Hike on a tributary of Big Shoal Creek with chasm action
1/9/21
Mt Magazine...so close...yet, so far. It's the highest point in Arkansas at 6,753 feet above the 4,000 foot mark deep within the earth's crust. If measured from sea level it would be closer to 2,753 feet tall. If measured from the valley floor of the Arkansas River it would be about 2,650 feet high. That's pretty damned high for the mid-south, man. You can't beat it...don't even try to beat it. I tried once and I sure as hell couldn't beat it. So if you're thinking about it...don't! Seeing as how this mountain is so elevated above the surrounding terrain, it makes sense that water falling onto its surface would have to flow downhill. This in turn creates tiny creeks that merge to form even larger creeks...and so on. Big Shoal Creek drains the eastern slope of Mt Magazine. It is here that the creek of today's focus is focused. A fair sized creek in its own right... this unnamed creek has a short watershed. Don't be fooled by this. The small collection area manages to yield quite a manly gorge. I entered this gorge on Saturday morning at 4:45 under cover of darkness...the sun was not expected to rise until 7:22...so...yah...I was without light for a while out there. Please be informed that a suitable breakfast for such an excursion was had at Denny's in Russellville just before 3:00.
Upon entry into the shrubbery it was 24°. Skies...quite unobstructed. Wind...light. Darkness...dark. My point of interest was achieved early. I feared the cold. What to do. A fire, was what to do, man! With swift self-taught bushcraft skills, I summoned flames forth from simple items found about the forest floor. The fire made some lovely noises and pushed back the blackness from my immediate area. Many a woodland creature with designs on my carcass were pushed back as well. The glowing wood chunks provided a much needed warmth to my loins. After a time, the sun teased at its arrival. The dawn was savored with great delight...and then the sun did show. The bluff I occupied was tarried upon until 9:00. It was at this juncture of the morning that I went down the hill.
The creek was met and followed upstream. Cliffs hugged the bank at every turn. The flow fell over numerous falls and drops. The going was not easy. It was clear that my hike would not last as long as originally planned due to the shear danger involved in the traverse of this hellscape. At 11:00, lunch was had in the leaves just above the water. The sun did just as the fire did earlier...warming my loins to perfection. When satiety was achieved, the ridge rising upward was mounted. Exit was made at 11:30 with 37°.
