047
Flatside Wilderness Area
4/9/2011
Arrived at the parking area near Flatside Pinnacle at 6:30 Saturday morning...still kind of dark and mostly cloudy. Temp 70. I took off down the Ouachita Trail for about a quarter mile then headed due west on a long ridge. The Ouachita National Forest has long been my 1st love since I arrived in Arkansas in 1980. It was a pleasure to walk off-trail and not encounter all the dead-fall trees so predominant in the Ozarks. There were a couple of nice rocky overlooks facing south. Walking was fairly easy on this rocky ridge. Eventually the ridge ended and dropped into the valley of Crystal Prong Creek. There was a nice little beaver pond there.
So I then crossed the creek and moved upward and over the next peak going south...not much of a view there...so I went south towards the next peak. There was a wide saddle between mountains where I eventually encountered the trail again. It was crossed and up and around the next peek I spied my goal for the the day...a cone shaped mountain I have always called the "titty" because of it's shape. This is a very steep little peak with lots of rocks. There are some decent views from the top but not great. The southern slope is the prettiest and a challenge to descend.
Once down I hit an unnamed branch of Crystal prong where there is a really nice rock area with numerous falls. I have been there many times. This branch was followed downstream until I came to the beaver pond where the trail crosses. The old campsite near the spring there was a bit worn out looking from overuse. Quite a bit of trash was around the site and in the fire pit. I find it hard to believe that anyone taking the effort to hike into Flatside Wilderness to camp would be so stupid as to leave trash behind. I can only assume it was hunters...many of them being dumb shits, in my experience. I did encounter a group camping near the beaver pond.
From here I followed the trail back to the car. This trail is in great condition and is a pleasure to hike on. Overall this was a fun little hike that took me back to the roots of my early explorations of Arkansas. Total mileage around 7.2 miles.
