Fall in the Ozarks–And a Fall in the Ozarks

Self Portrait on the Bridge at Smith Creek

A new adventure awaited me recently.  A large amount of rain in at the same time that fall colors are appearing led me to leave the slightly elevated Crowley’s Ridge and journey over to the Buffalo River drainage in northwest Arkansas.

My plans were to camp out for a couple of nights in the back of my pickup that has a hard top on the bed.  This would give me several days of cheap shooting with near-perfect conditions of overcast days and some rain.  With waterfalls already flowing it just couldn’t get any better.

Indeed it couldn’t.  In fact, it could only get worse.  The first morning started well enough with me dropping down into the drainage at the start of the journey to Compton’s Double Falls(or as I like to call it Wyatts’ Folly in honor of my needing rescue from this spot earlier this year).  I came right onto Ambers’ Falls and began to take some images.  Within minutes I was in some of the hardest rain I ver seen.  Over 20 minutes of it before a bit of a let up.  Then the hard winds began with widowmakers hitting the ground all around me.  They were still in place from the ice storm this past spring.

This was all I needed to abort the day.  I drove to Little Rock and spent the night with my sister-in-law Linda.  I got dried out and did the drenched laundry.  After cleaning my gear I enjoyed a great home-made chicken-fried rice dinner and an early bedtime.

Three AM found me on the road with my chosen spot today of Smith Creek.  This gem of a spot is owned by the Nature Conservancy and is available for all to enjoy.  I spent most of the day here shooting the ample side drainage and the creek itself.  Not another soul was there and the light and weather was perfect for making images.  I even enjoyed a power nap after my lunch of tuna/crackers/pudding/and cookies.

Cascade Along Smith Creek

Then if was more shooting and on into Jasper for a pizza at the great pizza place on the town square.  It is owned by the same fine folks who give us the Ozark Cafe next door.  I topped off my pizza with a helping of fresh blackberry cobbler right from the oven!  I ate till I hurt and I haven’t done that in a long time.

Smith Creek Autumn Afternoon

Now onto Fairview Campground right next to the Ozark Highland Trail between the bustling cities of Pelsor and Lurton.  Total population between the two MIGHT be 20 hardy souls.  At the campground I found a couple of groups of ATV riders who were enjoying the cool and cloudy evening.  In fact the clouds were moving right thru the campground.  A late evening cup of hot soup and hot chocolate prepared on my JetBoil(www.jetboil.com ) stove(single use propane with self-starter..it RULES by boiling about 20 oz of water in about 3 minutes).  And off the sleep in the back of the truck.  The top protected me the intermittent drizzle and I could see the clouds rolling thru the campground.  A bottle to empty my bladder in during the night and I was set.  tomorrow was the day I was going to shoot at the Twin Falls of Richland.  A magical spot and one I had long wanted to visit.  It looked like something I could do with the help of a waterfall guidebook by Arkansan waterfall guru Tim Ernst.

The morning came quickly and with it a new set of problems.  My truck would not start.  Evidentially I used the ACC too much in the evening.  I could not take a chance that I did not have battery problems so I decided to run down to Russellville to get my battery checked.  The battery grade out perfect but now I was over two hours behind schedule.  Little did I realize how helpful this would actually be in the grand scheme of things.

Water Chute

Arriving at the parking spot above Smith Cemetary close to Iceledo Gap about 1200 I made the walk down the very rough road.  The was another car at my parking spot and a SUV/crossover at the cemetary.  So TWO photographers are in here now.  Great -I will have some company I thought.  Then I heard someone thrashing thru the brush and soon I meet Matt McCllellan-another photographer.  He told me it was not too bad a journey until the last half-mile or so close to Twin Falls.  That was a bugger he said.  He also said the owner of the crossover was Ed Cooley-another photographer I know by exchanging comments on a message board.Ed was shooting Twin Falls and would be in there awhile yet.  I bid Matt a good day and I started to head through the thick brush and briars to find the old logging road I needed.  After 10 minutes I gave up ever trying to find the logging road.  It was now 1230 and I decided to change the plan.  I am not so strong and brave of an adventurer to continue on myself so I decided to switch  locations once again for the evening.  Lo and behold but I find ANOTHER photographer locking his car at the cemetary as I struggle out of the woods.

This time it is Glenn Wheeler.  I know Glen from his website(glennwheeler.com) and now I know him in person.  Glenn also planned to shoot Twin Falls and so we decide to try it together.  Glenn is experienced at backcountry travel and with two of us together we should be able to handle about anything.  did I mention that Glenn is an EMT and volunteer SAR who has extensive training?  He has participated in many extractions from the backcountry.  Little did we realize he was about to participate in another!

We could not find the logging road either but between the two of us and our GPS units we felt like we could get where we needed.  We also both carry the SPOT unit(findmespot.com).  This handy device will use GPS to find your position and report on your progress to a group of people whom you specify.  If will send text messages to cell phones and email also.  There are two other buttons on this device.  One is for Help…you need help but are not in danger.  The other is 911 and it sends a message to the Air Force who then gets in contact with the closest rescue squad to the reported position and starts a full-fledged rescue operation.  I had one of these since my adventure earlier this year getting lost going out of Compton’s Double Falls.  I needed just one person to get me out and he recommended this device highly and so I now have one.  This device would play a very important role for one the aforementioned photographers in the area.

Bushwhacking our way slowly and steadily to our objective we stopped about 3:30 and decided to abort the attempt today.  We were still at least 30 minutes from the falls and if we took only 30 minutes to shoot some images we would still be well after dark making our way out of this jungle.  We both had headlights and I also carried my trusty Surefire flashlight also light was not a problem.  But we were already tired starting to stumble a bit.  Within a short time Glenn found the logging road we had been searching for and even with the many lay-downs on it that had to be dodged our journey out was much quicker.  Within 30 minutes we were over halfway to our take-out spots.  Soon  we heard voices in front of us and soon coming our way is obviously a rescue squad carrying equipment including a spine board and a paramedic with a full  pre=”full “>medpak.  they noted out SPOTs and asked us if we had activated them.  We both checked ours for this and when we replied no the squad looked very disappointed.  I knew immediately it had to be Ed Cooley whom I also knew carried one of  the devices.

He had activated his device about 2 pm and his location was reported to be very close to Twin Falls.  Exactly where we had been going!  It was now about 4:30 pm.  Glenn and I sent the squad on ahead and we ran the last half mile out to our cars.  We switched out packs- Glenn donning a SARpak with high-angle extraction rope-pulley stuff and me putting on his large EMT medpak.  He has at least 4 more packs in his Jeep!  We head back down the trail and marked it with tape as we were going in as many more rescuers were on the way.  Over 35 to be exact!  About  6 pm we catch up with the first group and another group passes us.  Now there are at least three separate groups looking for Ed and trying to make their way to the Twin Falls.  By 6:30 PM we have to activate our headlights and press on.  By 7:30 PM the rescue squads are losing battery power for their radios and the squad with the paramedic is out of contact with everyone else.  they were not in the initial or second group to make contact with Ed due to location/navigation issues.  By 7PM the Air Force has advised us that the beacon appeared to have moved in a circle close to its first reported activation but now has been in the same spot for over two hours.  Due to communication issues and exhaustion the rescue squad leader is mulling over calling off the search for the night and starting again early in the AM.  Just at that time over the radio another squad of Forest Service personnel reported that they think they are seeing the SPOT’s blinking green LEDs in the distance and in just a few minutes later they report finding Ed.

By now it is now after 8:30 pm.  I am stumbling over everything and the squad leader Phillip is in the same boat.  We elect to hike out as we could not help with extraction anyway.  I pass my medpak to another willing soul and Phillip and make our way out.  After 10:30 pm we stumble to Smith Cemetary where a large group of support personnel feed and water us.  We learn that Glenn has reached Ed and he has an open fracture of his lower leg and other undetermined injuries.  He fell from near the top of one of the falls when a piece of rock gave way beneath his feet. He is in good spirits and the extraction process will now start. We also learn that he was found partially in the water, the temperature of which is no warmer than 60 degrees F.  So good for him that he was found tonight.  Several more hours in the water and no telling what the result might have been.  I wondered how they would get him out as there is no good close spot within half  a mile of these falls that a helicopter could land.  And to carry him out once he is extracted from the falls/bluffs will be tough as there is very few places even on the logging road that a group of people could carry another out without running into a tree every two feet or so.

I get back to my truck and start down to Russellville where I plan to spend the night in a soft bed.  And then onto home in the morning. I called my wife Susan and reported the events to her as there is hardly ever any cell phone service in that area of the Ozark National Forest and Richland Creek Wilderness.

The next morning I learn that Ed was not airlifted out until almost 10AM.  He was undergoing surgery that afternoon with other surgeries anticipated in the near future.

What a few days in the wilderness!  I got a a newfound appreciation for the thousands of volunteer SAR people over all the United States and certainly the ones in NW Arkansas.  Spending their own money for training and equipment-not to mention gasoline!  they can not be appreciated more.  I can only hope if I am ever injuring in the backcountry I get the opportunity to have dedicated folks like these trying to help me.  That day was one of the hardest physically I have every endured and I can not imagine how those that stayed did it.

Smith Mossy Cascade

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