Chat
09-25-2017, 11:50 AM
I found this trail on the internet--where else? 
We discovered the Ponca/Jasper, Arkansas area last year when Phil and I drove through on our way to a family reunion in Virginia. We decided then that we had to come back for a goat packing trip. I Googled trails in the area and came up with this one.
And the fun didn't stop!
Goat Trail was only a there-and-back detour from the Centerpoint Trail, which we continued down for a couple more miles to Granny Henderson's homestead, reluctantly abandoned when the Buffalo National River was established. Poor Granny. She was kicked out by the National Park Service even though she and her husband had built this home together in 1912. She was told she could stay but only if she gave up her livestock. She felt the same way about her critters as we feel about ours and decided it wouldn't be home without them. She packed up and left in 1978 but died shortly afterward from the stress of leaving her home and animals. I think she would have loved Finn and Sputnik.
From there we hiked on to Hemmed-in Hollow, which at 250 feet is the tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rockies--when it's flowing. We caught it during a dry spell, but I can imagine it would be spectacular when it's running. We had a nice lunch break here and unsaddled the goats for a while so they could take a break.
After lunch we decided to take the "long loop" back on the Old River Trail. I'm not sure if that was a very good idea, but at low altitude we felt like warriors and decided it would be somewhat feeble to retrace our steps.
I loved the root system of this tree.
The Old River Trail turned out to have something like eight or ten river crossings (I eventually lost count).
Since Phil and I did not bring water shoes, we spent a lot of time taking our boots off and then finding some dry place to put them back on again.
The goats were not particularly cooperative at the first crossing and made me go back over and fetch them. Normally our goats don't have a problem with water, but I think they had to get us back for making them swim the day before. After that we cut to the chase and put leashes on them before each crossing just to make sure there was no funny business. We didn't have time for shenanigans--we had something like eight miles to cover before dark and it was already late afternoon.
But I did take a moment to snap a photo of this cute little fellow hiding among the river rocks.
We discovered the Ponca/Jasper, Arkansas area last year when Phil and I drove through on our way to a family reunion in Virginia. We decided then that we had to come back for a goat packing trip. I Googled trails in the area and came up with this one.
And the fun didn't stop!
Goat Trail was only a there-and-back detour from the Centerpoint Trail, which we continued down for a couple more miles to Granny Henderson's homestead, reluctantly abandoned when the Buffalo National River was established. Poor Granny. She was kicked out by the National Park Service even though she and her husband had built this home together in 1912. She was told she could stay but only if she gave up her livestock. She felt the same way about her critters as we feel about ours and decided it wouldn't be home without them. She packed up and left in 1978 but died shortly afterward from the stress of leaving her home and animals. I think she would have loved Finn and Sputnik.
From there we hiked on to Hemmed-in Hollow, which at 250 feet is the tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rockies--when it's flowing. We caught it during a dry spell, but I can imagine it would be spectacular when it's running. We had a nice lunch break here and unsaddled the goats for a while so they could take a break.
After lunch we decided to take the "long loop" back on the Old River Trail. I'm not sure if that was a very good idea, but at low altitude we felt like warriors and decided it would be somewhat feeble to retrace our steps.
I loved the root system of this tree.
The Old River Trail turned out to have something like eight or ten river crossings (I eventually lost count).
Since Phil and I did not bring water shoes, we spent a lot of time taking our boots off and then finding some dry place to put them back on again.
The goats were not particularly cooperative at the first crossing and made me go back over and fetch them. Normally our goats don't have a problem with water, but I think they had to get us back for making them swim the day before. After that we cut to the chase and put leashes on them before each crossing just to make sure there was no funny business. We didn't have time for shenanigans--we had something like eight miles to cover before dark and it was already late afternoon.
But I did take a moment to snap a photo of this cute little fellow hiding among the river rocks.