OKLAHOMA!

About 10 years ago I was assigned to a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the perfect opportunity to hike for the first time in that state. I booked my flight home a day late and researched the hiking options there. The Wichita Mountains, southwest of Oklahoma City, caught my eye. The mountains there aren’t big, but they are rugged. Part of the range is included in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The refuge protects bison, elk, deer, and other forms of wildlife. It was an exciting destination, but ultimately it didn’t work out. I only had one day to hike, and it was a 3 hour drive, one way, from Tulsa. That day featured massive thunderstorms and violent tornadoes. I ended up cowering in the hotel room all day.

I figured I’d hike in Oklahoma at the next opportunity. Unfortunately, the next opportunity was 10 years later. I was reminded of the Wichita Mountains in the summer of 2016, when my friends Spencer and Stephanie went there during a long road trip to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. But it wasn’t until August of 2017 that I got another opportunity to visit the area. This time I was given a work assignment in Oklahoma City. Once again, I booked my return flight a day late. My plan was to drive to the mountains on Wednesday evening after work. I’d car camp there and spend most of Thursday hiking before flying home Thursday evening.

I’d hoped to finish up at work by mid-afternoon, but it was 4:30 before I was able to leave. That delay ended up costing me. I got stuck in rush hour traffic, but I still made it to the Doris Campground in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge before 7pm. The campground has over 90 sites, and I pretty much had my choice. There may have been a few other people in the campground that night, but I didn’t see or hear them. I chose campsite P-2, which requires a short walk from the nearest parking area. At $8 a night, it is a great deal, particularly when you consider that the campground has showers. Unfortunately, the drinking water in the campground is currently not safe to drink. I didn’t bring my stove or filter, and I only had a pint of water. I thought I might have to drive all the way back to the nearest town to buy water, but I ended up finding clean drinking water at Park Headquarters.

After setting up camp I decided to squeeze in a short hike. I had a lot of ideas for Thursday – far more than I would have time for. I decided to check out The Narrows, as it was high on my priority list and only 1 ½ miles for the round trip. Unfortunately, the road to the trailhead is gated and sunset, and it doesn’t reopen until 9am. It was 7:30 when I reached the gate, and the sun would set at 8:30. Could I pull it off?

I decided to go for it. I parked near Boulder Group Campground and followed a trail downstream. I started out in the woods before climbing over a rocky bluff. I descended to the creek near the beginning of The Narrows. The creek runs through a narrow canyon hemmed in by cliffs on both sides. It’s not quite a slot canyon, but it is cool and scenic. Although I didn’t have enough time to hike all the way to the end of The Narrows, my timing was still perfect. I arrived at the edge of a lovely pool just as the sun was dropping behind me. The water was calm, and it reflected the rugged cliffs directly across from me. The angle was perfect, and the sun lit up the cliffs on the far side of the pool in a spectacular display of alpenglow.

From there I rock hopped the creek and climbed up to a point high above the canyon. It was quite scenic, as the creek wraps around three sides of this point. From here you can continue farther down the canyon, or you can bushwhack and scramble up Eagle Mountain. I was tempted to continue farther, but it was 8pm and I didn’t want to get locked in. I decided to head back.

I reached the car at 8:25 and drove out. Just after passing the gate I pulled off in a small parking area. The sun was setting behind the mountains to the west, and the view was sublime.

From there I drove over to Park Headquarters and got water. I passed back by this road at 9pm, and a Ranger was locking the gate. I drove on to the campground, which is gated at 10pm. I had sushi for dinner there before heading to bed. The bugs were pretty bad, and they eventually chased me to the tent. Most of them weren’t biting, but the moths, gnats, and no see ums were annoying because they were drawn to my headlamp.

The forecast each day was for highs in the 90’s and lows around 70, with no chance of rain. It was warm in the tent, even with the fly off. Unzipping the door helped, and I ultimately slept pretty well.

I got up at 6am on Thursday. Hiking at night isn’t allowed in the refuge, but by the time I got started I didn’t need my headlamp. I hiked from my campsite up Little Baldy, a small rock dome above Quanah Parker Lake. I arrived in time for sunrise, which was somewhat compromised by clouds to the east. However, those clouds created some nice color, which was a pretty good trade. I had a bagel with cream cheese and cold brewed coffee there before heading back down. I broke camp and left at 8m. I drove west, stopping at the Prairie Dog town to check out the cute little critters and some bison that were passing through. I then drove to the Sunset Picnic Area, where I started my main hike of the day in Charons Garden Wilderness Area.

The Wilderness Area features 3 official trails and numerous unofficial ones. The Wilderness Trail runs south from the Sunset Picnic Area to Treasure Lake. A side trail from it runs to a backcountry camping area and a unique rock formation called the Crab Eyes. Finally, there is a trail from the Sunset Picnic Area to the summit of Elk Mountain, which overlooks the wilderness.

I started with the Wilderness Trail. I crossed a bridge over the pond before picking up the main trail on the far side of the picnic area. A few minutes later I reached a signed junction with the trail to the backcountry campsites. From there, I climbed to a modest pass below Elk Mountain. The pass is wooded, but just beyond is a vast boulder field. The best route through the boulder field is far to the right. A faint side trail leads to that optimal route, but I didn’t notice on the way down. I figured this out on the return hike. On the way down I scrambled over a series of huge boulders. The footing was a bit sketchy in places, so it was a relief to find a better route on the way out.

Once I passed through the first part of the boulder field I regained the trail on the far side. There are numerous side trails leading down among the boulders, and I explored them all. They revealed a series of fascinating boulder caves. A couple of them had surprisingly large chambers. At the second I set up the tripod for photos. After a couple of shots, I decided to include myself in one for scale. I set the 10 second timer, which started beeping when I pressed the button. The beeping triggered one of the coolest experiences of my life. Apparently the sound spooked an entire colony of bats. The bats began pouring out of a crevice between two boulders. They were streaming past me in waves, above me and on both sides. There must’ve been at least a hundred of them. As luck would have it, the exodus peaked with about 3 seconds left on the timer. By the time the shutter released, there were only a few bats in the photo.

The numbers dwindled, but bats continued to soar past me. I made a couple of attempts at capturing them on video using my phone.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring the caves. Then I resumed the hike, following the drainage downstream. The creek was mostly dry, but there were occasional pools and trickling water in places. Eventually I followed the trail onto a hillside above and between Treasure Lake and Post Oak Lake. I visited both lakes before beginning the hike back. Shortly before reaching the boulder field, I reached a fork in the canyon. The topo map shows a trail running up the west fork towards the backcountry camping area. I considered trying that route, but the park map doesn’t show that trail. Ultimately, I decided to stay on the main trail. Later, I discovered that a trail does run through that other canyon. That trail would’ve made for a nice short cut and a partial loop.

After climbing past the boulder field and cresting the pass I descended to the junction with the trail to the backcountry campsites. I decided to head that way to check out the crab eyes. The crab eyes are a pair of huge round boulders perched on top of a stone column. Apparently the rock eroded that way. Most of the hike there was pretty easy. The climb up to the base of the crab eyes was pretty tough in the mid-day heat, particularly since I didn’t take the best route. Later, I found a much better route farther west during my descent.

I climbed up to the base of the column and stopped for lunch. Getting up to the summit boulders from here requires serious scrambling or technical climbing. The heat was starting to get to me, so I decided to head back. I hiked straight back to the trailhead. Originally I’d planned to hike Elk Mountain, too, but I didn’t really have time. Instead I drove back to the campground to take a shower. When I arrived I found that the showers were temporarily out of order. Great! I considered a swim in the lake, but ultimately decided to wash under one of the spigots.

On my way out, I took the scenic drive up to the top of Mount Scott. There are great 360-degree views from the summit. I thought the best views were to the west, towards the heart of the range. There were a couple of smoky fires burning in the valley on the other side of the mountain. They looked small, so hopefully they won’t turn into anything major.

My flight from Oklahoma City to Atlanta was delayed by an hour due to a massive thunderstorm. The Weather Channel had shown a 0% chance of rain for the day, but that didn’t exactly pan out. They delay was concerning because I only had an hour layover at the Atlanta airport before my flight to Charlotte, and that flight was the last one of the day. When we landed in Atlanta I checked the status of the second flight. It was delayed 10 minutes, but already boarding. We landed near the far end of the E terminal, and the flight to Charlotte was near the far end of the B terminal. I had no chance to make it, but decided to try anyway. I ran through the terminal and reached the train just as the doors were starting to close. I jumped through and started running again when we reached the B terminal. When I reached the gate the only person there was the gate agent. I thought I’d missed it, but they hadn’t closed the door. They had given away my seat to a standby passenger, but luckily there was still one empty seat on the plane. The flight to Charlotte was smooth, and it was an incredible relief to get there. Incredibly, the suitcase I’d checked in Oklahoma City made it, too.

I really enjoyed my first hike in the Wichita Mountains, and I’d definitely like to go back. Next time maybe I’ll hike Elk Mountain and finish exploring The Narrows.