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Leatherwood Wilderness Area
4/1/11
I left work in Little Rock Friday afternoon at 12:30 and zipped up to Leatherwood Wilderness. It was a beautiful sunny to cloudy day, temp 65. Got to start point at Brush Creek Rd, which is an old road bed from earlier days. Headed south by 3:15 on a trail that was littered with the usual fallen tree jumble. The hike follows ridges all the way to the Buffalo River, but the scenery sucks most of the way there. Eventually I glimpsed the Buffalo through the trees and dropped down the hill towards what I assumed was a large bluff on my map. Came to a wonderful view of the Buffalo on a rocky outcropping, so I stopped for a while and took it all in.
It was getting late so I began the hunt for a flat site nearby to set up camp. I finally found one down the bluff a way and began the usual routine of getting the area cozy. Later in the night I heard what I assumed to be a pack of cayotes. They were not making the usual howling call but more like yelping. It was a bit eerie. The night was very clear and starry with a low temp of 35.
Got up around 7:00 and made my way down the hillside towards Leatherwood Creek. The day was absolutely sunny and bright, with the temp getting into the 70's. I followed the creek upstream for a ways until I decided to make it back to the top of the ridge. A hollow angled up in my general direction so I followed it upwards...most of the climb was quite steep. Was a bit worried at one point when I found that the bluff line was going to hem me in, but I managed to find a passage over to the top. Total mileage around 10 miles. I found this hike to be quite lovely and I look forward to exploring more of this area....but not until late next fall, at least.
