The Ouachita National Forest is a favorite of mine. While not as technical as the Ozarks, there are still a ton of great trails to explore. The idea was pretty simple: My buddy Jackson and I would meet at Queen Wilhelmina State Park and drive across the Ouachita National Forrest to Lake Sylvia. We knew that rain would be a factor in the 3 day overlanding excursion, but more on that later.

Let’s start off with the drive that was planned:

I took to Gaia to plan out a rough idea of miles. From there I adjusted to try to keep us on forest, county service, dirt, etc. type roads as much as possible. There we a couple of sections where we had to hit pavement and we needed a gas station around mid-way as the trip was coming in at 122 miles. The cloudy sky cooled things a little but and there was still enough sunlight to make for some beautiful scenery on the drive.

Jackson & I we’re having a great time until the trail stopped. Right there in the middle of the trip the trail was blocked by a berm, which meant that it was off limits. We took a break and I planned a different route. The weather was starting to change and the clouds were getting darker. I calculated a route that would put us on paved roads, but get us to camp much quicker!

We eventually hit Trail 86, off of Hwy 7, and were back on some trails! Rolled into Lake Sylvia camp ground with 10 to 15 minutes to spare before the rain started. Managed to get tents setup and keep everything dry. The rain helped cool things off and we put up a quick tarp for outdoor cover. We just settled in for some dinner and relaxed.

There was just a light rain through out the evening, but it really came down over night. I failed to get a picture of Lake Sylvia before the rain, but it was 4/5 bone dry. I’ve never seen the lake that low before. That rainy night reminded me of Rendezvous in the Ozarks ’21. When I say there was a lot of water that fell that night, mean a lot and it all came running toward the lake.

A great reminder of why it’s so important to pick a good camp site. Since we were on the camp pad and there was not much standing water to deal with. Thankfully the next day allowed for a break from the rain, but the water was running everywhere in the Ouachita’s. Most of the routes that I planned were flooded, so we traveled on some of the forest roads and did some sight seeing.

Like any adventure it’s going to turn out how ever you decide. This one really let me test my gear and my setup. Got to leverage my tailgate table and it was a huge saver with the wind and rain. Overall I was really happy with everything and it was a good time hanging out with a friend. Time to clean up the Jeep and start dreaming about the next adventure!