Eagle Rock Loop in Arky

Have made it twice. We camped on Eagle Rock Vista, it was beautiful. Not good to do when its cool out, alot of water crossing and when water is moving it's easy to end up wet. Lol

I did it the same weekend.

Little MO falls CCW. I took my 20 degree quilt but felt like my 50 would have been fine.

It’s a great hike.

Did the loop about 13 years ago (give or take a few years). It was right after some terrible flooding had ruined the camping area. We were inexperienced and over estimated our abilities. We packed way too heavy and set out just before dark and only made it about a mile on Friday night before setting camp. We had to be back on the road Sunday afternoon. One buddy brought his girlfriend and the pace we kept about ruined her for hiking forever. We carried her and her pack the last couple miles on Sunday. We still enjoyed it but our ignorance really robbed all the fun out of the trip. I still want to go back and do it again but do it right next time.

Last time I did it, my dog hurt/cut her foot in the section with all the up downs and couldn’t walk. My truck was on the far other side of the trail.

It was a miserable hike to the nearest road and took longer than expected to hitch a ride back to my truck.

That aside, it’s not Colorado, but it’s a great trail and has a lot of variety: woods, “mountains”, rivers, etc. Not many 26 mile loops like that in this part of the country.

quote:

---

Did the loop about 13 years ago (give or take a few years). It was right after some terrible flooding had ruined the camping area. We were inexperienced and over estimated our abilities. We packed way too heavy and set out just before dark and only made it about a mile on Friday night before setting camp. We had to be back on the road Sunday afternoon. One buddy brought his girlfriend and the pace we kept about ruined her for hiking forever. We carried her and her pack the last couple miles on Sunday. We still enjoyed it but our ignorance really robbed all the fun out of the trip. I still want to go back and do it again but do it right next time.

---

that's a bummer. to complete the hike from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, you really must have been booking it. add in overly heavy packs AND a cumbersome girlfriend along, and that does make for a rough trip.

I've backpacked the Eagle Rock Loop several times, always with my dog and sometimes with my son.

Another similar length/difficulty/views loop to consider is the Cheaha loop in Alabama, near Talladega. I've done the Cheaha several times, most recently last month and will be there again this weekend.

Cheaha has MUCH easier access to civilization though, including nearly constant cellular signal. Eagle Rock Loop has very little cell signal for the entire loop.

The weather for the Eagle Rock Loop and the Cheaha Loop are surprisingly always nearly identical. I sometimes will do one or the other based upon forecast...

If you wait till it’s green, be sure to treat everything with permethrin. Ticks galore.

IMO late November or March is ideal.