Last weekend, my four friends and I completed the 39.1-mile Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT). The trail offered breathtaking vistas of the lake, making for a truly memorable journey. We planned the hike as a three-day, two-night backpacking trip, and while my friends finished in three days, I ended up taking four days. After covering seven miles on the third day, I completely bonked, forcing me to split the last section into a solo slackpacking hike on the fourth day.
The trip was full of excitement from the start. Our first night, we camped at Hickory Nut Mountain near the trail, about four miles from Highway 270. A man and his dog were van camping nearby, and from the look of his setup, he had been there for quite some time. He seemed harmless, so we went about our evening—cooking dinner, setting up camp, and settling into our tents. For peace of mind, I placed my taser, knife, and bear spray in my hat beside my sleeping pad for easy access.
Just as we were getting quiet for the night, a car pulled up close to our camp. Our imaginations went wild. Had the van camper called his friends to ambush us? Was it a serial killer? I quickly laced up my hiking boots and grabbed my taser. At one point, it sounded like voices were approaching our tents. To prepare for the worst, I activated the taser—loud enough for my friends to hear from their tents. I’m sure they all thought I was about to taser myself. If I had needed to use it through the tent, I probably would have burned the whole thing down.
In the end, it was just a man and a woman setting up their own camp nearby. With my taser still within reach, I finally got some sleep.
The next morning, we noticed a sign on a tree by the van camper’s setup asking for money. We walked over to see if he would take our trash out in exchange for some cash. That’s when we realized he was deaf. Despite the language barrier, he had a kind smile, and the interaction left an unexpected but meaningful impression on us.
Our second night of camping was near Little Bear Creek, and it was the perfect spot. I slept well and woke up feeling refreshed. However, as mentioned, I had to leave the trail that day. My friend’s husband, Mark, and Bella (My favorite poodle) drove me back to my van around noon, but it wasn’t until about 4 PM that I finally started feeling better.
As I rested, I began thinking of ways to complete the trail the next day. Since I had already planned to visit Hot Springs on Monday to pick up an Ouachita Trail t-shirt from Spring Mountain Water, I decided to go ahead and make the trip after leaving the trail. Once I finished that mission, I stocked up on Pedialyte, laid down for a bit, and, once I felt up to it, devoured some Mexican food.
Luckily, my friends Michael and Pauline had also stayed in Hot Springs, and they shuttled me back to finish the trail on Monday. Everything worked out in the end, and I was able to complete what I had started.
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