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Hike Down Bowers Hollow to Hawk Hollow, Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area
4/25/15
As unique locations become harder to find, a decision to visit this area was come upon easily even though my times here equaled 3 in the past. My clock was set to 2:20 a.m. instead of 1:20 so my start was delayed by an hour. I like to have plenty of time to get an early start to a hike. My arrival to the wilderness access near Kapark Cemetery was still reasonable and by 6:10 my way was made into the shrubbery. Don't park near the actual cemetery unless you like mud holes and potential death. Breakfast on this morn was at Waffle House in Clarksville due to time constraints, but was quite tasty even though it is usually icebox-like in these places. The forest was still very fresh with spring green leaves and a recent rain left the trail quite muddy. This would not be true if this trail was not used by horses. The temp was 60° and breezy as the sun rose above Bowers Hollow. The water falling over the ledge was adequate so my path took me to the north side of the creek. It is about 2 miles to Bowers Hollow Falls and then about a 1/4 mile to the bluff access down to the creek. There is also a break in the bluff on the south side that is easier to pass through. The way down is a slippery set of widely spaced steps that may have been cut into the bluff at some point in distant history by Chug Bowers. He was the settler that lived in these here parts back in the 1800's. These falls are are one of the most picturesque in Arkansas. The height is around 56 feet with a straight drop to the basin below. The combination of this with a large undercut side bluff and a flat area downstream of the pool make this area easy to move around in.
After a time the stream was followed east with plans to connect to the Buffalo. After many small falls the creek hits a lower bluff line and spills down a long slide. My viewpoint did not allow me to see the angle of flow and an easy way down was not within my grasp. With limited time the decision was made to abandon the creek bed and move back up the hill. A crow was seen flying south so my direction followed his in straight line manner over the mountain towards the next hollow.
Soon the short and winged valley known as Hawk Hollow was before me. The 2 tiered McClure Falls was visited but Smith Falls was skipped due to there usually being a lot of timber trash around it. Lunch was right on time at noon. The view looking towards the Upper Buffalo was excellent and the sun did warm my carcass as I did lounge and partake of my luncheon unit. Soon the time came to head back and by 2:00 my vehicle was in sight. No other human was witnessed during my travels. Some creatures that reminded me of some humans were observed. The temp did hit the low 80's and my tracing did measure out near 9 miles.
