BRYANT CREEK STATE PARK EXPEDITION!

In 2024, I went with friends from "Women Hiking the Ozarks" abbreviated "WHO" to do a hike at a place that had never been on our schedule before.  It was Bryant Creek State Park (www.mostateparks.com), which was added to the Missouri system in 2022.  As always, our group "circled up" at the beginning, to go over the instructions from our volunteer trail coordinators, tell our names, and number off.  (The goal being to have the same number at the end of the hike, as at the beginning!)  The concrete pad where we are gathered also serves as the handicap parking spot, for the two pit toilets, which are handicapped accessible.  The covered kiosk on the left, had helpful information posted behind the glass, plus a container that had paper maps, a hiker could take with them while exploring.

Our large group divided into those who wanted the longer, more difficult hike and those who wanted the shorter, less difficult hike.  I was in the group who wanted the shorter distance, and I took the photo below of my group, when we started our journey:

The long trail group hikers are TOUGH!

At one point far from our starting point, the two groups crossed paths.  I was in the group with their backs facing the camera, while the longer mileage hikers are facing the camera. 

The photo below shows 3 ladies conferring with their map, while the lady at the left of the photo worked on the ambitious goal of getting a very wide angle photo that would show the entire group. 

What the map readers were trying to figure out, is where we were in terms of the waterfall that is listed on the map.  Eventually, we came across the (barely flowing) waterfall, and it is pictured behind me.  We were visiting the area during deer hunting season, which accounts for my bright orange attire. 

  The bluffs that occur throughout the park add to its biodiversity, with a bioinventory indicating 940 kinds of plants, shrubs, wildflowers, and trees.  The photo below shows one of our hikers beside an outcrop of sandstone. 

The park brochure says ledges of Roubidoux sandstone, stacked two or three layers tall, follow the ins and outs of the area hills and hollows.  Sometimes our trail was on top of the sandstone, sometimes beside it, and sometimes between it, as shown in photo below:

The Ozarks is famous for its "hills and hollers", which means there may be a bit of water flowing through the hollers at the bottom of the hills.  As a trail patrol volunteer with the Arkansas Master Naturalists (www.arkansasmasternaturalists.org), I can appreciate the labor that is required to create a trail through a heavily wooded area.  The trails here were built with the assistance of team Fire 1 of AmeriCorps NCCC, a full-time service program (www.americorps.gov) allowing young adults ages 18-26 to serve in communities across the country to learn leadership skills. 

When I was at the park last November, I read the information at the kiosk, that said a track chair was available, by advance reservation, for visitors to the parks.  When I contacted the park to arrange a demonstration in December, the ranger explained that it generally is not available during December, January, February, and March because of weather-related issues, so I was delighted when the park ranger, Nick, followed up with me again in April, indicating that a demonstration of the track chair could now be scheduled.  Friends of mine from church (R and C) were also interested in learning about the track chair, and we are shown below:

After the park ranger explained how it worked,  the liability release form had been signed, and identity verified by R showing a photo ID driver's license, we were ready to start rolling!  C is shown below, using the track chair as it was set up, upon our arrival.  C has limited use of her right hand, so she was having to reach across her body, to operate the "joy stick" that controls the chair, with her still-functional left hand.  This was not an "ergo-efficient" movement, and proved to be very tiring for her left hand. 

Thankfully, there was a solution, as the ranger explained that the controls could be moved to the opposite side of the chair, with advance notice, but he did not have the necessary tools with him, to make the change at that time.  That is when R pulled out a fully-equipped tool bag out of his van, and the two guys started the process of switching the sides of the chair that the joy stick was located.  It did not require a change in the electronics cord, just a matter of unscrewing the control boxes for the electronics, and transferring them behind the chair, to be relocated to the opposite side. The chair runs on battery power, with the amount of battery charge remaining, displayed on the arm controls.  Because of the limited battery power, it is generally recommended that the chair can only be used for a two hour time period, before needing to be recharged at an electrical source. 

It was inspiring to see these two work together on a common goal! 

The chair was much easier for C to maneuver with the controls on the left:

C has an electric wheel chair at home that uses a "joy stick", so once she had the controls on the left side, she was ready to go "full throttle" on the trail!  (The speed is adjustable incrementally, from 1 (slowest) to 5 (fastest).    The photo below shows she was several feet ahead of me, as I was a walker; and, the photo also shows the golden "track chair" blaze on the pine tree, as well as illustrating there are park benches along the trail used by the track chair. 

This tree shows the blazes (hiking trail markers) used for all the trails at Bryant Creek State Park.  The red rectangle designates the  4.5 mile Pike Hollow Trail, the yellow rectangle designates the Pinewoods Trail, and the blaze below it with the symbol for the track chair, means this section is where the track chair is permitted.  The liability release form that a participant signs, indicates the chair is equipped with a GPS locator, so the possibility of a person in the chair getting lost in the woods is minimal.  Also, the liability release form one signs, indicates that park personnel are not allowed to assist the user into or out of the chair, so most users will need to have a helper with them for that maneuver.  The form also states that their photo/video may be used by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, while they are using the action track chair.  However, before I published their photos, I asked C and R, if it was okay for me to do so, which they said was okay.  By the way, the blazes in this photo (which do not harm the trees) are on trees that are partly responsible for the development of Bryant Creek State Park.  That is because the park acreage has a nice stand of Missouri's only native Shortleaf Pine. 

One reason I became interested in accessibility to the outdoors is that decades ago, my nephew was teaching hang-gliding at a location in Southern California.  A gust of wind caught his hang-glider, slamming him against a cliff.  The injury resulted in him having lower body paralysis, causing him to be confined to a wheelchair from then on.  Another learning experience was the week I spent at a Road Scholar (www.RoadScholar.org) program at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, in Hyde Park, New York.  Learning about the difficulties FDR had when he was confined to a wheel chair after a bout with polio, I was impressed by his determination.  I remember in particular a quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt saying to the effect, that he had just signed into existence, a new USA National Park, that he would never be able to enjoy, as a person confined to a wheel chair.  Fortunately, since that time, progress has been made to correct that situation.  One group that I follow on social media that has the goal of taking mobility-impaired folks to places they could never go otherwise, is called Luke5Adventures (www.Luke5Adventures.org).  Using a "chair cycle" (similar to what is used in mountain rescues) they take people on some, otherwise unattainable for the paralyzed person, trails.  The name comes from the passage in Luke 5:17-26, that tells about the men who carried a paralyzed man to Jesus for healing, gaining access to Jesus, by lowering the man down through a hole in the roof of the room where Jesus was teaching.  They were demonstrating faith and friendship in action! 

Seeing the faith and perseverance my nephew, my friends C and R, and other wheel-chair folks at my church demonstrate, despite their challenges, is an uplifting testimony.  It is in stark contrast I had many years ago, when making patient rounds at the hospital I worked.  I entered a paralyzed patient's room, to find out his food preferences, and he started cursing at me and throwing objects at me, such that I had to leave the room.  His anger was completely understandable, which makes a good attitude in the same situation, so amazing to me.  

 Hopefully, enabling folks to get out into God's Great Outdoors, will point them to a new-found strength, through accessibility advances, like a track chair.  My experiences at Bryant Creek State Park, both hiking and observing the track chair, gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia




 

GPS WILDFLOWER EXPEDITION!

When you take the training to become a certified Arkansas Master Naturalist ( wordpress.arkansasmasternaturalists.org ), there are several books that are included as a part of your registration fee.  One of those books is the wildflowers book shown in this photo.  Even through Arkansas is not listed as one of the areas shown on the cover, many of the flowers identified in this book may also be found in Arkansas.   Although an actual GPS device is not included in the registration fee, participants are given numerous opportunities to learn how to use a GPS device in the natural world, in ways that make recording significant locations, easier to find.

This photo shows a group of North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists who met up on a chilly morning in early spring of this year, for the purpose of photographing and marking the GPS location of wildflowers we could find along the Dogwood Trail in Lakeview, Arkansas ( www.cityoflakeview.com ). 

Besides making notes on the GPS devices, and automatic dating/mapping of photographs taken, there was also a "hard copy" (aka, pencil and paper) record kept, of what we found.

This photo shows that in addition to phones, cameras, and GPS devices, some folks were also using tablets and i-pads for recording data and photographs.  (Did I mention it was CHILLY!!??  Hence, the need for "convertible" mittens!)

The Dogwood Trail is close to Bull Shoals Lake, in north central Arkansas.  It is accessed by entering the Corps of Engineers Campground at Lakeview.

Instead of switchbacks to get from the top of the hill to the lakeshore area, the Corps has put in these steps, and wooden railing. 

The Dogwood Trail is a pleasant 3-mile-out-and-back (1.5 miles each way) jaunt.  This sign indicates it has a 2 hour average walking time, but that is totally dependent on how many curiosities of nature one wants to investigate along the way.  Our group was doing LOTS of photography and GPS mapping, so we were on the trail considerably longer than two hours.

In this photo, a Master Naturalist has spotted a tiny little flower coming out of the hard winter ground, and it is no bigger than a penny! (Which is appropriate, because that is the hiker's name!)  She is photographing it with her smart phone, identifying it, and recording the GPS, co-ordinates for future reference. 

With special apps available for smart phones, all of the above can be done with a single "tap" of the finger!  The app notes a location with a "stick pin icon".  Then when the user clicks on the stick pin, the GPS co-ordinates will come up, along with any notes that have been added to describe the location. 

This may seem like a daunting task, which it is; however, our little group was just concentrating on spring wildflowers.  There is a DIFFERENT group of North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists, that met weekly for several years, to complete a bio-inventory of the huge expanse of Bull Shoals-White River State Park!  Now, that was a DAUNTING TASK, on a whole different level!  The data this group of volunteers collected (which had the blessing of being led by a Master Naturalist volunteer who is a professional botanist) will be invaluable as the years go by, so that comparisons can be made of plants found in the park in the year 2050, as compared to those found in the park in the early 2000's. 

Note in this photo how there is a clearly-defined trail that leads to the stream at the bottom of the hill?  Note that there are fallen leaves on either side of the trail?  Do you think that happens by itself???  NOoooooo!!  Members of the North Central Arkansas Trail Patrol regularly work on Dogwood Trail (and many others in the area) with a leaf blower, clippers, rakes, etc., to ensure a "defined" walking path for visitors.  If the leaves had not been blown off this path, it would be invisible to anyone trying to negotiate their way to the bottom.  So next time you are out enjoying our wonderful hiking trails, don't take them for granted!  In fact, you might consider being a volunteer to help keep them open to visitors!

In this photo, our project leader, Jeff H., was not using a smart phone to take the necessary photo, rather his electronic tablet. 

His device had a special "clip-on" macro photography lens, that gave him the detail he was wanting in his pictures of the tiny wildflowers. 

Most field guides for wildflowers will give descriptions and illustrations of the plant in various seasons/stages of growth.  Whereas, if there was only a photograph of a wildflower in full bloom, it might not be as easy it identify, if you were seeing it when it first emerges from the ground. 

In addition to looking on the ground, we did a bit of investigating of the buds that were beginning to come out on the some of the trees.  In cases such as this, the bark of the tree can also be helpful for identification purposes.

I took this photo of Jeff, as he made photographic records of the topography along the trail. 

And here I am, with hands uplifted, giving thanks that I made it to the turn-around point of Dogwood Trail!

We recorded the GPS location of this early bloomer, so that in future years, we can go back and see if it continues to survive in this location.  These records will also provide data that can show trends toward "early spring", "late spring", drought, and other changing climactic conditions.

I included this photo to show what a wildflower looks like in its "pre-blossom" phase.

Here is that same species of wildflower, but with the yellow bloom starting to emerge.

I am

using this photo of a "Trout Lily" wildflower, as a visual aid for my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verse that says, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:18  This bloom will soon be "unseen", but thanks to GPS co-ordinates taken on its location, we can "fix our eyes" for future viewing, keeping in mind that God's glory is eternal!

The North Central Arkansas chapter of the Arkansas Master Naturalists will be starting a new session in January, 2019, and interested persons can check out their website, referenced earlier, for information on how to sign up.  The Master Naturalist leader (Jeff H.) of this particular GPS mapping hike of wildflowers, has a blog that has great information on other hikes of interest in north Central Arkansas.  You can check it out at  www.ncahiking.blogspot.com/    I am extremely thankful that I live in an area so filled with the beauty of God's creation, and also thankful for all the wonderful people I have met through my participation in the Arkansas Master Naturalist organization!   All of these attributes of Ozarks living has given me "MILES OF SMILES"!!!   Tricia