Jon Wisniewski and I took a day to do some photography this past Monday. We discussed the possibilities of shooting, but were a bit dismayed by the forecast which was mostly sunny! For those of you who aren’t in the know, mostly sunny and waterfall photography don’t mix well, so we were kind of reluctant to head out.

We decided to leave Sunday night after Jon got off work around 12:30AM. Our first stop was Haw Creek, where we thought we might be able to get some star trail photos over the waterfall, however upon arrival the fog and clouds were too thick to even see a star, so we decided to do a bit of light painting.

The light painting didn’t turn out as planned; our meager flashlights did not put off enough light to make any decent exposures, so we headed for the Compton Trailhead instead.
We arrived at the parking area around 3:30AM and got some sleep before heading down into the canyon around 6:00AM. The sun was rising, and we were happy to see a ton of clouds overhead, it turned out to be a pretty decent day for photography.

_{Compton Falls}

_{Compton Falls}

_{Compton Falls – Whitaker Creek}

_{Compton Falls – Cascade Downstream}

_{Whitaker Creek Drainage}

_{Compton Falls}

I had the white-balance off on this one or something, it’s way bluer than the rest, but I think it gives it a tropical feel; as if the waterfall itself didn’t already give it a tropical feel! =)

_{Compton Falls}

After Compton Falls, we headed towards Thunder Canyon, stopping at Hedges Pouroff on the way.

_{Hedges Pouroff Overlook}

The above pano can be viewed larger in the panos section!

_{Hedges Pouroff}

After Hedges Pouroff, we made the difficult drive on Erbie Road, which by the way is NOT for the faint of heart; especially considering the “4wd Vehicle ONLY” sign at the beginning. I remembered this road being pretty washed and rutted out, but my memories were pleasant compared to its current state. After all the rain the road turned into a huge mud pit! Fun for me, considering I just purchased a set of new tires and a lift for my Jeep. I hadn’t really put it to the test just yet, but this road for sure did that for me.

Jon had mentioned his civic could have made it most of the way, until we reached the muddy part, where he quickly changed his mind! I wish I could have taken photos of the Jeep in the mud and the 4ft water crossing we did after the Thunder Canyon hike, but I don’t think Jon or I wanted to stop during or after making it through either of those obstacles. I will say the Jeep performed exactly as it should and not once was I uncomfortable with the muddy road or the Cecil Creek crossing.

Once we made it through the bad part of the road, we stopped at our next destination the Cecil Cove Loop, which contains Thunder Canyon where a really unique waterfall is located; Thunder Canyon Falls.

Enjoy the shots.

_{Thunder Canyon Falls}

_{Thunder Canyon Falls}

_{Thunder Canyon}

Can be viewed larger in the panos section!

_{Thunder Canyon}

Thanks for viewing and take care!

The Maps

( You must have adblockers disabled for www.zackandrews.com for these maps to function correctly. )

I didn’t forget about doing this on my most recent trips, but I’ve been having a problem lately updating them! They finally worked out the errors and I’m now able to upload the maps again.

Compton Falls

I didn’t GPS the Jeep so we got a bit off track on the way back, whoops! Probably hiked a bit extra, but we needed the exercise anyways, sorry Jon!

View Compton Falls in a larger map

Compton Falls Hike Stats

Time Started: Mon May 17 05:52:39 CDT 2010
Time Taken: 02:54:35
Moving Time: 00:30:16
Distance: 2.29 mph
Average Speed: 4.54 mph
Max Speed: 7.25 mph
Elevation Gain: 908 ft
Min Elevation: 1708 ft
Max Elevation: 2236 ft

Thunder Canyon Falls

View Thunder Canyon in a larger map

Thunder Canyon Hike Stats

Time Started: Mon May 17 10:18:47 CDT 2010
Time Taken: 03:17:35
Moving Time: 00:49:29
Distance: 3.8mi
Average Speed: 4.61 mph
Max Speed: 6.69 mph
Elevation Gain: 1662 ft
Min Elevation: 807 ft
Max Elevation: 1365 ft

It was a long day, but it was a good one. Caden and I left Conway around 9AM Saturday morning, headed for Hideout Hollow near Compton, Arkansas.

The trip into Jasper was awesome.

Upon leaving town we were greeted with a huge thunderstorm, rain literally poured in buckets down on the vehicle. Many people we’re pulling over on the road, because it almost became unbearable to drive. Lucky for me, I have relatively new wipers and tires so I could see and drive just fine. Also, lucky for me, I had looked at the radar beforehand and knew that there would be a quick shower while driving up north. While driving through the rain I looked over at Caden and she looked back with uncertainty. However, rain brings water which means awesome waterfalls and I knew it was going to be an awesome trip.

As soon as we reached the first Russellville exit, the rain had completely stopped and the sun was beginning to show. Yay! The highway 7 trip was amazing as usual. It was really great this time because we were literally driving through the clouds most of the way. Only one other time have we done that, and it was around 2 years ago.

Our first stop for the day was the usual Ozark Café Pit stop. It’s almost become tradition to eat a good meal at the Ozark Café in Jasper before heading out into the wilderness. Not only does it give us a good boost, but we have enough nourishment to get us through the day without eating much else. The Ozark Café is simply amazing. They have great food at fantastic prices, it’s almost ludicrous NOT to stop and eat at the Ozark Café before hiking into the Arkansas back country.
After finishing our delicious meal at the Café we headed down into Camp Orr, where you can find one of Arkansas’ easiest to reach, and most beautiful waterfalls: Triple Falls. (Twin falls on a bad day.)

Saturday was a good day; after the huge amount of rain the falls we’re running great!

Caden and I started our hike down the trail and soon after I said, “Be careful and watch out for snakes!” Ironically enough, about 10 feet after saying just that, we crossed paths with a beautifully patterned copperhead. We weren’t simply going to step over him, so I extended my tripod to full length and gave him a poke.

Much to my dismay, copperheads do not like a poke and he therefore quickly turned towards me in the strike position. Yay, I thought to myself, I’m going to get bit by a poisonous snake before we even get started. However, I pulled a “Steve Irwin,” as Caden likes to put it, and grabbed him up in the tripod legs and put him on the side of the trail. He gave up pretty quickly and reluctantly slithered off into the bushes; which was good for all of us.

With the copperhead out of the way, Caden and I made our way to Triple Falls, a relatively short hike after a somewhat long drive down into the Buffalo River Valley near Camp Orr. I’ll let the next few photos speak for themselves, it was an awesome day to photograph the waterfalls for sure.

From behind the waterfall.

I quickly strike a Tim Ernst pose and try to look important in front of the waterfall.

Hideout Hollow was the next destination and the location where we were going to camp for the night. I had seen photos of Hideout Hollow before, but I had never seen it for myself. Since I had always wanted to see it in person, Caden and I decided that we would hike into and camp at the falls. The falls there are pretty amazing to see in person, and again, especially with all the rain we had earlier that day. There was water pouring off every spot of the bluff at the Hollow.

Arriving at the Hollow itself was a pretty easy task, albeit the road was pretty crappy and my Lincoln is getting closer and closer to just saying no to all the dirt roads I take it down. I’ve been thinking a lot about trading her in for a Jeep or an Xterra lately, something that would take a better beating on the roads that I like to explore; and also give the Lincoln a better life with strictly paved road driving.

The hike into Hideout Hollow is also relatively easy; it’s a short 1 mile hike that has a few ups and a few downs, both in and out. Upon reaching the end of the mile you are greeted with a fantastic view down into Bartlett Cove and the surrounding Ozark Mountains of Newton County.

After the view, you walk a bit and you immediately hear the roar of the 30’ waterfall as it plummets over the bluff line into Hideout Hollow. At first Caden and I couldn’t find the way into the hollow itself, and that’s mainly because it is pretty well hidden. I will mention how to get down, but I will strictly state that you do so at your own risk, it is extremely dangerous getting down into Hideout Hollow itself; especially with 45lbs of equipment strapped to your back!

To get into the hollow you must cross the top of the waterfall and around the ledge on the adjacent side. After pushing through some trees on the ledge you will immediately notice how you can get down. I will recommend that you bring rope and strap yourself to a tree when doing this, and then at least if you were to fall, you’d have a life line! You can see the ledge I’m talking about in the next photo; I stood on it while taking this photo.

Once into the hollow you’ll be able to view the waterfall in all its glory from its base. Hideout Hollow is a beautiful place that lives up to its name; you could literally hide out here for quite some time, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

Not only that, it offers great protection from the elements which Caden and I found out Saturday night. As the night was getting darker a storm was gradually moving over the Hollow bringing lightning and a lot of rain. Lucky for us we had chose a spot beneath the shelter of a cave overhang, also lucky for us someone had stocked up a lot of wood under the shelter so that it would be dry for others who wanted to camp there.

I can now see why some of the World War I draft dodgers decided to Hide Out at this Hollow, and thus coining the name Hideout Hollow, because it is just perfect for hiding, both from others and from the elements!

The day ended with Caden and I falling asleep listening to the rushing sound of the waterfall, the light patter of rain echoing off the cavern wall, and the sound of distant rolling thunder. It was a camping trip to remember and Hideout Hollow is definitely a place that I would like to visit again in the future.

The rest are photos of the various flora and fauna living in Hideout Hollow.

You might call this a Water Flower, a perfect drop of water rests in the middle of all the leaves.