This stretch of the Ouachita Trail Section 1 on Winding Stair Mountain (LeFlore County, OK) goes from Horsethief Springs (19.9) to a stream that becomes Wildhorse Creek (13.4), about 5.5 miles to the west.

As an 11-mile out-and-back day hike, it is challenging but doable (for many). Beautiful area with lots of rock formations!

Getting to Horsethief Springs

Horsethief Springs is a point of interest with a picnic area along the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1) on Winding Stair Mountain. Part of this area, including the stone enclosure around the spring, was constructed in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Core.

There are picnic tables here and informational signs about the history of this spot. Apparently, the spring may have been use by outlaws during the Wild West days.

If driving from Poteau, you should take Highway 59 south through Heavener. When you get to Highway 259 (south of Hodgen), turn right (south). After 4 miles, take another right to get onto the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1).

Go right on the Scenic Drive (west). After 4 miles, the Horsethief Springs picnic area will be on your right.

The Hike

Most of my descriptions assume that you start at Horsethief Springs picnic area and then head west. That is the order the photos below are in.

Head down to where the spring enclosure is. There is a nice overlook here. To your right, you’ll see a sign for the spur to the Ouachita Trail.

The .1-mile Horsethief Springs spur (white blazes) is a short rocky trail that heads east for about 200 feet and then goes downhill a short ways where it joins Ouachita Trail (blue blazes). Turn left here to head west toward Wildhorse .

As I frequently note, I am a huge fan of Winding Stair Mountain, and I particularly enjoy this hillside area along the north side. This is a continuation of the Deadman Gap to Wildhorse Creek segment along the north side of the mountain.

The Winding Stair Mountain area is often noted as among the most rocky part of the Ouachita Trail. Much of this hike is quite rocky. It makes the hike more strenuous, but I love the beauty and variety of all the rocks, boulders, and rock formations.

I last did this hike during leaf-on, and there were very few big open vistas on the trail. There are a couple of nice open vistas though such as the Holson Valley Vista around Mile 17 (the prettiest spot on the hike) and one at a rock glacier around Mile 15.

But during leaf-on there are during leaf-on lots of small views through the trees of the Holson Valley area below. Of course, during leaf-on the views are much more expansive.

When I last hiked this segment, I was able to complete the 11-mile hike without having to bushwhack up to the highway, but it was completely dark by the time I reached my car back at Horsethief Springs. (Thank goodness for flashlights!)

If you try to do the 11 miles in one day, pace yourself and start as early as you can.

Elevation Change

This is quite a rocky and strenuous hillside trail with a lot of elevation change. Check out the elevation profile below which covers the entire 11-mile segment between Horsethief Springs and Deadman Gap.

Heading west from Horsethief Springs, this stretch mostly stays between 1,700 and 1,775 feet above sea level. Then it makes a big climb up to around 2,000 feet a little past 2 miles in.

At around 2.5 miles, it starts a big descent to around 1,800 feet elevation about a half-mile later. Then it works its way back up to around 2,000 feet again by 3.5 miles in. As part of this climb, the trail goes by the Holson Valley Vista and the nice Holson Valley Shelter.

With just a few short interruptions, most of the remaining 2 miles is a descent until reaching the Wildhorse Creek branch at around 1,350 feet.

Trail Conditions

When I did my May 18, 2018 hike, the trail was easy to follow, and most of it was not too overgrown although there were some parts with significant overgrowth.

The Ouachita Trail is maintained by volunteers who at best are usually only able to do maintenance once in the fall and once in the spring. The most vegetation growth tends to be in the spring and early summer.

Winter, late fall, and early spring are usually the best hiking times to avoid overgrowth.

Other Things to Note

• The Horsethief Springs Trail is an 11-mile hike which connects the Ouachita Trail to Cedar Lake. The east branch of the trail is at the start of this hike. The west branch is about 1.3 miles to the west.
• On my trail maps below, I have mislabeled Wildhorse Creek as “Cedar Branch”. The spot I labelled “flowing stream” (around 11.2, west of this stretch) is actually Cedar Branch. Don’t expect any flowing water during dry times of the year. But during wet times, Cedar Branch and Wildhorse Creek are both very pretty with significant water.
• Just like most of the Ouachita Trail on Winding Stair Mountain, this section runs parallel to the Talimena Scenic Drive.
• I love the rock glaciers, boulder fields, rock gardens, and other rocky areas!
• My recollection is there have been 1 or 2 small reroutes that were done on this hike around 8 or so years ago to make the trail less steep. The gpx file I tracked with my gps might not reflect those changes.

Final Notes

On my hike, I had AT&T cell signal about 70% of the time.

These photos are from my May 18, 2018 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery with these and more pics from my May 18, 2018 hike.

Map

The map and elevation profile below are for the entire segment from Deadman Gap to Horsethief Springs. Wildhorse Creek is in the middle, about 5.5 miles from Horsethief Springs.

So the hike described above is just the eastern half of the trail indicated on the maps below.

The post Ouachita Trail: 13.4-19.9 Wildhorse Creek to Holson Valley Vista to Horsethief Springs (Section 1) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

This is a scenic but challenging 5.5-mile Ouachita Trail Section 1 segment on Winding Stair Mountain (LeFlore County, near Heavener) starting at Deadman’s Gap (about Mile 8, near Deadman Vista overlook) and heading east to a branch that becomes Wildhorse Creek (about Mile 13.4).

(The Wildhorse Creek branch is about midpoint between Deadman’s Gap and Horsethief Springs.)

So as a strenuous out-and-back day hike, it is about 11 miles and has lots of elevation change.

Getting to the Deadman’s Gap Trailhead

There is some parking at the beautiful Deadman Vista overlook.

To get there from Poteau, take Highway 271 south toward Wister. A few miles past Wister, turn left (south) where 271 splits from Highway 270.

In about 15 miles, turn left (east) onto the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1). After about 6 miles, the Deadman Vista overlook will be on your left (north side).

After parking here, you can take a left (east) and walk downhill along the highway about a quarter-mile until you reach the Ouachita Trail junction. The OT crosses the highway at this point.

Take a left for this hike. This is the Deadman’s Gap trailhead.

The Hike

I’m a huge fan of Winding Stair Mountain, and this hillside area along the north side is one I think is quite scenic.

There are a lot of very rocky stretches of the Ouachita Trail on Winding Stair Mountain. Much of this part is quite rocky. I really enjoy the beauty and variety of the rocky areas, but it does mean a more strenuous hike.

There are lots of areas with medium size rocks on or near the trail and cool rock formations on this segment.

During my hike during leaf-on, there were very few big open vistas on the trail. There were a few of these where big boulder fields prevented tree canopy growth allowing for wide open viewing. One of these was around Mile 12.

But there were quite a few areas with small views through the trees of the Holson Valley area below. Of course, having the more frequent open views is one of the nice things about hiking during leaf-off.

Here is a note about my latest day hike on this segment. I started at Deadman’s Gap with the goal to reach Wildhorse Creek, then turn and hike it back. I have done this segment before, but neither time was I successful in completing the 11-mile out-and-back on the trail. Each time I ultimately decided to bushwhack to the highway for the return trip due to darkness and exhaustion.

If you try to do the 11 miles in one day, hopefully you will be more successful than me. Pace yourself and start as early as you can.

Elevation Changes

This is quite a rocky and strenuous hillside trail with a lot of elevation change. (Check out the elevation profile below.)

This stretch starts at around 1,600 feet elevation, works its way down to around 1,275 feet after about .8 miles, then works its way up to around 1,500 feet.

At around Mile 11, it heads back down to almost 1,200 feet. At about 12.4 miles in, it has climbed back up to almost 1,600 feet again. At the turnaround point of Wildhorse Creek, it is at about 1,325 feet.

Trail Conditions

Generally on my September 15, 2018 hike, there was not a lot of overgrowth, and the trail was in pretty good shape and not hard to follow.

The Ouachita Trail is maintained by volunteers who at best are usually only able to do maintenance once in the fall and once in the spring. The most vegetation growth tends to be in the spring and early summer.

Winter and late fall are usually the best hiking times to avoid the overgrowth.

Other Things to Note

• At about 8.7 is the OT junction with the Boardstand Trail.
• At around 9.4, there is the Rock Garden Shelter built by Friends of the Ouachita Trail.
• There was a cool big boulder field at around Mile 13.
• On my trail maps below, I have mislabeled Wildhorse Creek as “Cedar Branch”. The spot I labelled “flowing stream” (around 11.2) is actually Cedar Branch. Don’t expect any flowing water during dry times of the year. But during wet times, Cedar Branch and Wildhorse Creek are both very pretty with significant water.

Final Notes

I had AT&T cell signal around 50% of the time during this part of the trail.

The blazes on the Ouachita Trail are blue.

For more info and resources about the Ouachita Trail, see this page.

These pics are all from my September 15, 2018 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen gallery of these and more photos from my September 15, 2018 hike.

Map

The map and elevation profile below are for the entire segment from Deadman Gap to Horsethief Springs. Wildhorse Branch is in the middle, about 5.5 miles from Deadman Gap.

So the hike described above is just the western half the trail indicated on the maps below.

Last revised 5-30-2022.

The post Ouachita Trail: 08.0-13.4 – Deadman’s Gap to Cedar Branch to Wildhorse Creek (Section 1) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

The 1.8-mile stretch of Section 1 of the Ouachita Trail from Forest Road 6014 (west end) to the Winding Stair Trailhead is an enjoyable walk. Along with the rest of Section 1, it is on Winding Stair Mountain (Ouachita National Forest, LeFlore County, Oklahoma) one of my favorite places to hike.

This stretch covers the last part of Section 1. The easiest way to reach it as a standalone hike is to start at the Winding Stair Trailhead. (Google Maps directions.) From there you would head west for a little under 2 miles. (Across the highway is the start of Section 2.)

The elevation change on this stretch is about 300 feet, so be prepared for a bit of climbing. It is all on the north side of the mountain. The trail in this part is usually in good condition and not difficult to follow.

My full profile of the segment from the Horsethief Springs junction (mile point 19.9) to the Winding Stair Trailhead (mile point 23.7) is in this post.

The photos here and in that post are from my November 14, 2015 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of the photos above plus other ones I took that day.

Last revised: 3-9-2020.

The post Ouachita Trail 01 Pics: FR 6014 to Winding Stair TH (21.7 to 23.7) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

One of my favorite parts of the Ouachita Trail to walk is the 1.6 or so mile stretch of Section 1 between Horsethief Springs and Forest Road 6014 (to the east). This is on Winding Stair Mountain (Ouachita National Forest, LeFlore County, Oklahoma).

It’s easy to get to, and it’s an enjoyable scenic hillside walk on a part of the trail that’s usually in good condition. Much of it is lined with interesting rocks.

My full profile of this stretch (along with the part over to Winding Stair Trailhead) is in this post.

These are some additional photos from my hike on this part of the Ouachita Trail on November 14, 2015.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these pics plus more from my October 15, 2015 hike between Horsethief Springs and Winding Stair Trailhead.

Last revised: 3-15-2020.

The post Ouachita Trail 01: Pics of Horsethief Springs to FR 6014 (19.9 – 21.7) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.