Sara and I took our final camping trip of the year last weekend. We went to the Caney Creek Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest of Arkansas in hopes of catching the tail end of the fall color...and luckily enough that is exactly what we got. We did a 10 miles backpacking loop on the Buckeye Trail-Caney Creek Trail that reminded us a lot of hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
We started our hike on the Buckeye Trail which follows the ridge of Buckeye Mountain. The trail follows along the ridge for about 5 miles providing fantastic views in all directions. The fall colors were just past peak but still pretty incredible. Lots of reds, yellows, and oranges still on the trees. We descended down off of Buckeye Mountain towards Caney Creek just as dusk was starting to set in. We set up the tent right along Caney Creek right as the final light for the day disappeared. We had a nice dinner cooked on the stove and then retreated to the tent for the night. Conditions were almost perfect for camping...a cool, crisp fall night cold enough to keep you snuggly in your sleeping bag all night.
Sunday morning we woke up, cooked breakfast, and lounged around camp for a little while enjoying the nearby creek and wonderful weather. The hike back to the car was only about four miles so we weren't in a big rush. The Caney Creek Trail back to the car followed mostly along the Caney Creek with three or four rock-hopping creek crossings. The leaves in the drainage were just as beautiful as they were from Buckeye Trail above. It only took us a couple hours to leisurely hike back to the car. It was great to be able to spend a couple days and a night out in the mountains enjoying the tail end of fall. Just wish those mountains were closer....
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