Caddo Bend Trail - March 16th, 2015
Lake Ouachita State Park, Mountain Pine, AR
Distance: 4 mi (Round Trip)
Elevation Gain: 295 ft.
Highest Elevation: 861 ft.
Dogs: Allowed
Difficulty: Easy
Growing up in the Rowland family meant that the outdoors and hiking were always part of my life. There are pictures of me at state and national parks which were taken before I was even old enough to make memories. As I got older my family would always figure out a way to incorporate the parks and the outdoors into almost all of our vacations and adventures. As I got older, the outdoor tradition continued as I was introduced to more places and adventures through the Boy Scouts of America. Because of this, the park system holds a pretty important place in my heart.
Allison and I got to visit Arkansas in March. By this time we had already started training for the PCT which meant that we were interested in walking almost every day during our visit in order to not lose any of our progress. Luckily, my Mom was more than happy to join us and we were able to show Allison some of the local trails that I had spent time on in the past.
One of the day hikes Mom wanted to take us on was the Caddo Bend Trail at lake Ouchita State Park. I was really excited to take Allison on this trail because it was a trail I hiked often growing up. In the past I'd hike it with Mom, friends, and also the Boy Scouts. So, not only does it hold a lot of great memories, it is also a beautiful hike that really shows off just how rich Arkansas' natural beauty can be. Mom warned us on the drive out that we should be prepared to experience tornado damage which was the aftermath of a tornado that tore through the park in September, 2012. Let me tell you that having someone tell you to expect it and actually seeing it in person were two completely different things. You know in your rational mind that tornadoes are powerful and can destroy anything in their path, but the more abstract thinking parts of your brain hear that it happened 3 years ago and you think, "how bad could it be?" "Doesn't nature heal itself rather quickly? The answer in this situation was, "not when it is damaged catastrophically."
After a few more short minutes in the car we arrived at the park, swung by the visitors center to pick up maps, and arrived at the trailhead. Beginning at the trailhead the damage was immediately apparent. What once had been forest so dense that you could hardly see the lake now looked like a logging company had done the worst clear cutting job ever and then burned it a couple of times for good measure. It was awesome and I mean dictionary awesome, not Ninja Turtles awesome. As we got further into the area where the main part of the destruction had occurred, it got even worse. This part of the trail now had an almost unobstructed view of the lake. Then as suddenly as the devastation had appeared, it disappeared. The tornado pretty much just cut a line right through that section of the park. We basically hike off that part of the trail and into a wall of treats. This was great because Mom and I were finally able to show Allison the trail as we remembered it being in the past.
Arkansas State Park's website states, "Nature lovers, photographers, and geologists will enjoy walking on the slopes near Lake Ouachita's Caddo Bend Trail. Wildflowers, large boulder gardens, an abundance of quartz, scenic views, and an observation deck overlooking the lake at the end of the point are some of the main attractions." They pretty much hit the nail on the head, and the three of us really enjoyed taking in all of the diversity and beauty this trail has to offer.
After passing and then being passed by an annoyingly loud group of teen hikers and also meeting and talking with an Arkansas Master Naturalist who was out cataloging wildlife, we made our way to the end of the trail. We stopped to take a few pictures at the beautiful hand carved/painted sign at the trailhead and then headed over to the marina and had a great picnic lunch with a spectacular view of the lake.
Although the tornado damage is sad, it was also fascinating and awe inspiring. If walking through something like that doesn't give you a sense of your place in the world, I don't know what will. I still love this trail and had a great time sharing it again with Mom and for the first time with Allison. If you ever are Ouachita State Park, make sure you spend an afternoon checking this hike out.
Growing up in the Rowland family meant that the outdoors and hiking were always part of my life. There are pictures of me at state and national parks which were taken before I was even old enough to make memories. As I got older my family would always figure out a way to incorporate the parks and the outdoors into almost all of our vacations and adventures. As I got older, the outdoor tradition continued as I was introduced to more places and adventures through the Boy Scouts of America. Because of this, the park system holds a pretty important place in my heart.
Allison and I got to visit Arkansas in March. By this time we had already started training for the PCT which meant that we were interested in walking almost every day during our visit in order to not lose any of our progress. Luckily, my Mom was more than happy to join us and we were able to show Allison some of the local trails that I had spent time on in the past.
One of the day hikes Mom wanted to take us on was the Caddo Bend Trail at lake Ouchita State Park. I was really excited to take Allison on this trail because it was a trail I hiked often growing up. In the past I'd hike it with Mom, friends, and also the Boy Scouts. So, not only does it hold a lot of great memories, it is also a beautiful hike that really shows off just how rich Arkansas' natural beauty can be. Mom warned us on the drive out that we should be prepared to experience tornado damage which was the aftermath of a tornado that tore through the park in September, 2012. Let me tell you that having someone tell you to expect it and actually seeing it in person were two completely different things. You know in your rational mind that tornadoes are powerful and can destroy anything in their path, but the more abstract thinking parts of your brain hear that it happened 3 years ago and you think, "how bad could it be?" "Doesn't nature heal itself rather quickly? The answer in this situation was, "not when it is damaged catastrophically."
After a few more short minutes in the car we arrived at the park, swung by the visitors center to pick up maps, and arrived at the trailhead. Beginning at the trailhead the damage was immediately apparent. What once had been forest so dense that you could hardly see the lake now looked like a logging company had done the worst clear cutting job ever and then burned it a couple of times for good measure. It was awesome and I mean dictionary awesome, not Ninja Turtles awesome. As we got further into the area where the main part of the destruction had occurred, it got even worse. This part of the trail now had an almost unobstructed view of the lake. Then as suddenly as the devastation had appeared, it disappeared. The tornado pretty much just cut a line right through that section of the park. We basically hike off that part of the trail and into a wall of treats. This was great because Mom and I were finally able to show Allison the trail as we remembered it being in the past.
Arkansas State Park's website states, "Nature lovers, photographers, and geologists will enjoy walking on the slopes near Lake Ouachita's Caddo Bend Trail. Wildflowers, large boulder gardens, an abundance of quartz, scenic views, and an observation deck overlooking the lake at the end of the point are some of the main attractions." They pretty much hit the nail on the head, and the three of us really enjoyed taking in all of the diversity and beauty this trail has to offer.
After passing and then being passed by an annoyingly loud group of teen hikers and also meeting and talking with an Arkansas Master Naturalist who was out cataloging wildlife, we made our way to the end of the trail. We stopped to take a few pictures at the beautiful hand carved/painted sign at the trailhead and then headed over to the marina and had a great picnic lunch with a spectacular view of the lake.
Although the tornado damage is sad, it was also fascinating and awe inspiring. If walking through something like that doesn't give you a sense of your place in the world, I don't know what will. I still love this trail and had a great time sharing it again with Mom and for the first time with Allison. If you ever are Ouachita State Park, make sure you spend an afternoon checking this hike out.
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