This week I culminated walking and hiking 300 miles since September. It seemed fitting to solo backpack on the Lake Wedington Trail, a hiking trail which extends from Lake Wedington to the Illinois River between highways 16 and 412. [See Tim Ernst's, Arkansas Hiking Trails for a detailed description and trail map for this 15-18 mile round trip dayhike/backpack.]
Lake Wedington Trail topo detail is in shaded gray box. Click for larger view. See Ernst's description for trail map.
When my folks moved to Fayetteville in 1969, we lived on Weddington Drive for several years. [The name seems to have been spelled with two Ds and has dropped one of them along the way somewhere.] I bushwhacked and observed nature in the woods on Markham Hill at the end of Sang Ave. and watched from the mountain behind the Marinoni’s place as Hwy. 71 by-pass was being built. It was twelve miles out to Lake Wedington, and dad would take me there to hunt and fish. When I started to fly-fish, I waded the Illinois river at its confluence with Clear Creek at Howe Savoy, which is just east of the lake. I fished with dad’s fiberglass rod, a Medalist reel and popping bugs and learned to pitch them under overhanging trees for sunfish and bass.
Wedington was not known as very good deer hunting woods even at that time, as it had been overhunted for many years. Dad and I would squirrel hunt, but I don’t think we ever killed a squirrel. There just was not much wildlife. Most people went there to target practice. There has always been a good population of birds and especially woodpeckers, however, and birders like the area and often watch for male woodcock displays in late February.
The trail is a hiking/mountain bike trail that starts at the lake and runs due north, parallel to the Illinois River. Apparently, there is quite of bit of trail use by a horse outfitter that sends groups down to the Illinois River where the trail ends. Several areas of the trail, north of the Forest Service road that bisects it, showed eroded areas and reroutes caused by horses or mules. Because there was an active camp at the primitive campsite along the river —judging from trail use, dogs barking and shooting going on—, I avoided this area and camped at the terminus of the spur Twin Mountain trail. I would have liked to have seen the river, but really wanted to avoid other parties as much as possible on this trip.
Some years ago, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission partnered with the Forest Service to begin a new wildlife management plan for the area. Hunting was closed to reestablish a deer herd, free range shooting was prohibited, and off road vehicles were banned. This has had a big impact on improving the management area. As a good omen for my hike Thursday, I saw 8-9 large, healthy deer bounding away within the first two miles of my hike. It was good to be in the woods I grew up in and actually see wildlife!
Another wildlife moment came just at dusk on Thursday evening. I stood admiring the south peak and the mile long saddle that runs between it and its sister peak where I camped. Black and white movement from the right caught my eye. A bald eagle sailed east towards the river right above the saddle and between the peaks! I get to see many eagles but cannot recall seeing one in flight from above and certainly not from such a unique vantage point. The moment was worth all the effort it took to get there and back.
Water sources are scarce the last 2-3 miles of the trail if you don’t visit the river, so be sure to take along plenty to get you through the day and overnight. I filtered some water at the stream south of the first peak the next morning when I was returning.
Enjoy the photo essay. It’s a great backpack trip in our backyard.
© 2012, Scott Branyan
