Arkansas Y’all!

Discussion in 'Free Zone' started by Mikie, Jun 8, 2021.


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  1. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    :Roflmao:laugh:

    Sorrrrrrrryyyy....
     
    Mikie likes this.
  2. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    It looks idyllic, Mikie. Can't see the humidity in photos... :p

    Thanks for keeping us posted. This has gotta be needling @Voodoo Tom something fierce. Keep on! :thumbsup:
     
    Walleye, Faust29, mtnbikej and 6 others like this.
  3. Redman

    Redman iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Henderson, Nv
    Name:
    Kevin
    Current Bike:
    SC OG Hightower 29'r
    ok, I'll give it a go.... Dude, are you wearing baggies???? :ninja::gag::laugh::laugh:
     
  4. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Yeah, but if you've been anywhere near the south in summer you already know the humidity doesn't need to be photogenic. :eek::eek::eek:
     
    Faust29, Mikie and mike like this.
  5. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Well... yeah. Baggies suck in my opinion, however... if you thought that OC was fashion conscious, NWA could not get more laid back. So baggies, and Jerseys that don’t look like jerseys.
     
  6. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    @Mikie - when you mention kayaking, are you talking whitewater kayaking where you are locked in and covered by a spray skirt and have to eskimo roll, or are you talking about a more modest sit-on-top or inflatable kayak-like vehicle?
     
  7. da big hills

    da big hills iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    pearl harbor
    Name:
    cagey
    Current Bike:
    enduro 29
    the humidity is something you have to control in your mind. Way down south everyday at 5 pm I would get off work and ride the rail trail. 95 degrees, 95% humidity. I would ride every day my arms would glisten, when I stopped it would rain sweat. Besides that I had the trail to myself and everyday was wicked. 3 weeks in the south, 3 weeks on So Cal single track. life is what you make it, the humidity can be managed. I ride NE Bama, the humidity is lower but not much, and a lot more PO and P ivy
    Happy Trails
     
  8. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    We have a couple of “open” kayaks kinda in between kayak’s and canoe’s designed for class 1 & 2. So for Cathy it’s more a fancy floater down the River. I on the other hand have done several class 3 through 6 (<—edit: Not class 6, class 5)river rafting with a friend on the Tuolumne and North fork of the American River. There is some good class 4 & 5 I would like to gear up and get back to.

    I’m not sure I’m up for class 6 anymore. Some of that scared the fashizzle out of me. We did a double drop where the falls changed immediate direction by about 40 degrees. My much more experienced friend said we could do it no problem. He had done it several times so he knew the entering trajectory. We did do it perfectly, but we heard the next day some folks had a mishap and dumped after the first fall into the rocks and one person had his kneecap torn off..:eek::gag::facepalm:
    I’m too old for that!!!
     
  9. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    When you did the class 3-6 stuff, are you talking raft or whitewater kayak?

    Just asking because in my former life, I was as addicted to whitewater kayaking as I was to skiing and now am to mt. biking. That was back when our boats were all 12' long though. Not today's 8' squirt boats. And, like my approach to mt. biking, I was not a Class V or VI paddler - I drew the line at tough class IV. I wasn't too interested in dying in my 20s. Everything is so much more extreme now - whether it's kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, surfing or mt. biking. Go big or go home!
     
  10. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Yesterday was the toughest so far. We had thunder storms the night before and it poured rain for about an hour dropping just under an inch. So yesterday I was in the shop doing some simple stuff. I had both the 14 foot roll-ups open all the way on each end and I felt like I was in the shower without the shower. Everyone says this is not normal, but is what is.

    Happy perspiration!
     
    ~JB~, scan, Sasquatch9billion and 5 others like this.
  11. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    It was rafting. I have not done that class of kayaking. But I plan to gear up for it. They have several Companies out here that do clinics. Have you?

    Edit: wow! Awesome. You have a new checkpoint. Let’s get some done! :thumbsup::cool:
    @herzalot , I went to a class chart to refresh and I would say I have never done class 6, it was much more in the entry side of class 5. That was more than plenty for me, and it was rafting not kayaking.

    A8A45162-1D15-41E1-94A0-9CE3510691B8.jpeg
     
  12. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    There are really a couple of iterations of the river classification system - creek boating and big water. The chart above pertains more to small-flow creek boating where the classification is determined by the size of the drops - pool-drop-pool-drop. On western rivers or bigger water, the classification has a lot to do with speed and volume of the water. Heavy hydraulics and difficult maneuvers with critical timing. Think Cataract Canyon at the confluence of the Green and Colorado in Utah. The Grand Canyon has very heavy hydraulics and big volume - 20,000-50,000 cubic ft. per second. Sometimes the Arkansas, Rio Grande or other parts of the Colorado get big as well. By comparison, those steep eastern rivers like the Nantahala run about 700-1000 cfs.

    Cataract Canyon:
    Cararact Canyon Raft.png
     
    buggravy, HBkites, ~JB~ and 3 others like this.
  13. tick

    tick Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    Tick
    Current Bike:
    Process 111
    Since the system is based on the climbing grades, it’s natural to be totally arbitrary and wrong most of the time.

    But yes, the ratings in the Sierra are heavily flow dependent, and for an undammed river like the Kings, April it might be V+ while July is a pleasant III.

    Whitewater stuff is almost as hard to find as bike stuff right now, but since much of it is US made, the wait times seem less extreme.

    The Buffalo looks fun.
     
  14. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    So today we went from two wheels to no wheels. Headed back the 30 minutes to the Buffalo River with our Kayaks. There is an outfit there in Ponca that rents equipment & shuttles. We chose the latter as we had everything we needed to hit the water. For $70 bucks they will shuttle our vehicle to the next landing (Kyles Landing) 8 River miles down stream.

    Dropping in at Steel Creek Ranger Station we floated mostly Class 1 with moments of Class 2 waters. It… Was… Heaven! Some of the most beautiful river frontage I have ever experienced! Having not kayaked in years, 3 1/2 hours of river time was just right!

    Truck loaded up in the shop, heading out!
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    It don’t get much floatier than this. You could easily paddle up stream. It makes for a slow train coming and in absolutely no hurry. This was about as worse as the views got. Pretty easy to deal with.
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    There was water run off on most all the cliffs. You could run the kayak along under the overhang and take a shower.
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    The snapping turtles were ahhhh snapping! Lots of turtles in and out of the water, along with very big long skinny fish popping to the surface than diving. In a kayak ahead of us we think a snake was swimming along and the girl in the kayak panicked and paddled screaming. We never saw the snake.
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    CJ was like a buzz saw in the water... I had a hard time keeping up with her… It was a good day.
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    Oaken, buggravy, HBkites and 22 others like this.
  15. Luis

    Luis iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Sylmar
    Name:
    Luis
    Current Bike:
    La Diabla
    Get that guest house finished and ready. I’m consulting Google maps for the drive time…
    :p
     
  16. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    I’m calling shotgun!!
     
  17. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    Three days without stimulants.

    I drove Millington, TN to Orange County, CA back in my much younger days. Started only a couple hours east of where @Mikie is now. There's a lotta flat nothing between here and there. :eek:

    But you can get from Flagstaff to El Reno (OK) in 19 hours if'n you do it right. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
    ~JB~, DangerDirtyD, Stkx66 and 3 others like this.
  18. Maderas84

    Maderas84 Member

    Location:
    Fluent in French & sarcasm.
    Name:
    Andres
    Current Bike:
    Ibis, Pivot & Santa Cruz
    Awesome!!!
     
    Mikie likes this.
  19. AKAKTM

    AKAKTM Well-Known Member

    Location:
    SCV
    Name:
    Tony A
    That is beautiful!
     
    Mikie likes this.
  20. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Ho, man... :Roflmao:thumbsup:
     
    Danimal, tick, mtnbikej and 2 others like this.
  21. Maderas84

    Maderas84 Member

    Location:
    Fluent in French & sarcasm.
    Name:
    Andres
    Current Bike:
    Ibis, Pivot & Santa Cruz
    We close on our place in TN on July 15th. With the proceeds of the sale of our CA homes, I'm buying two established businesses- 1 in Knox and another in Chattanooga.

    Life is what you make of it. Enjoy Mikie, enjoy!

    Attached is one pic of our place...close to 5k sqft living with 2 (6-car) massive garages and close to 2 acres of land...with NO HOA!

    197072398_833725310582138_552908556549255902_n.jpg
     
    HBkites, ~JB~, BonsaiNut and 15 others like this.
  22. scottay

    scottay Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Gods Country
    Name:
    Scottay
  23. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    DE17BDEE-2911-4635-A6E3-2595AD3CEBEA.jpeg

    Today we headed North an hour to Eureka Springs. There is a couple of mountain bike parks close to each other in that area.

    We are learning that any trail network in Northwest Arkansas is most likely a part of the OZ Trail System.

    In Eureka Springs is this place called Passion Play. It’s a Christian complex that has all kinds of tours, shows, and events. The buildings and props are amazing. Millions of dollars in buildings and such.

    So this place has an amazing mountain bike park! Free parking, no charge to ride the trails… all based on donations. The Walton foundation has heavily funded the trail network there. We only had a short time to ride so we chose the easy stuff so we could both ride it together. Some of the most well maintained, clean trails I have ever ridden.

    Huge Trailhead and trail map guide.
    CB57DB61-217F-4556-AE8C-60BEC176519A.jpeg

    They have a 4 Tiered skill level system. Easy in Green, Difficult in Blue, Very Difficult in Black, and Extremely Difficult also in black but marked as such. I can tell you that Difficult ramps up significantly from Easy.
    2E8B604E-1301-430D-9A92-99BD6016986B.jpeg

    It’s a Saturday. We saw a total of 9 mountain bikers and only 7 of them on the trails.
    ECC551E8-4D1D-450A-AF21-A897D2C736AE.jpeg

    Trails are superbly marked. We stuck with the easy level Genesis Trail. However this trail is riddled with rollercoaster jumps, optional harder level send-offs, and engineered berms that with speed can get you into some serious trouble!
    8FD79429-8718-4BB5-919C-97683A013226.jpeg
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    84A0E818-2DA6-48A4-B2B6-73E6D27870F6.jpeg
    The secret to riding OZ Trails is no different than the mountain biker formerly known as rossage once told me. “In freezing cold, you ride at a pace that does not create sweat, otherwise it freezes and you freeze.”

    On the OZ Trails in summer, you ride at the speed of consistent evaporative cooling. Too hard and you overheat. The right pace and you sweat with a breeze that keeps you cool. I would say that 85 to 90% of ALL the OZ Trails are under a canopy of trees.

    I keep telling CJ to stop Table Topping on the doubles while in thick trees, but will she listen to me??? Grrrrr!
    9FB9E2D0-065B-4777-8AE3-7418EC836B96.jpeg

    The mighty Dude in the background is 68 feet tall and an arm width of 64 feet!
    FE4D4C4F-3487-4309-BD0B-2A780BEC6F3B.jpeg

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    They went all out on this Christian Park!
    469ACF8F-8086-4D9D-B66E-456E6F9A8A13.jpeg

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    HBkites, ~JB~, kingaucho and 14 others like this.
  24. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    Hey @Mikie! Some friends of ours just moved to Bella Vista. How far are you from there?
     
    Mikie likes this.
  25. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    57 Minutes!
    BDD8B886-8242-40E3-BDD6-AD6C0A6B3A7D.png
     
  26. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Backyard just now...
    185A87F9-19FB-4B55-8B03-A6CCEF4DB2E0.jpeg
     
    HBkites, ~JB~, Cyclotourist and 7 others like this.
  27. konakc

    konakc iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    kc
    Hey herze.. did u whitewater in past? A good inflatable can be fun in class III .. pushing it past iv...
    I have an old pirouette whitewater kayak around still...
    Toulumme clavey falls is premier v in ca..
    Class 6 is portage or for fools
     
    Cyclotourist and Mikie like this.
  28. konakc

    konakc iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    kc
    But we r allbitfoolish
     
    Cyclotourist and Mikie like this.
  29. tick

    tick Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    Tick
    Current Bike:
    Process 111
    When newer guidebooks regraded Angels Fright to 5.6, I threw a fit.

    Angels Fright is literally the original 5.4. All 5.4s should be referenced back to Angels Fright.

    Oh. And the castle in TN looks nice.

    I moved my daughter home from Cal Poly today. The drive from Goleta to SLO was a good reminder of why I love living here. The 405 through the SFV made me want to come home and look for work anywhere else. 100F and 0mph.:poop::bang::bang::poop::gag:
     
  30. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Is the Angel’s Fright finish up the slab to the left of the little tree part of the original route? I think it has one or two bolts on it. 5.4, you say? :cautious:

    I tried it in approach shoes, run out with rope drag and some guys that saw me hesitating tossed me down a rope which I eschewed. Then 20 seconds later accept! One and done. Talk about fright, I got it. Of course the weez made it look trivial. :unsure:


    Sorry, @Mikie...climbers gotta spew. Yes, there is rock climbing in ArKansas. Not a global destination, as you’d guess.
     


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