This afternoon, led by Al Gathright, 6 Traildogs (yes, spouses are Traildogs too!!!) hosted trail workers from the International Mountain Biking Association and the Texas Conservation Corps to a hamburger and brat supper at the new Friends of Lake Ouachita-sponsored pavilion at the entrance to the Tompkins Bend Campground, followed by a short tour of Lake Ouachita. We all tremendously appreciate the work these teams are doing along the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail – THANK YOU ALL!!!
Yesterday, the Traildogs received a very nice note via Facebook from Mara Kuhn, who with her brother Jacob, enjoyed an end-to-end trek of the LOViT from March 22 to March 25, 2015. Mara writes, “Hello! Thank you for such a wonderful trail! Last year my brother and I hiked the LOViT end-to-end, minus the spur trails. I have a blog and wrote about our hike. I was wondering if you would like to share my post with your followers?” We sure would like to share Mara and Jacob’s adventure with you all! Here’s the link: http://www.rightkindoflost.com/gotta-lovit-the-lake-ouachita-vista-trail/. It’s a good story with some beautiful photos of the LOViT. We hope you enjoy it.
Apologies for the late notice, but we’ve just been informed by Forestry that there will be a controlled burn from the area along Walnut Creek near the Charleton Campground back toward the Crystal Springs area. The burn is expected to be set at around 3 pm today, March 6, 2016. If you were planning to be on the LOViT in the area from Forest Service Road 47A to Crystal Springs Road today or in the next couple of days, you will want to be aware of this activity. The Forest Service will be placing signs in the area today to make folks aware of this upcoming controlled burn.
The 2015 LOViT Marathon was run December 5, and by all accounts, it was a successful event. Your LOViT Traildogs supported the event by working at aid stations at both the Joplin and Hickory Nut Mountain Trailheads. Click on the image below to view photographs of the runners who made it to the top of Hickory Nut Mountain, the turnaround point for this out-and-back marathon. Here are the race results: http://runarkansas.com/results/LOViT2015.htm. Also, a slide show with many more photos can be found here: http://runarkansas.com/slideshow/LOViT26_2015/slideshow.php. Finally, here’s the LOViT Marathon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LOViTmarathon/. What a great bunch of participants we enjoyed at this aid station. Great people, great event!
The annual LOViT Marathon, a 26+ mile out-and-back course on the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (“LOViT”), is scheduled for December 5, 2015. Registration and additional information for this Ultra Trail Series race can be found on the website of the Arkansas Ultra Running Association: http://runarkansas.com/LoVitTrailMarathon.htm. By registering for the race, it helps the race management and volunteers to put on a better and safer run for everyone, and it helps Phil and Bonnie Carr, who put on this annual event, when you register online via the above link, although registration is also accepted via “snail mail”. You can keep abreast of current announcements and other race information through The LOViT Marathon Facebook page (and we hope you “Like” us there!). A bit more information about previous LOViT Marathon events on the Trail can be found by entering “Marathon” in the search box on the right side of this page. The …Click to read the full article
Saturday, October 25th, the Ouachita Mountain Hikers had a rally and BBQ at the Avery Recreation Area to celebrate the completion of their six-day hike of the entire Lake Ouachita Vista Trail system. Starting at the ADA Kiosk on Monday Oct 20th, various groups of OMH members hiked sections of the Trail. Eight of the members, including Traildog Chuck Dumas, received special recognition for hiking the entire forty miles of trail. This was a team effort of the Ouachita Mountain Hikers organization, with some members hiking, some shuttling, and some organizing the Rally and BBQ. The Ouachita Mountain Hikers invited the LOViT Traildogs to join in the hikes and to join them in their celebration rally and BBQ. Pam Harrison served as head chef and food organizer, and it was indeed a feast! Three of our Traildogs – myself, Robert Cavanaugh and Chuck Dumas – were present at the rally …Click to read the full article
Lake Ouachita Vista Trail Ribbon Cutting Ceremony The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to officially open the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) has been set for: Date: Tuesday October 28, 1014 Time: 1:00 pm Location: The Avery Recreation Area at the Lake Ouachita’s Blakely Mountain Dam in Garland County. This forty-mile long trail system designed for mountain biking and hiking is the result of ten years of planning, design and construction by a coalition of a dozen local, state and federal organizations. The trail courses along the southern shores of Lake Ouachita over five mountains located in the Ouachita National Forest. The agenda for the ceremony will include remarks by: Colonel John W. Cross, Colonel US Army Corps of Engineers Norman Wagner, Forest Supervisor Ouachita National Forest Joe David Rice, Arkansas Tourism Director Jeff Crow, Deputy Director, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Steve Schneider, Regional Director, International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) Following …Click to read the full article
(The following article by Martina Kolm was originally published in the Fall, 2014, edition of “Arkansas Wild” magazine. It is reproduced here with Martina’s permission. Martina, thank you for sharing your adventure with us. For more information about Martina and her web design business, visit her site at http://martinasweb.com.) Learning to LOViT With the help of Traildogs and a summer sausage log By Martina Kolm July, 2013 During the brutal ride, everyone switched positions. Clinton, my boyfriend, retook his normal lead; I was second, then Mickey. I stopped to wait; a moment to rest and relish the grandeur of this place. We were enjoying a camping/mountain-biking trip on the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (“LOViT”) near Mt. Ida, Arkansas. The extensive trail system is 25+ miles with 10+ more planned. [Now, a 45 mile IMBA-designated Epic Trail!] The beautiful mid-day sun poured its light through the canopy, bouncing off white rocks, …Click to read the full article
The prescribed burn took place on Monday, March 31, on very short notice. We did get a note out via Facebook, but we didn’t get notified in time to get a website update out ahead of the event. The USFS was very careful with respect to placing notices at the trailheads, and they covered the length of the Trail to make sure nobody was on Little Bear or Bear Mountains at the time of the burn. The United States Forest Service (USFS) is planning a prescribed burn on both Bear Mountain and Little Bear Mountain in early April, 2014. The burn will cover some 5500+ acres from Crystal Springs to Brady Mountain. The Forest Service will post signs warning potential hikers of the event, and it is most important that you do not enter this area prior to the prescribed burn event. The prescribed burn will take place on a …Click to read the full article
Tom Ferguson, one of the first U.S. Forest Service Rangers who worked with the nascent Traildogs during the first years of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail design and construction, could not be with the Traildog team when the Forest Service presented the Traildogs with their 2012 Volunteer Organization of the Year Award. However, Tom met with Traildog Mike Curran for dinner on March 6, 2014. In Mike’s words: “I had a wonderful visit and dinner with Tom and Sandra Ferguson last night. Tom is one of the original Traildogs, now living in Rodgers, Arkansas. I had the opportunity and pleasure to present Tom with the Regional Foresters award for his participation as a volunteer Traildog building the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail.” More from Alpha Dog Jerry Shields: “Tom was one the first rangers we worked with in the first years of the LOViT. It used to be a joke about …Click to read the full article