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Long Branch, Haunt Hollow, East Fork of the Little Buffalo
3/1/2014
The watershed of the East Fork of the Little Buffalo is a discovery worthy of much exploration. This week another feeder stream will be explored. On the east side enters the Long Branch and includes haunt Hollow. Of course this duty can not be initiated without first having a decent breakfast. Parking for this adventure was on CR 182 off Hwy 327 (CR 28) in newton County. The woods were entered at 5:45 a.m. and by 6:50 the bluff line was met. Below me a fog laden Haunt Hollow was awaited the sunrise. The far side of the valley was barely visible but within minutes the fog rose up and obscured my view. The temp was 36° and the sun began to push through the fog as I made my way down the top of the bluff line. This line was followed for a while...and I must say...it was quite lovely.
Dropping into the valley was easy enough...the woods below were fairly free of fallen timber and such. The East Fork came forth by 8:00 and the fog was pretty much gone. The morning was now partly sunny. I had hiked to this part of the river 2 years ago...coming in from the west side...and now to finish this lower segment. There was not much to see but eventually a quarter mile long boulder garden added some interest. A half mile above Dog Branch I began the climb back up to the valley rim above an unnamed hollow and followed it back to my origin. By now the temp was 56° and cloudy. It was 1:30 when my vehicle was arrived at. Total miles hiked around 7.5.
