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Thanks for watching. Absolutely, shoot me an email with any questions you may have. sooiepig311@yahoo.com

Hey, thanks! I found that song on iTunes. Ozark Mountains by the BlackBerry Winter Band.

@@DixonHikes I thought that's who it was! They are a local band!!

So many trails. So little time. Right there with ya, brother. This is a nice lil off the radar loop - the shelters are awesome. I don’t see why you couldn’t roll up to one in a kayak.

Thanks! So many great trails in our home state. Few better than the OHT!

Thanks, Mr Ken! I’ll do the Foothills Trail again one of these years - want to see it in the spring with ALL those falls rolling!

Hey, Ken! The Fiery Gizzard blew me away, honestly. Just an incredible hike! Yes, I think y’all could do it as a day hike. Start early though. That stretch down & through the Gorge is quite challenging, but spectacular. The “Dog Hole” trail stays up on the ridge & bypasses the Gorge, supposedly easier. But you’d be missing the best part of the trail. IMO.

@@DixonHikes Thank you Chris, appreciate your advice!

Thanks for following along & all the kind words, Mr Ken! Hope you enjoyed the sights & sounds of the OHT. Unfortunately, I spent my Fathers Day working a 12hr shift. But yes, my wife & I are blessed with 5 kids, & now a grandson. I’m not sure I’ll have a backpacker amongst them - but my hope is to inspire them to be adventurous, step out of there comfort zone & do hard & challenging things in life. Whatever they choose to do!

@@DixonHikes As for your Father's Day, you did what a good Dad does, support his family. As for hiking: I found that starting them with short day hikes was a say to see if any interest was in them. Look forward to more of your great work.

Man, hope there’s some water flowing out there so you can cool off!

Thanks for watching! Hope you enjoyed the sights & sounds of the OHT!

This is the Buffalo National River.

@@DixonHikes when I was a teen, we rode horses at the national scenic trail ride, near fort Leonard Wood. Beautiful country great memories

Thanks for following along! Early spring is the best time of year for a hike like this IMO. Water everywhere. 12 hours of daylight. No bugs. Birds chirping. Great views with leaf-off, & watching the forest come alive with each passing day.

@@DixonHikes I meant to ask why at 4:33 you labeled it "The Narrows" instead of "The Nars" 😁

Oh, Y’know. For the non-Arkie-talkin’-folk out there. 😅

Daddy is more proud of you! Love you! 😘

Thanks for watching, Brad! All I see is a Sasquatch flappin’ his gums @ 7:24 😅

I was watching in low quality and see now it was just something in a tree. 😆

Thanks for watching, Gary. The Sheltowee Trace is on my to-do list!

​@@DixonHikesThe southern end of the trail in Ky and Tenn is rough, rough, rough.

Nice. It’s wider than it looks on camera, you can do it! Just take plenty of water for the climb back up to the Centerpoint Trailhead.

Thanks for following along, bro! What an incredible hike this was. Time to plan the next one!

Thanks for watching & helping to maintain this gorgeous trail, Skint!

Dude, I would’ve hiked 5 miles in the rain for that fish basket & fried apple pie!

It’s scheduled for Sunday 5/26 @ 9am. Thanks for watching!

Thanks, y’all. The eclipse was insane! So glad I planned this hike around it, so worth it!

Thanks man. Incredible hike! 10/10 recommend.

The Eclipse was incredible! Ouachita Trail 2045 for the next one! 😂

Got to that intersection & asked myself “do you have time?” I said “MAKE TIME!” As you well know Darlin’, definitely worth the 2 mile side trip to ole Fuzzybutt!

Nothing like the backpacking community!

I can only imagine. Wasn’t in great shape when I hiked through there, either. Hwy 7 east doesn’t get near the traffic as the western end of the OHT. Appears most people skip the trail from mile 138-143 & just walk Falling Water Rd to Richland campground, too (Judging by the tread) which offers some of the best views of the entire trail, IMO. I went back up there to retrieve my food buckets 2 weeks after I finished, & the Ozarks had turned full jungle!

Not too shabby. Had it to myself up there. The Narrows would’ve been an epic spot to view it as well. Totality blew my mind - I was speechless.

Ken, please reach out if I can be of any help in the planning of a OT or OHT hike!

@@DixonHikes Thank you Chris, will do!

Christina came in clutch! Made my day!

How high was it when you crossed? On my section hike it was over waist high, freezing & MOVING. Was lifting me up. Absolutely terrifying!

@DixonHikes waist deep when I crossed. I had my feet almost taken out from under me. My trekking poles were vibration from the fast flowing water. After I crossed, I lay down on that big flat rock trying to warm up.

Yikes! I’m enjoying your Ozark Trail vids. Should I hike it?

@DixonHikes The video that just went up is my last one. I got off at the halfway mark. Blisters on feet and sleeping pad not holding. Was looking at 3 days of 80 degree days. It has some good views but mostly a walk in the woods. I plan on going back in the fall and finishing it. It's a good trail all in all. It would be a good hike for you.

I’m still nursing blisters from the OHT. Nothing worse than a leaky sleeping pad on trail! I’ll take a nice walk in the woods over road walking or shared horse trail any day of the week. Ozark Trail hasn’t been on my short list, but just might plan it for spring ‘25.

Man, it’s THOSE moments I cherish most when I look back at my hikes. My backpacking journey has been all about self-discovery. Connecting with nature is very powerful, life changing even. I always say: you wanna know about someone? Go play 18 holes of golf with them. Wanna know about yourself? Go on a long hike, solo! Have a great hike. Enjoy the boulder fields of Richland! Some beautiful creeks/drainages through there.

YAAASSSS! Thank you, Christina! I just got a text from Mark that you reached out to him - he gave me your #. I’ll text ya!

Oh, & if you look closely @ 6:45 you make an appearance in my video! Ha

I saw it!! Ha ha too funny! You should have your spoon tomorrow or Friday. Loving the videos!

Nice! I’ll hike the Sylamore section this winter, more than likely. And I need to clean up Grinders to Dillards Ferry. Mentally, I checked out of this hike as soon as I got on the BRT. Horse 💩 all over the trail, horse 💩 in the creek beds, & all that road walking - just doesn’t do it for me after hiking through basically pristine wilderness for 160 miles.

Hell yeah, man! Only time I got wet in 12 days was a 2-mile hike on Hwy 65 in Marshall to the Daisy Queen for a fish basket & fried apple pie. Late night second dinner Dominoes run was a must!

Thank you, Catherine. The calorie deficit was real after the first 3 days. Hard for me to eat when it’s that hot/humid, all the food is dry, & drinking 6-7 liters of water a day. Made up for it when I got to town though!

Love that area. I could live down there.

So many waterfalls, around every corner it feels like.

Would’ve loved to camp up there, but had to push on to beat the rain that never showed up. Ha

What are you using for a phone holder as you video?

I’ve been using the Manfrotto mini tripod for the past few years. Kind of limits some of the shots I can get (used to carry a 6ft tripod) but the wide-angle lens really helps with that. It’s held up well, no complaints! Costs around $35 I think.

Wow, got out in the nick of time. What a scary day - I watched a live stream on CZcams from Winding Stair Shelter as it was approaching Breckinridge/i430. Then was glued to it pretty much the rest of the day, worried about my family (we live just south of LR).

Thanks, Rick. It’s amazing what we take for granted in everyday life!

The ole iPhone 14 Pro does a pretty decent job, for the videos I make. It’s actually way smoother before CZcams compresses it down. Maybe one of these days I’ll invest in a legit camera. Thanks for watching, man.

Yeah man, pretty incredible. I did run into a westbound thru-hiker as I was leaving Little Piney Creek. Only 1 person for 4 1/2 days until I reached Haw Creek Campground that Friday. Alone with nothing but your own thoughts. Hell, I got to where I didn’t even want to hear the sound of my own voice! Ha #seclusion

LMAO !!

I appreciate you watching, @Toro153. And thanks for the kind words. Although, my purpose & motivation for this channel & videos isn’t to be a “content creator” or an “influencer.” I’m just a guy documenting his adventures, with the hope my kids & grandkids will be inspired to go on their own adventures! If anyone else enjoys them, inspires them to do these trails - then it’s a bonus!

@@DixonHikes that’s why I greatly enjoy your vids, no agenda.

Probably the best compliment I’ve ever got on my channel. Thank you for that. 👊🏼

Thanks man. Gorgeous through there!

Thanks, Ken. Has a few confusing spots, but overall marked very well. It does cross its share of forest service roads, but overall yes, very much a wilderness experience. As you’ll see, after 160 miles the road walks become more prevalent. I made sure my food caches were well hid! Thanks for watching. Some gorgeous scenery coming up.

We’ll see, John! I’ve gotta stop doing these trails multiple times first. Ha. I need to hike the Ozark Trail, Grinders Ferry to Dillards Ferry, & the Sylamore section of the OHT to accomplish that. I appreciate you watching!

Indeed, Rick!

I would agree that the OHT has more highlights. There are some truly memorable sections dropping into creeks with incredible waterfalls. OT is beautiful and the shelters are a great resource, but if you're doing only one trail then IMO I'd pick the OHT.

Hey Chris! Monday 29.. not sure how far behind your uploads are… that storm took out a lot of trees up here in Newton county. Our creeks up so won’t get down to check our portion of trail yet ( chancel to east crossing of hurricane) so can’t tell ya how rough it will be. Hope you are safe n well.high water had some really bad spots about two weeks ago. A fellow from Tulsa adopted it so it may be better now.

@@herbhometales8255thanks for the heads up! Uploads are a few weeks behind - I finished on April 10th. But good info for anyone heading out there! Thanks!

@rungavagairun Peak Refuel & Packit Gourmet are far & away my favorite backpacking meals. The other Mendes signature meal, Vennison Country Casserole, is also very, very good. While I would agree that the OHT is the more scenic of the two. I wouldn’t necessarily call it the better trail. When I section hiked them both, 4 & 5 years ago respectively. I would’ve told you that the Ouachita is the more difficult of the two, & the OHT is the better & more scenic trail. Now that I’ve thru-hiked them both, I’m not so sure. 🤷🏻‍♂️Water features on the OHT are incredible. Water everywhere, waterfalls around every corner! Way more views/vistas on the Ouachita. The OT I think is better maintained, the shelters/social aspect is a plus I think (this coming from a solo backpacker who LOVES solitude on the trail). There’s more of a community around the OT as well, which adds to the charm I think. We’re extremely lucky to have them both - & you should 100% hike the OHT, you’ll love it. As for me - I’m not sure I’ll ever thru-hike the OHT again. Certainly there are areas I will revisit. And I do plan to hike all of the trail as it’s completed, even bushwhack through the Lower Buffalo…..as for the Ouachita Trail, I’ll 100% thru-hike it again, & maybe even yo-yo it one of these years!

@@DixonHikes lol.. kinda figured 🤪

Thanks, brother. The Marinoni Area is a special place.

Day 3 was a tough one. 10.5 hours of hiking. I throttled it back a bit on days 4 & 5, since I was ahead of schedule. Thanks for following along, Rick!