This 3.8-mile stretch on Section 2 of the Ouachita Trail from Big Cedar Trailhead (on Highway 259, LeFlore County, OK, Ouachita National Forest) to the Pashubbe Trailhead is an accessible and moderately challenging hike.

It makes about an 8-mile out-and-back day hike with a couple of seasonal stream crossings and a few ponds.

Getting to the Big Cedar (Hwy 259) Trailhead

There is a gravel parking lot at the Big Cedar Trailhead on Highway 259. Watch for the trailhead sign on Highway 259, about 3 miles south of the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1) (about 20 miles south of Heavener).

If coming from the north, make a right (west) turn where the trailhead sign is for the parking area.

The Hike

The first thing you do after parking is walk up the driveway you came in on off the highway. Cross Highway 259 and then continue east.

As always on the Ouachita Trail, follow the blue blazes.

After crossing the highway, the next .3 miles or so is pretty much a walk on a dirt utility service road.

Then the OT takes a left turn off the dirt road. Be sure to watch for this left turn. It is easy to miss. (Watch for where the blue blazes to the left. There may or may not be some signage.)

Elevation. The difference between the low and high points is about 360 feet. As you can see on the elevation profile, the biggest climbing part of this hike is right after crossing Elkins Branch where you start a half-mile stretch that goes up about 300 feet elevation. There is another fairly steep but shorter climb right after crossing Big Branch.

Streams. There are 2 named streams on this stretch–Elkins Branch (which comes first) and then Big Branch (the latter being bigger, no surprise). When I hiked this area during a wetter time, there was enough flow in both branches to be pleasant, but neither were any challenge for crossing.

Don’t have your hopes up for water flow during drier times of the year.

Ponds. On my map below, I have a pond marked. Actually, there are 3 ponds on this stretch of the trail.

The one I marked is not the first one you come across, so don’t be confused. Each will be on the left (if headed east).

Partially rocky. Overall this is not a rocky hike although there are some rocky parts. There are some scenic rock gardens and small boulder fields along the way. One of these areas is around Big Branch.

Pashubbe Trailhead and Shelter. Shortly before reaching he Pashubbe Trailhead (the turnaround for this hike), you will see the spur for the fairly new Pashubbe Shelter over to the left. These nice shelters have been built by the Friends of the Ouachita Trail for hikers to use (and take care of).

Once you reach the Pashubbe Trailhead, which is well marked and with a small parking area, you can turn and head back for a nearly 8-mile hike.

Or to make an easier loop, you can take Forrest Road 6032 back to the highway, and then walk about .7 miles up the highway back to the Big Cedar Trailhead.

Final Notes

Rich Mountain. This hike is along part of Rich Mountain although it is still in the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area.

The trail was in good condition (thanks to the trail volunteers) when I did my May 2021 hike.

Overall, I had about 45% AT&T cell signal coverage.

These photos are all from hikes I did on this stretch of trail on April 28, 2018 and May 15, 2021.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these and other images of this area from my hikes on April 28, 2018 and May 15, 2021.

Map

The post Ouachita Trail: 30.5-34.3 – Hwy 259 (Big Cedar Trailhead) to Pashubbe Trailhead (Section 2) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

This is an enjoyable 3.8-mile east-west stretch of the Ouachita Trail in Polk County (near Mena) with Forest Road 514 (Polk County Road 100) on the west end and the Queen Wilhelmina State Park (QWSP) Lodge on the east end.

It is easily accessible for an enjoyable 7 or 8 mile out-and-back day hike.

This is the east end of Section 2 of the Ouachita Trail.

(My descriptions here are generally going to be going from east to west starting at the Lodge.)

Getting to the Lodge at QWSP

To get to Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge coming from the north on Highway 71, at Acorn take a right (heading east) on Highway 59/270. After 9 miles, take a left onto Highway 272. Follow the signs to the state park.

This takes you up Rich Mountain to Highway 88 (the Talimena Scenic Drive). Take a right on Highway 88. After a half-mile, you will be at the park.

If you are coming from the south on Highway 71, turn left onto Highway 88 in Mena. Then stay on 88 for about 12 miles.

The Hike – Lodge to QWSP West Trailhead

Our hike starts at the Lodge.

As a side note, you may not really want to start at the Lodge even though this is officially part of the Ouachita Trail. That’s because the .7-mile walk from the lodge to the western trailhead (just past the campground) is just walking on or alongside pavement across the developed part of the state park. Instead, you may want to park closer to the campground and head west from there. (I believe you are not supposed to actually park in the campground unless you are a registered camper.)

But Queen Wilhelmina is a very nice state park with wonderful south-facing vista next to the lodge.

And on the walk to the campground, there are some really nice views (especially during leaf off such as when I did my March 2016 hike) of Black Fork Mountain to the north.

You should check out the photo of mile marker 51 which is on a tree in the campground.

After you exit the campground, walk a little bit toward the highway and continue west. The trailhead is about 50 feet from there.

A Word About Overgrowth

The vast majority of the Ouachita Trail is dependent on volunteers to keep it maintained (so hikers are not ensnarled by thorn vines). Part of this stretch is in the Queen Wilhelmina State Park property and that part is usually well maintained by state park staff.

The rest is maintained by volunteers from Friends of the Ouachita Trail. Plant growth in this part (particularly since it is up on an exposed ridge) tends to regrow quickly each year.

Thankfully, in the fall in the past few years, there have been maintenance events in which this part of the trail has been maintained. But then in the spring the plants grow back. So just be prepared (long pants are recommended) in case you hit the trail during one of the high growth times.

QWSP West Trailhead to Pioneer Cemetery

Even though you are on a ridge on top of Rich Mountain, the second highest mountain in Arkansas, there are not a lot of clear views in this area during leaf-on. But during leaf-off, there is a lot more nice viewing of the valleys in the distance through the trees.

This stretch of trail is all a little lower than the Talimena Scenic Highway on the south side.

Most of the walking on this stretch of trail is not hard to walk, but there are quite a few parts which are rocky. I think the rock gardens are cool and interesting although you do want to watch your step in those areas.

There is a nice (south facing) vista area about a quarter mile from the trailhead. There is a sign here indicating the short spur to this fairly open area.

There are a number of old rock walls along the trail, likely built during the pioneer days.

At about .4 miles from the vista , there is a footbridge and a sign indicating it is the western boundary of the state park property. (See the note above note about potential overgrowth.)

About another .6 miles further to the west is the pioneer cemetery.

Pioneer Cemetery to FR 514/CR 100

The Rich Mountain Pioneer Cemetery is an interesting historic site. When I first hiked this area about 10 years ago it was in a state of decay, but thankfully when I last did it in 2016 it had been recently fixed up and was being maintained.

You can also access this historic cemetery via a stop on the Talimena Scenic Highway.

It is about another 1.5 miles from here to Forest Road 514 (Polk County Road 100). In this area, quite a bit of the hillside trail is steeper with more interesting terrain.

Final Notes

There is some elevation change on this stretch but not a large amount. The elevation difference between the low and high points is about 200 feet.

Overall I had AT&T cell signal about 75% of the time when I hiked this in 2016.

These photos are from my hike on March 25, 2016 and from a partial hike of this area on August 1, 2020.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery.

Map

The post Ouachita Trail: 47.8-51.6 – FR 514 to Queen Wilhelmina (Pioneer Cemetery) (Section 2) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

The 2.5-mile segment of the Ouachita Trail from Winding Stair Trailhead to the saddle around mile point 25.8 is a cool one. It’s on Winding Stair Mountain (Ouachita National Forest, LeFlore County, Oklahoma) and goes to the highpoint (at 2,450 feet) before heading downhill to the saddle.

Most of the climb to the highpoint is on a road trace, but it was a really cool walk on December 30 with the snow-covered trees.

The trek down to the saddle was also pretty cool. It’s a long series of switchbacks with really interesting topography and some pretty views during leaf-off.

If you do it as an out-and-back as I did, it’s pretty vigorous 5-mile hike with 1,200 feet of elevation gain.

You can see my trail profile in this post. These are additional pics from my December 30, 2015 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these and more pics from my December 30, 2015 hike.

Last revised: 3-14-2020.

The post Ouachita Trail 02: Pics of Winding Stair TH to Highpoint to Saddle (23.7 to 25.8) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.

Back in early December, I hiked the 4.8 mile Ouachita Trail Section 2 segment that climbs over Wilton Mountain (LeFlore County, Oklahoma), an offshoot of Rich Mountain.

It goes from the Pashubbe Trailhead (mile point 34.3) to the Kiamichi River Trailhead (mile point 39.2). I did it as a 9.6-mile out-and-back hike.

It’s a vigorous out-and-back hike with 2,100 feet of total ascent. There are some very nice views on Wilton Mountain, especially during leaf-off.

My trail profile for this segment is at this link. These are some additional photos from my December 5, 2015 hike.

Photo Gallery

Click below for full-screen photo gallery of these and more pics from my December 5, 2015 hike.

Last revised: 3-14-2020.

The post Ouachita Trail 02: Pics of Pashubbe TH to Kiamichi River TH (Wilton Mtn.) (34.3 – 39.2) appeared first on Arklahoma Hiker.