It’s hunting season in Arkansas, and because the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail is primarily located in the Ouachita National Forest, you must be aware of the potential for hunters to be on or near the Trail. Here are the “Hunter Orange Requirements” as published by the International Hunter Education Association: Arkansas (A) It is unlawful to hunt wildlife, or to accompany or assist anyone in hunting wildlife, in zones open to firearm deer, bear, or elk seasons, without wearing an outer garment, above the waistline, of daylight fluorescent blaze orange (Hunter Orange) within the color range of 595-605 nanometers or flouorescent chartreuse color range of 555nm – 565nm (Hunter Safety Green) totaling at least 400 square inches, and a hunter orange or hunter safety green head hat must be visibly worn on the head. (B) Florescent blaze orange (Hunter Orange)or florescent chartreuse (Hunter Safety Green) totaling at least 144 square …Click to read the full article
A bunch of Traildogs worked the LOViT Marathon this morning. The race is put on yearly by Phil and Bonnie Carr of Shangri-La Resort. About 70 runners participated this year and enjoyed moderate and overcast weather, perfect for the run. The course begins at the corner of Shangri-La Road and the corner of old Highway 270, proceeds to the Denby Bay Trailhead on the LOViT, and then follows the Trail up to the top of Hickory Nut Mountain, for an out distance of 14+ miles. The return trip takes the cutoff from the Joplin to Tompkins Bend segment across to the Homestead Trailhead, and then back in, accounting for the remaining 12 miles of the marathon. The ‘Dogs working the various aid stations want to thank Bonnie and Varine Carr for supplying the chili and banana pie. Very much appreciated! This was a great event, and everyone, runners and Traildogs, …Click to read the full article
We had five volunteers today working on rehabilitating the Old Homestead Trailhead site. Our goal was to stabilize the walls of the 100 year old root cellar and clean and clear the old hand dug well. We purchased cedar split rail fence which we installed around the old root cellar to help prevent further damage from folks climbing into the old cellar and knocking loose the carefully dry staked walls of the cellar. We cleaned the cellar of decades of debris and carefully rebuilt two places where roots from nearby pine trees had disturbed the west wall and where some trail users had removed some stones on the south wall. Fortunately the stones from the walls were in the bottom of the cellar, covered in debris. Once the walls were rebuilt and stabilized we installed a 10’ X 20’ rail fence around the site. We also cleared the old hand …Click to read the full article