Good Friday, Big Bluff and the Goat Trail
4:15 on Good Friday, 2017, came real early. Probably had been awake sooner with the anticipation of hiking to Big Bluff and the famous Goat Trail. Big Bluff is a 6+ mile round trip, with spectacular views from the Goat Trail, about 350 feet above the Buffalo River. And……it’s straight down.
Fear of heights, don’t even think about it! But our trek might give you an idea of what it’s like.
Go 3 miles North of Ponca and the Buffalo Outdoor Center to the Centerpoint Trailhead. Easy to find, lots of parking.
Here is a link to all things Big Bluff http://www.buffaloriver.com/pages/big-bluff-the-goat-trail/
Here is the trail map http://www.buffaloriver.com/uploads/big_bluff.pdf
QUICK STOP IN LITTLE ROCK
First, had to pick up son Robert in LR at his new downtown venue. And then meet son Thomas at the BOC.
ON TO THE TRAIL!
This sign at the trailhead will tell you all you need to know. They are very adamant about not bringing young children……….and not drinking. Acting adult responsible is the rule of the day.
The hike starts downhill, a wide trail but with lots of rocks at times. Good boots and a walking stick are required. Water and good snacks are also a must.
It’s 2.5 miles from the trailhead to the spur of the Goat Trail, from there another .4 miles to Big Bluff….we made it in about an hour, making sure not to trip over the rocks etc.
Once on the path to Big Bluff, horses were not allowed. We saw plenty of ‘evidence’ of horses on the pathways…..
Now we begin to see why we came.
As one can see, it’s up pretty high. The Buffalo River is below. The dropoff is pretty steep. But man, what a view.
A granddad and his granddaughter ventured out early this day.
Time to mosey out to the Goat Trail.
This picture really gives one a perspective of what the Goat Trail is. Robert made it out there. Truthfully, I began to get the willies a little bit and stopped to take this shot. Slowly made my way back to sit with Thomas and gather myself.
Another Panorama of the Goat Trail……what a perspective.
This is why we hike……..
To be in the Ozarks on a beautiful Good Friday with your sons, alive in God’s creation, well it just doesn’t get any better.
I have two great young men, and for them to want to get out in nature with the old man is truly special.
Many more to come………..
We hiked back out to the spur and back on the Centerpoint Trail…….of course one of us had to leave our cell phone behind…………which meant that someone had to go back to see if it was there……I’m the former, Robert was the latter. So he got 8 miles on this day and we got 7……….sigh…….gotta pay more attention :)
The hike out is all uphill……..so we took our time and stopped when necessary.
We found this friend on the trail back……
Last view of the day. Made it back to the trailhead. Took us about 4 hours.
My friend Stewart Noland recommended we not be in a hurry to leave Big Bluff, and we weren’t. We just sat and took it all in.
You never know if you’ll have a chance to see this again.
Another one knocked off the list. Tired and hungry, stopped at the BOC and got sandwiches. We bade farewell to Thomas and he headed back to Fayetteville.
We headed down Hwy 21 to Clarksville. On the way we stopped at the Smith Creek Nature Preserve Overlook…..this is land the Arkansas Nature Conservancy bot along the river. Looks like we have another hike to add to the list. One that is not as difficult……….has a smaller drop in elevation(about 350 feet) and 3–4 waterfalls. Looking foward to that, maybe in the Fall.
Hope you enjoyed the Big Bluff/Goat Trail……..we sure did.
Until next time.
Travelin’ Arkansan
