Anniversary in Arkansas

Spring break from school had finally arrived and Parker and I had some fun things planned. We switched locations about three times and finally landed on a cheap but very fun backpacking trip in Ouachita National Forest around West-central Arkansas.  We arrived up there before noon on Monday and began our hike of eagle loop trail. This trail is 28 miles long and has multiple peaks and water crossings.

The very beginning of the trail we had to hike straight up a mountain with no switch-backs. I truly thought we may not make it up. Parker's pack weighed roughly 30-35 pounds and mine was likely around 27 pounds. This would tend to make me a bit off balance because my pack didn't totally fit me so some of the more risky foot placements were something I just had to avoid at times. We had a lovely snack break on this mountain with a beautiful view around 1:30 and hiked until 4pm when we were tired and sore but still needed to set up camp. This spot was pretty but not like some of the others we had seen. I thought it was special because  there was a deer on the other side of the creek, totally undisturbed that we were there so I thought it was a good sign. Parker had been praying about it that we would have a really good camp and went to look up the trail a ways for something prettier. On the other side of the creek around a bend there was a much prettier camp site. Parker came and got me to look at it and see if I wanted to move our stuff. I was busy looking for cool rocks in the creek at this point which felt lovely on my sore feet. So went and looked and that deer was right by the camp site on the trail as if she was saying "I was leading you here" so I told Parker I liked that one better. It was much prettier too with a bit more water movement and a sheer rock wall that the other campsite was lacking so we felt a bit more secluded. I told the deer that if she stayed there I'd give her some of my candy bar when we come back. We got our stuff and came back and she was right by the fire pit holding down the fort for us. She did not stick around for candy bar unfortunately. We set up camp there, Parker got the fire wood, I got to filtering water, we both set up the tent and built the fire together. We had a lovely dehydrated meal of chicken pad thai and after washing the mess gear we had fun in the water by the camp. It was super cold and it went to my waist when I walked in but the cold water felt good on my sore legs. I had wet boots from water crossings and most of my clothes I was wearing was wet so we made a clothes line above the fire to dry the stuff out. It got down to 45 degrees that night.

When we woke up it was pretty chilly. The fire had gone out and my pants were still damp, my boots were still damp, too. So while we ate breakfast and got camp tore down I put my boots closer to the fire and they dried out enough. While I was washing the breakfast dishes I saw a bobcat cross the creek not far from our camp. I was so impressed how quickly he crossed while keeping perfect balance on the rocks so as to not get wet. We had a lot of deep water crossings for day 2 and I wore my water shoes most of the time for the hike. We decided that if we were going to get to our air b and b reservation we would have to take a detour to make it to the car in time rather than finish up the trail loop, which is really a 3 day trail and not a 2 day trail unless you have ultralight gear. We even ditched the backpacks along the trail close to a parking lot so we could hike to the car faster and grab our packs on the way out. Along the way back I got to being super sore and slow, Parker went ahead and got the car.

We got to Mena, AR where we were staying and ate Mexican food before going to the air b and b. The air b and b was so beautiful. It was a yurt/teepee style of room with a bath house up the hill. The outside had a firepit area with lights strung up from the trees and a view of the mountains. That was our first shower in a few days and it was very needed. That was a really lovely little place to stay. Then we headed home the next morning to make it to Christ Church for testify night!

The verse I chose is "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31.  I like this because we did a lot of walking and jeepers cripes did we feel tired and sore. Sometimes I'd look around and just appreciate where we were and think "This untouched land is in God's own taste, this is what he likes. The mountains, the flowers, the trees, us drinking purified water from the creeks that is probably way healthier than any city or bottled water- this is God's taste. And yeah, it's a fallen world, humans sin, I sin, but I know Jesus took care of it and we still have these natural places to enjoy, maybe it is very similar to how he created it in the beginning here in Arkansas who knows. Go outside, put in the comments what you appreciate from it, from the biggest adventure to the butterfly on a flower- it's for you from God.

-Nichole💜