Count down to a 50km in the Ozarks!

Okay, so I have to admit that I’m really getting psyched about my 50km run in the Ozark Mts.  It’s called the Eagle Rock Loop.  There are those who think I’m crazy, but once you’ve run trails there’s no turning back.  Jim Knight coined the term “fastpacking” 25 years ago. There’s a picture (in an ad) of him running in the mountains in the current issue of Trail Runner magazine (p.6).  I have to add that, when you check out his picture, you notice that he uses trail poles. (Remember, I’m a big proponent of trail poles.)   According to Knight fastpacking is being driven more by terrain than by time limitations. “Requiring stripped down packs and gear, it means going longer, faster and harder with less.” 

The rugged terrain of the Eagle Rock Loop

I’ve spent almost two months perfecting my gear and pack.  I’ve tested them twice  on the trails of the Hoosier National Forrest. That is the home of the famous (or to some people “infamous”) Two Lake Loop. As I reported in one of my blogs, the trail marathon run there every year is touted as the toughest in the Midwest.  In any case, it was a good test for my gear and equipment. It is a 15 mile loop if you run it as a figure-8.  When I’m not “testing” my equipment I can replenish my hydration every time I go by the van.  As a result I run it with only a 2L hydration pack. 

For Eagle Rock I must carry everything with me. It’s one long loop and I don’t pass any convenience stores or water stations.  It has taken me weeks to get my pack down to 20 pounds.  I have 3L of hydration (that 6.6# right there), a survival kit, first aid kit, ResQLink, a change of clothes, a water bottle with filter, and a bag of food (pinole, trail mix, dried fruit, crackers and GU). For safety, along with the survival, first-aid kit and ResQLink I have a compass, topo maps, whistle, Swiss Army knife, a tiny (and I mean tiny) radio, an app that gives me coordinates without internet, and a SteriPen Freedom (water purifier).  I was going to keep this last item a secret from my youngest son until I’d had a chance to use it. He’s been looking for an excuse to buy one.  You just stick it in the water, push the button and stir. When the light turns green (about 48 sec for 0.5L) the water is sterile.  It will do about 20L on a charge. I also have a head-light just in case I don’t get back by dark and a fantastic flashlight my son gave me. It is a Surefire 8P LED Defender with a hopped up lens that makes it so bright that I could probably blind a pilot flying overhead.  Oh, I always wear my RoadID!

My pack is a Camelbak Rim Runner, my shoes are Brooks TrueGrit (minimalist trail shoes), and my poles are Lexi.  My backup shoes are Vibram.  I picked them for comfort and weight. I really don’t like to do much more than 10 miles in them, but they’ll do fine as backup.  My wilderness watch is a Casio Pathfinder. It has 7 functions and 4 sensors – all of the usual time functions as well as telling me sunrise/sunset (how much time do I have left before dark), compass, barometer, temperature, and altitude.  Even when it is showing the time there is a little graph that shows what the barometer is doing. If it suddenly takes a sharp dive, you’d better head toward cover. You calibrate it with your starting coordinates and elevation if you want really accurate readings. It has worked well on four runs.  I’ll take my Garmin just in case I can get a signal. That would be awesome. 

I can't remember whether I've mentioned the ResQLink. I'm sure I have. It was a gift from some of my children. When I let them know that I'm going into the woods to run and should be out by a certain time, they began to wonder how long they should wait, if I'm late, before calling for help. They decided that this was the best solution. It is a personal locator beacon. It isn't much bigger than a flip phone but can be activated with one hand. It sends out the traditional distress signal as well as GPS coordinates.  If you activate it, it sets off alarms around the world.  If you're in the US and the satellite can pick up your signal, they can pin point you to within yards. It's a great thing to have if you're out in the wilderness.  It also saves taxpayers a lot of money if you need rescued.  

I’m excited about running in the Ozarks.  Even though it should feel like I’m a million miles from civilization, I don’t think there is any point at which I’m more than 5 miles from a road.  The trail follows the Little Missouri River northwest up past the Little Missouri Falls (supposed to  be a great swimming hole) to the trailhead for the Athens-Big Fork Trail. There you turn south and go perpendicular to the mountains – i.e. you’re either running up or down a mountain. (I’ll probably do a lot of walking at this point.)  About 5 miles from there you cross a road which is another access point to the trail. This is the point of no return.  If you get this far you might as well keep going.  From this point you run around Brush Heap Mountain (love the name) and through some pretty tough country to the junction of the Viles Branch Trail.  Once you get here you have <10 miles to camp and most of it is along the creek.  Not too much climbing.

The Federal campgrounds are closed at Albert Pike. That’s where I was planning to stay.  I did find an “Albert Pike Store” that is right by the campgrounds and has cabins and RV parking.  I’m hoping that the picture on the internet doesn’t do it justice!  Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything else very close.  If that’s a bust, I’ll have to stay in a motel in Glenwood, AR about 20 miles away. 

If you’re thinking about doing some trails in the Ozarks, I’d recommend the book Arkansas Hiking Trails by Tim Ernst.  It is readily available on Amazon. He writes about 78 trails that range from a couple of miles to 222.5 miles long.  I’ll obviously have to give a report after the run. 

Run wild and free!  Run trails!!!

Russ

I put the trail on the map, so it's probably off a bit. I am starting at the Albert Pike Rec Area which is in the middle of the short north-south leg on the east side.