The Buffalo River Chapter - The Ozark Society



| The Buffalo River Chapter |

|Of |

|THE OZARK SOCIETY |

|P.O. Box 105 Gilbert AR 72636 ldtimby@ |

December/January 2008 Volume: 11 number: 6

“The challenge goes on. There are other lands and rivers, other wilderness areas to save and share with all. I challenge you to step forward to protect and care for the wild places you love best.” -Neil

The challenge goes on.  There are other lands and rivers, other wilderness areas, to save and to share with all.  I challenge you to step forward to protect and care for the wild places you love best.” – Dr. Neil Compton

Buffalo River Reflections

by Laura Timby

Finally it is springtime in the Ozarks and once again the Buffalo River is awakening from the dormancy of winter into the riotous sights and sounds of the season of rebirth: Spring! There is no place I enjoy more this time of year than along the banks of the Buffalo or hiking into one of her secret shady hollows.

Along the river many new species of birds are arriving daily as part of the great spring migration. Some will only pause on their journey to distant places, but others will stay and make the Buffalo their home for the warm months ahead. I have yet to hear the first whippoorwill of the season or see the first hummingbird, but it should only be a couple more days until they make their presence known. The other day while out hiking I heard a sweet soft chirping echoing back and forth through the trees. Once I stopped and really looked I realized it was a flock of robins conversing. How lovely.

It is that time of year again for the Morel mushroom to start appearing in the woods, and even if none are found, the hunt is still enjoyable with so many species of wildflowers emerging daily. Each year I try to identify the wildflower names, only to find that a few elude me and it is back to the field guide to refresh my memory. Once found, it is with a sense of recognition, as if greeting a long lost friend. The wildflowers hold such a special place in the forest, and few places are home to as many varieties as we are blessed to find along the Buffalo.

Life is short and goes by in just the blink of an eye. If you haven’t made time to go to the Buffalo this spring, I urge you to dust off the canoe or kayak, lace up your hiking boots, and go for a float or hike. No telling what you may find, but I guarantee that it will be one hundred times better and more uplifting than anything you can find on the internet or TV. Get out there; you’ll be glad you did!

Spring Is Here at Last by Farrel Couch

Greetings folks, I hope everyone is doing well. This winter we have had some wonderful hikes. I hope you had time to get out and enjoyed the season, whether it was hiking, biking, floating, or just a stroll in an area you like best. At this time the chapter is going strong and renewals and new memberships are coming in steadily. The fight to keep the Buffalo River clean is still an ongoing issue. I hope it is resolved soon, but as these thing go its punch and counterpunch which seem to drag on. But springtime has arrived and my garden is ready to start a new season of fresh produce, and that darn yard always seems to need mowing. So I encourage you to find time to enjoy the spring flowers and lovely spring weather in your area and get out and experience nature at its most vibrant time. So for now I bid you goodbye and have a great spring.

TRAIL VOLUNTEERS RETURN TO BNR by Ken Smith

From mid-March till month's end, volunteers maintained trails along the upper and m8ddle Buffalo. Except for one short re-route to bypass a washed-out creek crossing, all the work was maintenance of existing trails. A sizeable part was restoration of pieces of trail damaged by last December's flood (which was one of the five highest floods of record.

For the third straight year, students from the University of Illinois came to spend their Spring break, working on trails. This year the thirteen students were given dinners for five nights running. (Hosts, night by night, were the National Park Service's staff, the Buffalo National River's volunteer organization, the Searcy County Chamber of Commerce, O.S. members Alan and Janet Nye of Gilbert, and the Moore family and friends at Gilbert.) The Illinois students did appreciate being relieved of cooking duties! Afterward they e-mailed profuse thanks for their hosts, and also to Ozark Society member Richard McFadden, the coordinator of the dinner parties, as well as the students' mid-week trip to Blanchard Springs Caverns. Thanks also to Park Service trail foreman Frank Smith, for overseeing the students' work on trails along the upper Buffalo, and for allowing their visits to Lost Valley and Hemmed-in Hollow.

This spring we had sixteen of our experienced "alumni" trail volunteers, working on existing trails. New construction of the Buffalo River Hiking Trail has been postponed until an agreement is reached that would allow the trail to cross the privately owned Roberts Tract.

Top of Form

A Trail-Builder’s Diary – 2015 by Jim Liles

Jan. 6 Buffalo River Trail-building resumed, after good holidays with son, daughter & grandson, whose 3rd birthday we celebrated on 12/27 – all visiting from the home we built in Colorado’s high Rockies. On this cold clear day, after parking on Charles Tyler’s rural Ozarks farm, end of Red Bluff Road, I found the ground too frozen to “dig trail,” so I checked out the trail route ahead, walking a mile down to a Civil War era grave. Legible yet on the rough stone: “A.B. STILL – DEPARTED THIS LIFE 1863.” I took in the quiet, bleak winter scene, contemplating the harshness of life along Buffalo River in those grim days – then hiked back and roughed out 25 yards of trail over thawing ground.

Jan. 15 After a week of little activity (days mostly below freezing) I returned to the trail and worked 4 ½ hours, finishing the trail stretch “roughed-out” on January 6th.

Jan. 16 Temperature climbed to 55 degrees on this day; completed 25 yards of trail, after transplanting dozens of Christmas fern out of trail route –“trail-side landscaping.”

Jan. 17 On this 3rd successive trail-building day, finished 40 yards over 5 ¼ hours . . . Could hear hounds running deer (or feral hogs?) across the river . . . At day’s end, Tyler’s shy black & tan hound “Boo” came down to inspect my work.

Jan. 19 After visiting with Charles Tyler, mostly talking local “history,” worked 5 hours on the trail, making 44 yards (that’s 2 surveyor “chains” – double my daily minimum goal!)

Jan. 24 Built 30 yards of trail over 5 hours, working through a jungle of grape vines.

Jan. 27 Bruce Meyer joined me in building 44 yards of trail over 4 ¾ hours. (His pick-handle broke early in day, so he resorted to raking leaves & limb debris from the route.)

Jan. 28 Suzie & I took advantage of the nice day to hike the BRT upriver from Steel Creek, reflecting on the fact that we were walking the “initial stretch” of the envisioned river-long trail, undertaken by volunteers (including me, on weekends) 30 years ago.

Jan. 30 Worked steadily for 6 hours, making 46 yards of trail . . . Visits by birds marked this clear calm day—over my lunch half-hour 6 woodpecker species heard or seen: red-bellied, hairy, downy, flicker, pileated, and yellow-bellied sapsucker, (every Ozarks peckerwood but the red-headed.) . . . Around 5 p.m. I heard a vehicle on the ridge-top pasture above, and soon after, a few gunshots. I thought it might be Charles Tyler squirrel hunting, but when I drove out through his farm, he accosted me, explaining he’d been worried because I was later than usual coming out and that he’d gone looking for me . . . I explained that I’d lost track of the time & thanked him for his concern.

Feb. 4 Skies darkened as I worked on the BRT below the Tyler farm, but rain held off as I completed 26 yds over 5 hours of cutting & digging . . . While on the 1-hour drive back home, I phoned Ken Smith, leaving him a happy 81st birthday message . . . A couple of days later, Ken called back to return the favor (in time for my 78th) and went on to express dismay about Superintendent Cheri’s recently having imposed a trail-building “moratorium.” Ken was asked to cease trail construction about 2 miles before the trail route reached a point where it will enter a 64 acre tract of land on which the National Park Service owns significant interests, including development rights, timber rights and the right of administrative access. Roberts was paid about ¾ of the land’s appraised value, while retaining the land in “less-than-fee” ownership. The decade-long (1972-’82) history of land acquisition for Buffalo National River offers no clue why the park service failed to buy all the Roberts land – NPS did acquire in fee the 23.6 acre portion of Roberts’ land that included about 2000 feet of the Buffalo River itself.

There is no explanation why the entire 88 acre Roberts tract was not acquired “in fee,” as were 1170 other tracts up and down the River . . . Now, NPS is apparently afraid that hikers will be “trespassing” on the Roberts heirs’ remaining 64 in-park acres. There is no feasible alternate route for the BRT, as the Roberts tract runs from the riverbank to the exterior boundary of the National River. The adjacent landowners – over whose residential & ranch property the Roberts heirs would have to cross in order to enter their land within the National River – declare that, as far as they know, none of the Roberts (from Shreveport, LA) have visited their Searcy County property since the late 1970s . . . Stay tuned: more to come, in next issues of Buffalo River Ramblings, on this unfolding saga to resolve an aggravating obstruction to completion of the 26 mile-long Buffalo River Trail extension of the Ozarks Highlands Trail.

Feb. 7 As Ken Smith had recently appealed to me to leave the next few hundred yards of trail route beyond my current project for his spring volunteers to build (University of Texas & Indiana students on spring breaks, plus a gathering of “alumni” trail-builders,) I wrapped up my last day in the “Branner Bend” country by exploring extant remnants of the late 19th century river-side wagon road that former chief of the Arkansas Geological Survey, Dr. J. C. Branner, depicted on his 1892 map. In the afternoon I added a last 10 yards to the nearly 2 miles of trail I managed to see built since 3/13/13, between Ezell Creek and this stopping point. I carried out my hand-tools, stopping at his pasture gate to enjoy a last visit with Charley Tyler (on April 5th, he was killed in a logging accident; on April 7th, Suzie & I attended his funeral at the Osborne Cemetery, at the foot of Pilot Mountain.)

Feb. 10 Returning to the trail previously completed, South Maumee Road to the Roberts property line, I worked till dark, doing clean-up maintenance on that 2-mile section – unmarked and ignored by NPS, lest it induce hikers to trespass on the “Roberts tract.”

Feb. 11 Initiated the routine that would be repeated for my remaining trail-building days on the BRT (thru the following 2016 spring) – driving 19 miles to the north side of Buffalo River via an old wagon road (depicted on Branner’s 19th century map and barely drivable today,) launching canoe and paddling to the south bank, then hiking to one of the last stretches of the 26 mile BRT remaining to be completed – this one about 1/3 mile and the other two comprising about ½ mile . . . As Bruce & I crossed Buffalo River, a mature bald eagle flew low over us. . . We completed 44 yds of trail, over the next 6 hours.

Feb. 13 As I worked (solo) through the cold day, barred owls called from the hollow below – paired up and preparing to nest . . . Also came the sounds of high-flying geese, moving north. Completed 33 yards of trail, over 6 hours. Walked, paddled, trucked home.

March 16 Inclement weather, including a flooded Buffalo River, having kept me off the trail for past 4 weeks, I paddled solo across on 10 feet of slowly dropping water and made the tricky landing without mishap. Working 6 hours, I completed 50 yards of trail.

Along the little creek running quietly below, observed the first wildflowers of spring: rue anemone, spotted trout lily and bloodroot – as well as the year’s first tick!

March 20 This vernal equinox was a memorable day: The river had dropped to about 6 feet and the morning crossing (solo) went well. I noted emerging blossoms of leather- wood & witch-hazel; enjoyed working to the intermittent calls of Carolina wren and red-shouldered hawk as I completed a “record” 55 yards of trail over 6 hours. At day’s end, as I was returning to my canoe, negotiating the newly-exposed muddy & steep river bank, I lost my footing and slid the last few yards. A trail-building tool I was carrying went flying – into the river – and I flung the paddle I was carrying in the other hand into the canoe, just before I landed into it, still on my feet. The paddle bounced off the canoe into the swift-flowing river and my momentum carried me after it. After a couple of failed lunges, I managed to grab the paddle and regain the bank, a ways down-stream from the tethered canoe. It was a sobering experience, however brief – it would have taken me a while to whittle a replacement paddle – but I was glad I had a change of dry clothes in the truck. Having dedicated over a thousand days building trail, hiking and canoeing Buffalo River, over the past 33 years, this was the “worst” mishap I have had.

March 25 With Bruce Meyer, we devoted the morning to searching (futilely) for a trail route along the river that would circumvent/bypass the Roberts tract . . . Still at modest high-water, Buffalo River lapped at the base of the river-bluff marking the tract’s north property line, leaving no room whatsoever for a trail. After 5 ½ hours building 50 yards (on the upland and only feasible approach to Roberts land) we hiked down to the tethered canoe, crossed without mishap and pulled the canoe well up onto the gravel bar. Then, a strong gust of wind (the evening news told of tornadoes in Oklahoma) carried the empty canoe onto & down the Buffalo! – Recovered it a week later, none the worse for wear . . . I was glad to get it back – the well-used (over 1000 river miles) old canoe made by former Razorback canoe-builder and outfitter Don Stanley more than 35 years ago.

March 30 A good day of solo trail building, beginning with a bald eagle fly-over as I crossed Buffalo . . . Made a personal record of 75 yards of new trail this 75-degree day.

April 6 Bruce & I made 50 yards over four hours, including wrestling some huge rocks up from the creek-bed, to set as trail-steps – a good way to wrap up the final day of spring trail-work for 2015.

Footnote: Twelve months after the above entries, on April 4, 2016, while Suzie & I were canoeing the 12 miles of beautiful Buffalo River, Gilbert to North Maumee, we observed and photographed an adult bald eagle sitting on a huge nest in a big sycamore tree, river left, not far downstream from the mouth of Tomahawk Creek. It’s great to have our national bird finally returning to the Buffalo River to nest, after eastern populations of the species were severely reduced during the previous century.

The Tomahawk Creek nest is best observed from the river. It can also be viewed from across the river, after a hike of a little more than 1 mile. Drive into the park via Searcy County “Trout Farm Road” (west off hwy 27, three miles south of Morning Star) and “Red Bluff Road” (also Searcy 49.) 0.5 miles inside the park boundary there is a wide shoulder on the left, ¼ mile before the road ends at a farmhouse gate. Park beside the flat rock and walk 50 feet to the Buffalo River Trail. Turn right (north) onto the trail and walk to the dirt road that appears used/usable (after crossing the first, grown-up old road.) Walk about 1 mile down to the river, staying on the main (left-hand) old road, till it ends above the river bar. Walk the gravel bar upriver (east) until the nest comes into view.

Gathering At The River: Troop Ole 97 on the Buffalo

Editors Notes: The following article is the third of four installments. It is the story of one man’s love affair with the river and his dream of a Boy Scout Camp along its banks. Story by Audrey E. “Umpy” Osborn, Troop Ole 97 Eagle Scout 1954

Lesco Steen - One afternoon I took the scouts to see my friend, Lesco Steen. My logger, Louis Sanders, had introduced him to me. He had lived in his ancient log cabin at Pumpkin Flat near Spider Creek; from the time he was five years old. It had been his father’s “weaning house.” He was a unique and jovial fellow, over 80 years old and never married.

Lesco’s passion was to sing and play his “banjer,” that’s what I said, banjer, not banjo. Lesco loved to play for all the musicals held in the small town of Snowball. One cold winter morning Les played his banjer for me. First he held the instrument in front of a small fire in his fireplace a few minutes then tuned the ancient instrument. In his whiney voice, he strummed and sang a folk song about a young boy riding a mule to school. It was a treat to hear him sing, I’m sure the way it was sung in the 1800’s and I wish I had a recording.

The scouts were fascinated with Mr. Steen and his ancient log cabin. Most of all they were impressed by the fact he had no electricity or plumbing. He enjoyed giving the boys a detailed tour of everything including the spring where he got all of his water and the last bail of cotton they ginned. Lesco really enjoyed having the scouts over for a visit.

Around this time while on a business trip to Harrison, AR and Springfield, MO I took my Dad, Harry Earl Osborn, by for a visit with Mr. Steen and a trip over to Red Bluff. Dad especially enjoyed exploring Indian Spring. He was sure the shelter was an ancient Indian site of the early Bluff Dweller culture. He spent all afternoon digging through a lot of periwinkle shells and animal bones but actually found a crudely made arrow point.

About four years later I took my young son, David, to visit Mr. Steen. He was around seven or eight years old. On a prior visit, Les showed me where he kept what he called feed shorts for his cow. They were in a handmade wood barrel with wood bands. I asked Les to show us his feed shorts; I wanted to show David the handmade barrel. He took us to the small log shed where he kept the feed barrel and took the lid off the barrel. Little David looked inside and in his sweet little voice replied, “I don’t see Mr. Steen’s shorts.” We had a big laugh. I will never forget the great visit we had with Mr. Steen.

Indian Spring was a place where the older boys liked to camp. They would hike over after dinner with their sleeping bags. I can’t imagine the fun they had at the rock shelter. The stalagmite and washtub basin are visible in the picture below, my Dad is getting a cup of the cold spring water. Scouts have told me about going back and camping at the shelter years after their trips to Red Bluff on the Buffalo with Ole 97.

Pioneer Cemetery - Midway thru the week, very close to our headquarters, someone happened to find a stone that resembled a gravestone. It was a flat, gray rock that appeared to have some crude shaping, to it. After clearing away the brush and dirt, there was no doubt this was an early pioneer grave. Several other headstones were located; some could have been overlooked thinking they were just native field rocks. We had discovered a pioneer graveyard. You can tell from the above picture there is no doubt Buddy was looking at a special grave for a very special person. I think most likely a grave for a grandmother, mother or wife who loved flowers. A request may have been made for flowers to be planted inside the stone border of her grave.

It’s logical to think the cemetery on Sand Hold Bluff provided a beautiful burial location for generations of the family who lived in the house that once stood in the meadow near Indian Spring. Today only a chimney base of native rocks remains. Their cemetery was no doubt located at Sand Hole Bluff because of its beautiful location, well worth the short walk or wagon ride. I can imagine on special occasions the family had picnics and social gatherings there. Children would play games while the grownups sang and played fiddles, banjos, and guitars. The bluff was there in times of both joy and sadness. Always offering solitude, peace and tranquility as the sun would slowly dip and scrape the mountain upriver beyond Gilbert. But now it’s time to go. The whippoorwills are calling from down near the river, as the last sunrays are fading on the face of Red Bluff.

The week flew by as time at camp always does. After dinner we had our last campfire. Not much different from all the other campfires that I have attended the last 21 years. But, I noticed this campfire was different from all others in one way, our singing echoed off Red Bluff. It was a great evening, one to remember! While lying on my cot I listened to many whippoorwills calling in the cool dark night, a night to remember. Tomorrow I’ll go back to Memphis and sell more hardwood lumber.

Morning comes early with the sun first on watchful Red Bluff setting in motion breakfast and the breakdown and packing up of camp. Another Church in the Wildwood at Sand Hole Bluff would be remembered, as we chased our last thoughts of camp up the misty river toward the Gilbert Crossing and on to the ancient town of Gilbert. Now for the slow grind of our caravan out past Indian Spring and the long steep grade up the narrow valley to the ridge road. Then eight miles of gravel to Marshall and on toward Hardy as memories of the past week would slowly began to settle in. I had an unforgettable time with Buddy and Ole 97 that week. It was a long, quiet solo trip for me back to Memphis.

Announcing the First Annual Creative Writing and Photography Competition Sponsored by the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance Featuring the Theme:

The Buffalo River Country

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give

strength to body and soul."

~John Muir

All are invited to submit works of creative writing or photography to celebrate the 100th birthday of

America’s National Parks, and the 44th birthday of

the Buffalo National River.

An opening reception and show featuring submitted

photography and readings of winning original

works will be held at the Newton County Library on Friday evening, May 20th 2016,from 6-8PM.

Cash prizes to be awarded in each category are $25.00 for 1st place, and $10.00 for 2nd and 3rd place.

Entries will be judged for best portrayals of the unique features and character of the Buffalo River watershed.

Creativity in approach to theme is encouraged.

For example, check out: “The Rapping Ranger:” Poetry or other works of creative writing: up to two pages, double spaced, 12pt. font. Photographs: Printed to fit 8 ½ by 11 sheet or larger, with or without mats. Submit your writing or photography along with $10.00 donation for the first entry, and $5.00 for each additional entry.

Submissions must be postmarked by May 1st, 2016 and mailed to:

BRWA

Buffalo River Country Competition

PO Box 101, Jasper 72641

All donations benefit the work of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, a 501c3 organization. The mission of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance is to preserve and protect the scenic beauty and pristine water and air quality of the Buffalo National River for future generations through public outreach and education, advocacy, and direct actions.

[pic]Hikes…Editor’s note: Please contact Farrel at wildsofa.fc@ or 479.200.2621 prior to the event to sign up or to check on any changes. Don’t wait too long as the hikes tend to fill up quickly. All hikes require you to sign a release waiver. Thank you.

April 17, 2016, Cecil Cove, App: 6 miles, Rated moderate, 15 person limit, Meet at the White Oak station at the intersection of highway 7 and 206 south of Harrison at 10:00 am. Shuttle to Cecil Cove Trailhead to start. Visit Fantasy Falls, Broadwater Falls, Page Falls and several other interesting historic features. Possible wet crossings so bring water shoes just in case.

May 1, 2016 Cold Spring Schoolhouse, App: 5 miles, Rated moderate, 15 person limit, Meet at the Big Flat School on Highway 14 south of Dillard’s Ferry at 10:00 am. Shuttle to hiking area; visit the Funnel, lunch at the Loonbeam Overlook and the Cold Spring Schoolhouse on the National Historic Registry.

Meetings…

The Pulaski Chapter will be hosting the Ozark Society Spring General Membership Meeting the weekend of April 15 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center just outside Little Rock.  The General Meeting will be Saturday and Sunday, with an OS Board Meeting held on Friday evening. Accommodations include camping, cabins and rooms, as well as an on-site cafeteria. We will have a Saturday night potluck, Dutch oven cook-off, and entertainment. Ferncliff has hiking and biking trails, small lakes for canoeing and kayaking, and there are other recreational opportunities nearby. Visit for more details.

BRC April-June 2016 Calendar

• April 15-17th OS General Membership Meeting at Ferncliff 4H Camp.

• Sunday April 17th Cecil Cove Hike

• May 1st Cold Springs Schoolhouse Hike

“Rivers flow not past, but through us; tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide.”

~ John Muir

See you on the River. LT

-----------------------

[pic]

Volume: 20 Number: 2

April-June 2016

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download