Buffalo River Trail, South Boxley to Ponca. 9-12-2009
I decided to hike the first section of the Buffalo River Trail on the weekend of 9/11 as my own special way of contemplating the significance of the events of 9/11/01 and taking time to remember and honor the thousands of innocent Americans killed that day. Being out on the trail with only my backpack and the challenges the ozarks hold for me reminds me of the independence and ingenuity that defines the American spirit.
The first section of the BRT begins at South Boxley and runs to the Ponca low water bridge. I got to the parking area Friday night and camped near the trailhead so that I could get started early on Saturday. I was planning on yo-yoing the Boxley to Ponca section of the trail.
Once again, my hammock proved invaluable as there were no inviting places to pitch a tent or even use a bivy. Everything green in the picture above is poison ivy, and it was everywhere. On top of that, the whole forest floor in many parts of the ozarks is covered with large rocks.
There were some really nice overlooks, but the view is mostly blocked this time of year. I'm sure these are even better after leaf-off.
The trail opened up onto a small field before I even hit 2 miles. It was fairly early, so there's a lot of fog, but you can still see the mountain silhouettes in the background.
The trail crossed a lot of dry streambeds, but I saw very little running water on this trip despite all the rain this area has seen lately.
I also saw a lot of giant puffball mushrooms along the trail, but I was hiking pretty fast so I didn't stop to eat any.
A little farther down the trail I ran across some deer. I heard deer crashing around in front of me almost the entire trip, but they usually made an escape before I could see them. These two allowed me to get closer than the others. You can see the doe in the foreground with a fawn in the background of one picture. The fawn is all the way to the right of the second picture.
This creek was one of the only places I found running water, but I was carrying plenty so I didn't stop to fill my bottles.
The trail turned to a loose shale toward the end, which gave it good contrast against the forest floor. In some of the greener parts, it was easy to lose the trail, so the contrast was welcome.
When I got to the Ponca bridge, there were quite a few people hanging around enjoying the weather, and one family gave me a ride partway back to my car. I walked the rest of the way, enjoying the beautiful scenery and one of my favorites while hiking... a 5 Crowns Classic cigar. Mmmmmm.
