Tales From The Trail

 

By Ken Olson, Pine Island
Finally, after months of anticipation during a long, cold, snowy
winter, April 4th arrived – it was the day to head south to Big Flat
and Ben Hur Arkansas with the horses! An early spring trip to
Illinois, Oklahoma or Arkansas has become a tradition for Lynn and I.
There were still a couple of snow piles in the yard when we left but 3
days later the daily high temperatures were 90, 90, and 86. Those
temps were quite a shock to our hairy and partially conditioned
horses. We were sweating too!
Enough about the weather – the awesome scenery, riding and friends
were worth all of the 1600 miles and 150 gallons of diesel fuel to get
there and back. We always try to ride at least one new place on every
trip to find “another great place to ride” and this trip was no
exception.
Caney Mountain Horse Camp – At the end of a 7 ½ mile forest road
(some of it “one way”) is a wonderful camp owned by Charles and Teresa
Taylor. It is surrounded by the Buffalo National River, Leatherwood
Wilderness, and Ozark National Forest. It was our first visit there.
Some day the Taylors hope to have electric service to the camp but the
generator and solar energy provide all of the power needed for hot
showers and great accommodations.
As soon as you leave camp you are set to experience spectacular
scenery and wonderful riding as you explore Big Creek, Spring Creek,
Middle Creek – North and South Prong, and overlooks of the lower end
of the Buffalo National River. We may have only covered 10 to 12
miles a day but the horses thought they had covered 3 times that as
they made their way up and down mountains, through the rocks and along
the cliff edge s. Special features included the Cold Spring School
(built in the 30’s by CCC workers and preserved by the Forest
Service), caves large enough to ride into, and lunch high on a rock
cliff overlooking the lower end of the Buffalo River.
We would not have seen half of these things without the assistance of
Charles, Teresa and their neighbor and retired farrier, Bootsie! As
the plaque on the lodge porch says “come as strangers – leave as
friends” and that is certainly true at Caney Mountain!
Falling Waters Horse Camp – This was our second visit to Falling
Waters. “Falling Waters” is certainly appropriate for its name-sake
stream running through camp and the entire area. There are many water
falls to enjoy as you leave camp and ride the trails in every
direction. This year we rode to Twin Falls with Joe Garrison, co-
owner of the camp, and a group from Tennessee. It is a 19 mile round-
trip ride to Twin Falls where 2 streams come together and become part
of Richland Creek. Other rides included Bailey Falls, Tombstone
Trail, Pedestal Rock and the Box Canyon. It rained one night while at
Falling Waters and the streams were running wild the next morning –
the horses paid close attention as kayakers zoomed through the rapids
next to where we ate lunch at Box Canyon.
The camp features electric and water hookups, covered stalls and a
bath/shower house. Joe and Glen Garrison have made a lot of
improvements in the camp since starting out 5 years ago and many more
people are enjoying the great riding there.
Friends – When we left Pine Island we knew we’d enjoy the trip
because we were traveling with 8 friends and meeting 2 more - Russ and
Darlene Wright at Caney as they traveled back from Arizona - but now
we have even more friends in Arkansas! We all h ad a great time. We’re
always happy to share our riding experiences with other people.
Spring is a great time to visit the Ozarks – we want to see them in
their fall colors some time.




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