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Thread: Caching at Lake Ouachita

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Crystal Springs, Arkansas
    Posts
    730
    What part of Lake Ouachita are you going to visit? We have some caches along the banks of Lake Ouachita that you can reach via the Vista Trail or by boat. We placed the caches by boat, actually.

    There are a number of caches in and around the Mt. Harbor area. Some of which are very interesting and a few that have been around for quite some time.

    If you are in the Crystal Springs area, there are a lot of caches. Check out the "Just A Sitting" cache and the Tin Man Cache. They are both right in Crystal Springs. We have had a lot of cool remarks on both of these caches. If you want to spend an afternoon caching, we have a trail that starts at downtown Crystal Springs. Also, a very interesting trail that starts behind the Mt. Ida airport. It takes you through some BEAUTIFUL country. If you have a boat, make sure you check out the caches on the islands in Lake Ouachita!

    If you are on the North side of the lake, there are a number of caches that can be reached by boat, road, or walking. There is also two power trails near Jessieville that would provide some great numbers and a nice ride.

    Check out the caches by Quartzcachers, Flannelman, and likestocanoe.... We love Lake Ouachita and hope you have a great time.
    Maybe, we will even run into you along the trail. {)

    likestocanoe gang
    likestocanoe@yahoo.com

    Give us a shout if we can help in any way!

    Sandy
    “There aren’t enough days in the weekend.”
    Rod Schmidt

  2. #12
    Poacher13 Guest
    I want to get the boat down there and get the ones on the islands.
    If I was in the area I would go for those.

  3. #13
    9key Guest
    I'll be in the area the weekend of Sept 11 for a wedding. I'm surprised there's no caches along the great bike trails in the area. Not one cache on the Womble Trail? Just park and grabs along roads or in campgrounds. What gives?

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Crystal Springs, Arkansas
    Posts
    730
    9key, please feel free to fight the U. S. Forest Service to get caches placed on the trails in that area. You get them published and we will be one of the first to go find them.... {o)
    “There aren’t enough days in the weekend.”
    Rod Schmidt

  5. #15
    flannelman Guest
    Yep the national forest is pretty much off limits to caching here.

  6. #16
    9key Guest
    Is there an official statement from them saying that caching is not allowed? They allowing caching, and even encourage it, here in Texas.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Madison, AL
    Posts
    321
    Hey 9key! First of all, welcome to our site. It is an honor to have you on here.
    The situation with the National Forest is this: you must have a permit for a cache placement, and these permits are supposed to cost $57.00 a year, per cache. They will waive that fee if you meet their requirements and submit each cache through the process. These permits are only good for one year, at which time the cache must be removed. That is the biggest problem for me personally. I would have no problem redoing a permit or twenty every year, if I didn't have to go out and rehide them over every year.
    Now, with all that being said, I and several others have placed caches in the Forest, and gotten the required permit (with the fee waived of course). I have several that are past the date of removal and no one has said anything. I know that my permit is no longer valid, but I don't want to go over there and pull them and try to get new permission for new caches in those areas. As it currently stands, the FS (at least the local offices) don't have the time or desire to go out and chase down the "illegal" caches, even though the main office in Hot Springs really wants them to. There is a person there who is a real witch and for whatever reason does not like geocaching. I have several inside contacts at the FS, as I used to be a volunteer for them. I have been told that as long as she is in place, there will be no real geocaching on the Ouachita National Forest.
    The permits all must go through her, and they take months to get. The only reason we are able to get them at all, is due to a lot of hard work by some members of this organization. I think in the end, we were able to go over the head of the Hot Springs office, and get some help. I think it was Senator Mark Pryor if I recall correctly.
    The bottom line in a nutshell is that yes, you can place caches in the ONF, but they make it so problematic that it just isn't worth it.
    Thank you for your interest on this subject. Any ideas you have would be appreciated.
    Guess what?! I got a fever, and the only prescription...is more cowbell!!

  8. #18
    9key Guest
    That's a shame. Such a beautiful area! That woman needs to rememeber that it is not "her" land, it is the American people's. Geocaching is no more destructive than mountain biking, I know that for a fact since I do both activities.

  9. #19
    flannelman Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by 9key
    That's a shame. Such a beautiful area! That woman needs to rememeber that it is not "her" land, it is the American people's. Geocaching is no more destructive than mountain biking, I know that for a fact since I do both activities.
    Yes it really is a shame. I have hunted, hiked, fished, camped, and geocached in the ONF and the worst places are where people just dump trash or camp and don't clean up. Very few of the areas that have caches are visited much and they are almost always very clean. If not then the cachers usually do a great job removing the trash. My cache hiding has come to a halt because I am surrounded by the ONF. The only option I have now is the COE property around the lake. Thankfully they are much friendlier to caching!

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