Tag Archives: Crystal Springs

Bear Mountain Construction – Feb. 11, 2012 – Never A Better Day!

It wasn’t cold – it was frigid this morning as twenty volunteers gathered at the Crystal Springs Marina for a day of trail building on Big Bear Mountain. Led by six trail-tested Traildogs, we had six delightful AmeriCorps Volunteers and eight enthusiastic Arkansas Wildlife Federation volunteers depart from the Marina starting at 8:30 this morning. The air temperature at lake side was 23 degrees with a 10-15 mph wind out of the northwest. The Traildogs left early to do a little tree removal and user sign installation on the sixth and seventh sections of the trail. They removed two large trees blocking the eastern end of the sixth section on Little Bear Mt., then installed several user signs on the newly minted seventh section. On the barge ride over to Little Bear Creek, water splashing over the front edge of the barge immediately froze our bow line and coated the … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Feb. 6, 2012 – Bear Mountain Benches

We had seven volunteers today to assist in installing two trail benches and a rework of the steep switchback on the south slope.  Installing benches on this section is a study in logistics due to its remote location.  As we left the marina, we had seven volunteers, two 4-wheelers, four bench frames, sixteen bench slates, six 80 lb bags of quickcrete, a mixing pan, hoe, shovel, digging bar, and a post hole digger, along with four gallons of water, all of which had to hauled up the mountain. We were fortunate today, as we did not run into solid rock when we dug the holes for the benches.  The first bench was installed on the south slope of the mountain overlooking the Crystal Springs Marina.  The second bench was installed on the north slope overlooking Hotel Island. Following the bench installation, we had lunch on the south slope at the … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Feb. 2, 2012 – Just A Perfect Day

What an amazing way to spend a early February day! The weather was shirt sleeve and sunny, with only a soft breeze today as we began wrapping up this years construction. The US Forest Service team began removing their excavation equipment today as they move on to other operations in the Ouachita National Forest. It had been our fervent hope that somehow we would be able to push the construction all the way to Brady Mountain Rd. this year, but it appears we have run out of excavation resources. We measured our progress today as we hiked out at the end of our day, and we have developed three new miles of trail since we started this dig last December.  It appears we have approximately 3.5 miles of additional construction to get to Brady Mountain Rd.  Budget constraints and other needs of the Forest have brought this year’s construction to … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Feb. 1, 2012 – Grapes of Wrath

We had five volunteers today who chose to take a chance of iffy weather.  As we motored slowly across the bay, draped in fog so thick we could not see the mountain, I thought we looked like some dust storm refugees with the barge loaded with muddy 4-Wheelers and our volunteers in their trail work clothes, back packs and old life jackets. Once across the bay, we unload the 4-wheelers and begin ferrying volunteers to the top of the mountain.  The going is steep, especially on the old logging road we utilize to shorten the trip to the top. Once at the summit, we must motor almost two more miles to our work site.  This requires several trips to carry all our volunteers across the face of the mountain. As the fog lifted today it was if a curtain had been lifted to reveal a stunning new painting.  The lake … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 30, 2012 – Making Progress

We had five Traildog volunteers today who enjoyed being ferried, first by barge across the lake, then by four wheeler up the mountain to the work site. The barge handled transporting the two 4-wheelers and the five volunteers easily. Utilizing the 4-wheelers is saving us almost two hours of hiking each day. We will not be working tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan 31, as several of us are attending the funeral of Rick Stokes’ father. Rick has been a good friend and strong supporter of the trail since the first day and was very close to his father. We will assess Wednesday tomorrow afternoon to determine if the forecasted 80% chance of rain actually will occur. Thanks Jerry … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 26, 2012 – Rain, Rain, Go Away …

Rain! Rain! Go Away! – Due to the heavy rains in area, we are cancelling work until next Monday January 30th. We are closing in on the US Forest Service machine team due to a very difficult area of rock outcroppings slowing their efforts. Today we met with the Corp of Engineers at the Blakely Mt. Dam site office to determine the end point for the trail. After reviewing the area just south of the new office building just above the north face of the dam, we chose a site on a rock bluff that overlooks the intake tunnel for the power plant and the north face of the dam. After eight years of planning and seven years of construction, we are rapidly approaching the completion of the main trail. It is our plan to have a information kiosk at the termination point that will provide information about the trail … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 24, 2012 – Views of Lake Ouachita

Due to the heavy rain Jan. 25, also predicted for Thursday, Jan. 26, work is postponed until Friday, Jan. 27.  As usual, we will meet Friday at the Crystal Springs Cafe parking area.  The boat will leave at 8:30 sharp. Tuesday, Jan. 24, was beautifully clear, giving the team terrific views of Lake Ouachita from the new Section 7.  The photo gallery here shares some of those views and gives you an idea of where we are along the proposed trail.   … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 23, 2012 – A View To Remember

Beautiful January weather and a crew of seven made for a great day on the trail.  Those of us who started on this trail seven years ago have often talked of what we thought the trail on Big Bear Mountain would be like.  We were afraid that the foliage would block the view or that the terrain would be to steep but neither has occurred.  The views from the mountain are just amazing as we keep pushing the trail east just below the summit of Big Bear Mt. Today we could clearly see Bird Island directly north of where we were working.  At this elevation it clear how the USACE chose this valley to create this beautiful lake.  The Lake sits between two ridges of low mountains that make a perfect bowl, without levis, that allowed the lake to form once the dam was in place. We continue to be … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 20, 2012 – Mud Dog in a Fog

Friday, the old adage of “When the going gets tough the tough get going” fit our volunteers as we gathered at the Crystal Springs Marina in a dense wet fog that had descending on the area overnight.  Cold weather in a dense fog are not ideal trail building conditions as we motored slowly across the water for the long hike up to our work site.  Our seven years of trail building in all manner of weather conditions told us this would a “Mudder”, meaning the freshly dug soil would stick like molasses to our tools and would quickly make each boot feel like it weighed ten pounds. We reminded some of our new Traildogs before departure to add a plastic sheet or trash bag to their day packs to provide a place to sit for breaks and lunch. Mud Dogs in Fog, ready to call it a day Hoping that … Click to read the full article

Bear Mountain Construction – Jan. 19, 2012 – Grand View

Moderating weather and bright sunshine created a great environment for the Traildog volunteers today. We had eight volunteers today as we departed the dock for the mile long ride across the Crystal Bay. The mild wind created a slight ripple on the water that the bright morning sun turned into a pool of sparkling gems as we quietly motored into Little Bear Creek. Two of our party hiked to the start of the new section, one, Dan, to GPS the 1.7 miles of completed trail, and the other, Robert, to apply the white blazes used to identify the trail’s route to new users. The balance of our pack hiked the 1.1 miles up the south slope to tool cache on the southern slope of Big Bear Mountain. … Click to read the full article