trails

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Waking up on the outskirts of Little Rock, we loaded up Ren and set out in a northwesterly direction. Traveling on I-40, we eventually ended up on a beautiful back road, tucked deep in the Ozarks. Words cannot describe the lush green foliage that greeted us on both sides of the road. We were headed for the fabled Whitaker Point hike near Pettigrew. The road to the Upper Buffalo trails from the south entrance was a rocky red dirt road, like the one in the classic Brooks & Dunn song from 2003. Bumping along at a measured pace, we took in the sights and sounds of the surrounding landscape.

We arrived in the late morning at a small parking lot filled with a few cars and fellow hikers and started down Hawksbill Crag trail. A rocky trail, crowded by the domestic trees and wildflowers on both sides, provided the thoroughfare to Whitaker Point. A pale blue sky scattered with white clouds hailed us from through the pine trees along the bluff line. The Whitaker Point crag appeared to peek out from the hillside into the timber tree covered hills in the distance. We spent a few moments enjoying the vistas and topography. During the ascent back up to the trailhead, we captured the local fungi and wildlife with our camera lens, making sure to memorialize the immense diversity in this hidden gem of a state.

Back in our 4Runner, we set off north toward Boxley, following the route of the Buffalo River, heading toward our campsite near the Ponca Wilderness Area. Reaching Steel Creek Campground in the middle of the afternoon, we set to work pitching our tent, eating a late lunch, and exploring the Buffalo River and campgrounds.

As the daylight waned, we set out on our final activity of the day. Reaching the Center point trailhead parking lot, we packed our daypacks with snacks and water before setting out toward Big Bluff overlook. A strange, ghostly, pale pink plant, poking up from the undergrowth seized our gaze, transfixing us with its bizarre appearance. The Indian pipe, or corpse plant, is a parasitic plant that survives by using the nutrients from fungi, trees and other decaying plant matter. Snapping out of our transfixed state, we marched onward. A bright green grass snake stretched across the hiking trail, catching the warmth of the sun peeking through the trees above. We watched as he slithered carefully into the greenery and away from our goggling eyes.

We reached a fork in our trail and took the right trail leading downhill toward the Big Bluff and Goat Trail. Quite suddenly, a rocky face jutted out on our right, shrouding our view of the wooded area. The Big Bluff emerged, revealing an outstanding panorama of the Buffalo River and surrounding Ozark mountainsides. We carefully traversed the steep bluff side goat trail, perched precariously nearly 500 feet above the Buffalo River. The sunshine illuminated the charming Ozark wilderness, catching the topography in shadowy blankets along the horizon. Crumbly layers of rocks stacked up like sculpting layer cake, stippled with broken windows, alluded to decades of erosion that carved the bluffs here. Our hearts, minds, and eyes struggled to keep up with all the sights, sounds, smells and feels as we sat, perched above the bluff, peacefully resting before the hike back up to the trailhead.

Our second day in Arkansas didn't disappoint. We made it back to the Center point trailhead parking lot as the sun began its downward journey in the sky. Steel Creek Campground was only a short drive from us, so we made it back just in time to get ready for an early night among the wilderness of Ponca.