On a chilly morning nineteen TrailBlazers and two canines under Captain Becky headed for Brushy Creek down in the Ouachitas. Of course, with recent rains, we were unsure if we were going to be able to hike our usual trail because of possible deep wet crossings and mud. Since Becky had been unsuccessful at prying info out of the rangers by phone, Danny and his crew drove around to do a little reconnaissance and found a trailhead for a hike on higher ground. We loaded up the vehicles to travel a rocky road that featured two big splashes through water holes. Since we left some cars behind, some folks got to ride in the baggage car!
We had not hiked this section of Rockhouse Trail before. At the trailhead we were on higher ground, so there were only a few places that were wet or muddy, and there were only a couple of small creek crossings. Very soon we came to an area with neat rock formations with see-through holes and small caves as well as a very pretty waterfall. A handful of people trekked down to have a closer look. It didn’t take long for people to start shedding layers. Along the trail we saw several interesting rocks with a combination of colors and striations. After we had hiked almost 2 miles, we stopped for lunch where it seemed cooler, so some people rummaged around in their packs for another layer. We trekked along with gentle ups and downs and eventually descended down to the rocky road and in no time we were back at the bridge over Brushy Creek.
Afterwards we checked out the campground and the creek before heading home. Instead of 7 miles, it was more like five, but Yours Truly’s knees had no complaints about that! We had a very pleasant trek and welcomed Becky back to the trails.