​If I'm honest (and I'm going to be), Pigeon Roost Trail at Hobb's State Park was a little bit of a disappointment. However, I have to qualify why it was a disappointment. It was only a disappointment because it looks exactly like the forest around my home. Hobb's is the nearest state park to me, and the Pigeon Roost Trail, for all the great nature around me, looked like I was hiking the MTB trails around Bentonville and Bella Vista. I was, after all, still in the neighborhood, and if I have the option to run, bike, or hike a trail that is (or feels) familiar,  I'm going with run as the first choice. I love trail running in places I know, and I felt like I knew Hobb's immediately because of the landscape. Much of the trail was a ravine just like Bella Vista's MTB trails.

Still, I had a great morning doing a four mile loop at Hobb's, and unlike Bella Vista, I was able to sit down and rest at an amazing overlook. One of the great things about a solo hike is hitting the point in the journey when you become a philosopher. There is nobody else around. You have run through all your daydreams. You begin to think about what you believe in and why you believe it. Sometimes it shows the flaws in your logic and gives you the opportunity to change.

​I will say that this was supposed to be my weekend to overnight backpack, and I decided not to camp mid-week because they were calling for storms. I didn't want my first overnight backpacking trip to be miserable because of some strong thunderstorms. Just last year (13 months ago to be more exact), we had some storms that became torrential downpours with incredibly dangerous straight line winds that knocked down trees all through Northwest Arkansas. Those storms, and the damage I still see in the forests around my house, were on my mind when I canceled the backpack portion of my Saturday trip.

Of course, by Saturday morning the storms were out of the forecast, but I decided to return home Saturday afternoon and relax with a campfire in the backyard with my wife instead of putting up a tent or hammock at the park. I still want to do an overnight backpack this year, but this wasn't the right weekend. I'm considering something in November or even, temperatures permitting, a December trip.

F​or the first time, I made it to a hipcamp spot in time to enjoy myself, and I'm glad this was the location for that to finally happen. My previous trips to Pristine Pines and Petit Jean Farm Orchard had been very quick trips in which I barely had time to put up my tent before the sun was down. 

Indian Hills Lake is a privately owned campground and lake just outside of Cabot. To be honest, I had never heard of it despite it being a short 15 minute drive from my sister's house, and it was nice to have my brother-in-law and sister visit my campsite for a couple hours in the evening.

Since I had the time (and because my spot was so full of rocks, I decided to hammock camp for the evening. It was my first time setting up the full combination of tarp, hammock, and bug net. while the tarp was unnecessary (the temperature was perfect and there wasn't a cloud in the sky), it was good practice. 

For me, I found there were three negatives when hammock camping. The first was having to get out of the hammock in the middle of the night when nature called. It was such a pain getting my closed cell foam pad and sleeping bag back in the right position that I didn't sleep well the rest of the night.

The second issue I had with the hammock set up was how long it took to tear down. Now, I'm sure other hammock setups are probably easier, but i bought my tarp, hammock, and bug net separately from each other and each has a suspension system. So, while my backpacking tent sets up and tears down in minutes, the hammock system took about thirty minutes to set up and forty-five to tear down.

The third issue I had with the hammock set up was that I didn't have space for my pack/gear inside the hammock. Leaving things sitting around isn't my favorite way, and if I weren't car camping I wouldn't have been as comfortable. I was able to lock up my stuff in the car for the night, but were I out with a 50 liter backpack somewhere I'd have my gear just laying on the ground. I'm not keen on that.

​Back to Indian Hills. The non-electric campsites are rocky but nice. Each has a grill, fire ring, and picnic table. I didn't use the grill, but built a quick fire with some found wood, and enjoyed it while I drank a mug of wine. The owners of the site ask for no drinking in public, and I think smoking was completely prohibited, but there were some cigarette butts on the ground of my campsite.

My site was just off the third lake, a very small lake surrounded by trees, and it had a rickety but functional dock sticking out across the water. I didn't enjoy the dock before sundown, but I loved the fog across the water in the morning as I drank my coffee.

This is my favorite hipcamp find so far, and I look forward to visiting here again.

​I'm not sure why, but both times I've booked through hipcamp I have been so late to my destination that all I've gotten to do is put up my tent, have a glass of wine, and go to bed. It is a shame because I really liked the solitary nature of Prestine Pines (my first hipcamp stay) and I would have loved to spend more time at Petit Jean Farm Orchard. it is a really cool spot in central Arkansas just by (you guessed it) Petit Jean State Park in Morrilton.

First off, I'm not sure what kind of Orchard we're looking at here. In reality, the spot to set up camp was just off the highway (which made me a little nervous at first), and it didn't really "feel" like an orchard. It felt like a yard just opposite an old barn. That barn, of course, was pretty cool. It is the home to The Petit Jean Farmer's Market which is run almost entirely by the Amish.

Although I was nervous about open nature of the campsite, once the sun was down and I realized how dark and secluded the spot felt, I was much happier. This really is a good spot for a camper to pull in, but not really a good tent spot. I did enjoy sipping my cup of wine while staring up at the stars. I also enjoyed having a good cell phone connection to talk with my wife before settling down in my tent for the evening. Most campsites I go to are dead zones for cell service. Having all the bars was nice.

​The fence behind the "orchard" was a cool little track for sheep to roam back and forth. The sheep came by to check out the oddball guy sitting on the other side of the fence, but would take off whenever I got too close. 

This was my first time trying out my 27.00 backpacking tent. and I took it as an opportunity to spray it with a waterproofing spray. I enjoyed my cup 'o' wine, stared up at the stars, and talked to my wife on the phone as the waterproofer dried. Finally, I felt asleep to the sound of cicadas and owls until the sun came up in the morning.

In the morning I was able to try out my new sterno stove. It was a vast improvement over my old hobo-style aluminum can stove. I made my oatmeal and my coffee. After my breakfast, I broke down the tent, put it in a stuff sack, and headed to Memphis for the day.

​Read my First Draft from PJFO here.

​For the last year I've been using this simple can-turned-Sterno-stove to heat water while camping. It is simple, much easier than starting a campfire, and worked well to make coffee, and oatmeal in the mornings. Especially when the camping is over and all you want to do is heat some water for coffee and breakfast before you tear down your tent. I have enjoyed having the my little hobo stove. It was cheap to make out of a 50 cent can, and Sterno is only a couple bucks per can. I've always brought a small, 20 oz, pot with me to heat my water. I already had it so there was not monetary investment in case I decided I didn't want to camp, and it is very easy to keep clean.

​However, the prospect of backpacking got me looking at other stove options. I browsed alcohol stoves, gas stoves, and a few Sterno stoves. Although most people online seem to gravitate toward the gas stoves, I decided to stick with my Sterno stove. I've been using Sterno since my early days as a caterer, and I feel comfortable with it. When someone posts that Sterno won't boil water online (I've seen it), don't believe them. Sterno provides a nice, strong, blue flame and will boil water if lidded properly.

I did decide to ditch the homemade can burner. I purchased a metal stove that can be broken down and folded up for easy storage and transport. So far, I really like it. It is simple, does what it is intended to do, and was less than ten bucks delivered to my door. Additionally, instead of using the pot with a large handle I grabbed an 18 oz Ozark Trail stainless steel cup, and I purchased a lid to fit it off of Amazon. My entire cooking unit costs $20.00 including a can of Sterno heat. I'm happy with that investment.

Next to decide on which backpack to take. I could carry my old faithful external frame pack, or I could move to my brand new internal frame pack.  Oh, the decisions!

​"What's for lunch?" I wondered as I wandered the grocery aisles. I wasn't thinking about that day, but about my very first backpack trip. The trip was actually still weeks away, but I was excited and I wanted to have everything planned as best it could. So, I wandered through looking for some kind of inspiration. I wanted something substantial but not hot. Getting out my sterno hobo stove (more on that in a coming post), heating up food, and waiting for the sterno can to cool down to pack back up seemed like a huge time suck that could be spent hiking or just relaxing on the trail.

I found a product called Cochinita Pibil by a company called Chata in the Mexican foods section that looked promising. It is a stewed pork product served in pouches much like single serve tuna pouches. I decided to try it with flour tortillas to see if it would taste alright at room temperature. And it did! It is actually really good. Apparently, Cohinita Pibil is pork that is marinated in citrus before being wrapped in banana leaves and slow cooked with annatto seeds. The only issue I had is the amount of product. While my dehydrated soups could be re-packed in plastic baggies for smaller portioning, I couldn't do that with meat. And there is no way I could eat all of a pouch in one sitting. I'd hate to have to waste the food on the trail, and I couldn't save it for later so this product was out.

​Luckily, on my next grocery store visit I found barbecue pulled pork in a similar pouch only in a smaller, single serve portion. A couple tortillas topped with pulled pork sounds just right for a quick lunch on the trail.

I think I'm going to eat quite a few tortillas on the hike. I found single serve peanut butter pouches which will work great, spread over a tortilla, for a snack, and I found some similar packs filled with vanilla almond butter and honey cinnamon peanut butter which will work great for a pre-bed snack (I can't sleep on an empty stomach). I should have known that peanut butter would be largely involved on this hike. I absolutely love peanut butter. I've loved it since I was a child. Plus, it is shelf stable, calorie dense,  and comes in pretty convenient pouches.

Meals are pretty much decided! I'm going to eat a nice, hearty breakfast before hitting the trail, have barbecue tacos for lunch (side item tbd), and I'm having Idahoan creamy potato soup with Spam for dinner. Snacks will be beef jerky, peanut and almond butter on tortillas,  and, honestly, probably some candy. I'm thinking some M&Ms and a Payday will be my choice. With those two it would mean no melting if it turns out to be warm on the trail. The next morning will be some instant oats with cinnamon, raisins, and dry milk for breakfast along with a cup of instant coffee. Now, to decide tent or hammock. For that, I think I'm going to need to go car camping at least once before my hike.

I love following Instagram accounts that produce absolutely beautiful meals over open fires and bushcraft stoves in front of equally beautiful mountainous landscapes. And I've always thought that I would do something very similar on my first over overnight backpack trip. However, now that I am planning a trip, my ideas for food have been shrinking down to a much shorter goal:

Keep myself from going to bed hungry.

I turned to an issue of TrailGroove Magazine for inspiration. They had an article in issue 46 about ultralight food options. Now, I'm not going to be "ultralight" backpacking. I have Wal-Mart and Acadamy Sports not so light equipment that will get me through the journey with relative comfort. I'm even considering taking my not so light external frame backpack for the sole reason that I love it. It is huge, old, and bulky but it was my first camping purchase from a thrift store. The zippers barely work. The main pouch has two tears in the bottom. I've had to install velcro to help keep the top flap down. It is a mess, and I have a new internal frame pack, but I'm still tempted.

So, anyway, it won't be an ultralight overnighter.  I do, however, want as much food as possible while keeping the weight low. Between running, lifting weights, and skateboarding activities I need calories to maintain my 200 pound frame, and I eat a lot. I mean a lot. I'm sure hiking over five miles will make me pretty hungry too. Some of the ideas I'm using from the TrailGroove article involve instant oats for breakfast which is kind of a no-brainer as I always do instant oats for breakfast when camping. Much like I already do when camping, I add dried fruit and instant milk for added calories and protein.

For lunch they have rehydrated salsa with chips listed, but that doesn't really sound like a lunch to me. for dinner they suggested a ramen with parmesan. It was another meal that got me thinking that wouldn't really satisfy me. I know when I eat ramen at home I am a little picky. I like a boiled egg, some scallion, carrots...sometimes even a little drizzle of truffle oil (try it sometime, it is amazing). In a pinch I'll put some frozen veggies in it. I just don't care for ramen noodles in broth by themselves. So, I went to the grocery store, started looking around for some new ideas, and found a few interesting things in the soup aisle.

Here are the first three combos I have come up with:

​1.  Bear Creek Vegetable Beef Soup (with reduced sodium Beef Jerky)

I chose this soup because it has dehydrated vegetables and a larger variety of ingredients from other dehydrated soups. It has pasta, lentils, rice, carrots, and peas in a beef broth. Because of the sodium amounts in the soup I chose reduced sodium beef jerky. One packed of soup says it makes 8 servings but really it makes 4 (16 oz) servings. Add a few ounces of beef jerky crumbled into bite sized pieces and it packs a good protein punch as well. The real downside of this soup is that it takes fifteen minutes of simmering to be ready. Not a deal-breaker, but other soups cook in a third of the time.

​2.  Idahoan Creamy Potato Hearty Soup (with Spam)

This one has a better flavor than the beef soup and, because it is thick and hearty, it gives a more full feeling. One package makes two (16 oz) servings, and the spam is easily diced up and added to the soup as it cooks. One serving with one pack of Spam. I will say I was pleasantly surprised with the Spam. I have only tasted Spam one other time in my life and I remember not liking it at all. I really enjoyed the flavor in this soup.  The one thing needed to make this soup just right is some hot sauce. I'm looking around for some portion controlled packs of sriracha for the hike.

​3. Idahoan Cheddar Broccoli Hearty Soup (with Chicken)

The third soup I chose to try works pretty well with Spam or chicken, but I put chicken on the list for varieties sake. It is another potato based soup, but does have a different flavor from with the addition of cheese and broccoli.  Don't expect it to be overflowing with broccoli, but the bits of broccoli are dispersed evenly throughout. Like the creamy potato soup, this is screaming for some hot sauce (or buffalo sauce).

All of three of these make for a good entree option for my overnight backpack trip at Devil's Den. Since this trip is just an overnight, and I don't want to unpack my stove to cook lunch, I will probably opt to only take one of these with me. My money is on the creamy potato soup with Spam. I think it was probably my favorite. I'll keep the beef jerky as a high protein snack option during the hike, and I might find a way to incorporate chicken at room temp for lunch. In fact, next up on my agenda is figuring out lunch.

​It has been a little over a year since I started camping, hiking, and trail running and it is time to up the ante. I've  been considering a backpack trip to explore more of Arkansas, but I haven't had the courage to just go. All of that is changing in October. I'm planning my first overnight hike/backpack trip to Butterfield Trail at Devil's Den.

I chose Butterfield because it isn't that long, just 12 miles, and could be done in a day if someone so chose . I've read online where folks do the full hike in 7 hours (which seems a little too quick to enjoy) so it seems a good place to start. In fact, as long as things go well and I don't get eaten by a bear or mountain lion, I want to make a backpack trip an annual event in October of every year. I was born in October and I can't think of many better ways to celebrate, but to get out in nature.

I can admit, always being a "car camper" and "day hiker" so far, this trip (despite being relatively short), is a little daunting. Walking out into the woods with nothing but the pack on my back is something I've wanted to do for years, but never seemed like something I would actually do. The time, however, has come. So, you'll see a lot of posts in August and September about planning the trip. In fact, the first thing I thought about was, what will I eat, and those planning posts will start popping up on the website next week.

​It has been a long time since I've written about a restaurant experience. Honestly, it has been a long time since I've tried anything new. We rarely try anything new especially during this time of uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic. That said, when I found out there was a restaurant featuring foods from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania I was thrilled. My favorite restaurant in the world is Abyssinia in Memphis, Tennessee. The food is so full of flavor and those flavors have such a wide variety that everything there is unique. Since Kenya borders Ethiopia I thought the foods would have a similar taste and flavor. All week my wife and I talked about Abyssinia. Ethiopian lentil stew, braised cabbage, the light potato salad, the spiced split peas not to mention injera, the Ethiopian flatbread to sop up all of the stewed flavors!!! I couldn't stop thinking about it all!

Looking over the menu, I knew it would be different from my beloved Abyssinia. We were looking at coconut flavors added to rice and green peas and collard greens were on the menu. I love coconut so i was keen to try coconut mixed with whatever delectable spices they would be using. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The peas tasted like peas with a little coconut milk. They were under-seasoned not to mention under-spiced, and my coconut cardamom rice had no coconut nor cardamom since they had mistakenly given us the wrong meal. My vegan dinner for two had some kind of overcooked, dry pork product in it. Luckily, I'm not a vegetarian so it wasn't the end of the world. I was just disappointed Even the flatbread was so oil filled that it was off-putting. My wife took a few bites and trashed her plate. I was too hungry to do that, but I didn't save any leftovers to savor.

On a brighter note, I've been very into cooking with sausage lately so I also ordered the Kenyan sausages to try out. They were good, and I would try them again.

I'm sneaking this review in under the radar and not posting it to the front page of the website because I have a hope that things just didn't go right for them this time and, were I wanting to part with another 40.00 bucks on dinner with them, I have hope that it would be a better experience.

​Not nearly as big as other parks like Devil's Den or Village Creek, Crowley's Ridge makes up for size by being a very pleasant place to pitch a tent and relax. One of the other cool things about Crowley's Ridge is that, honestly, it is unexpectedly forested. While I expect heavily wooded areas in NWA and around the  St. Francis National Forest by Marianna, I generally think of the area leading into Jonesboro to be the flat delta, an area to farm not forage. I was completely mistaken about that, and it shows just how much I have to learn about this state. In fact, Crowley's Ridge State Park is built on what was an Indian campground

I got to the visitor's center, checked in to my campsite, got a map (and a couple stickers), and immediately went on a hike of the Dancing Rabbit Trail. Dancing rabbit is a 1.25 mile trail that swings down into a gully much like the mountain bike trails recently built in Bella Vista. It is a simple hike without any tough climbing involved, but was a fun little trip into the natural environment of Northeastern Arkansas. The high spot of the trail is a swinging bridge.

​After hiking the trail I decided to set up camp. I pitched my tent on a tent pad, set up my fire in a fire ring, and cooked dinner.  I was happy to have the campsite completely to myself until just before sundown when a couple other vehicles turned up and I had company. They were, thankfully, almost as quiet as me and I was able to settle in to sleep just after nightfall.

I awoke just as the sun was coming up, and used a sterno stove to brew a little coffee before tearing down camp and heading to my next destination. I'd like to stop in again to Crowley's Ridge and rent a kayak. I know the park hosts a 31 acre lake and I'd love to explore it next time.

​The original focus of iwritearkansas.com was primarily on the restaurants I traveled to along the interstates and highways from my home in the northwest corner down through the central part of the state into the delta toward Tennessee. Although, besides being a writer, I am a chef by trade, I didn't focus on fine dining experiences or the latest culinary trends. Instead my posts have been about places like Stoby's in Russellville, Johnson's Tasty Freeze in Cabot, and Poncho's in West Memphis. These are restaurants that, besides having food that tastes great, have a place in my heart for their Arkansas charm.

However, as my focus has changed, so has the website. In 2019 I decided to pursue my interests in the outdoors. I wrote a post on Lone Pine Campground which was my very first camping trip. Since then, posts on outdoor experiences have been taking over the website, and will continue to do so. In fact, I will be chronicling my experience going from novice outdoorsman to bushcraft expert whether it is setting up a hammocking rig, learning to tie new knots, or cooking over an open campfire. Arkansas is full of great outdoor experiences and living those experiences has become a passion of mine.

New restaurant experiences will, of course, still pepper my content, but culinarily my plan is to focus on both outdoor (campfire and grill) cooking along with classic Arkansas southern meals. I've always felt Arkansas is a melting pot of the foods of the surrounding states. Barbecue from Missouri and Tennessee, Cajun and creole from Louisiana mix with classic southern cooking for an excellent combination in the natural state.

I hope you continue to join me on this journey through Arkansas.