Herrod's Creek trip report

[Zen B.]

Herrod's Creek and Hare Mountain

A couple of days ago Lewis R. and I paddled Herrod's Creek to the confluence of the Mulberry at Byrd's. We parked near West Cobb on Hare Mountain and bushwhacked down a steep, mile-long rivulet into the Herrod's basin with our kayaks. Halfway down we encountered the elusive Mulberry limestone layer from some lost 'ozoic era.

Limestone is hard to find in the Mulberry watershed, which is generally sandstone based. This particular outcrop features a true cave and other classic calcareous features. Who knows how many bats, bears and other critters have lived here over the ages? In addition to the cave, Louis discovered a patch of goldenseal growing near the creek. It became apparent that a special blend of plants, animals and rocks have long been hiding in this unspoiled basin.

Upon reaching Herrod's Creek we hopped in our boats and blasted down several miles of nonstop class II and III rapids. There are more limestone ledges in the creek, making several fun class III drops. Midway down sits a bus-sized boulder made of a weird limey-sandy conglomerate. It rolled down the hillside some time ago and now seems happy in the middle of the creek.

Oddly, we never encountered serious log jams during the trip. Unlike Baron Creek and some of the other Mulberry tributaries that have been paddled recently, Herrod's didn't require any getting out of boats except for occasional scouting. I would recommend this run for new creek boaters or for anyone with a love of wilderness. It's a short trip you can combine with some of the other creek runs along the Mulberry. I have no idea when Herrod's was first paddled or "whodunit," but we paddled Herrod's when the Mulberry was running about 8 feet and I'd say it was the low end of optimal.

Incidentally, Herrod's Creek shows up on the original General Land Office survey plats from 1842. A close inspection of the map (below) shows the primitive "Road from Ozark to Huntsville" ran--still runs--along Herrod's Creek. The original Turner's Ferry across the Mulberry River also shows up on this map, near where the Byrd family settled in the 1850's. A fun summit hike can be made from Byrd's to the top of Hare Mountain and back utilizing the Ozark Highlands Trail at Herrod's Creek (you can visit Spy Rock along the way). At 2,395 feet, Hare Mountain is the highest peak along the Ozark Highlands Trail. Its rugged slopes feed a number of creeks including Herrod's.



Original 1842 Map of Herrod's Creek (Click to enlarge)

[Cowper]

Nice!

In these days of gps when we feel like such "explorers" for getting off the couch, it really makes you think to imagine them in 1842 dragging chains and other survey equipment over that same terrain to make those maps...

We're lucky to get to play in these same woods. Thanks for sharing.

[ebell]

After hiking up Hare mountain on the OHT it a great place to stop and just soak up the views for a good long while. I have just done it once but haven't forgotten about those long distance views.

May have to get more info from you on how you exactly got to the put in.

eric

[prophet]

you guys now offer a boat shuttle to the put-in?

[hollohead]

What a cool trip report, sounds like an adventure alot of people could enjoy.

[Don Harwood]

Nice, thanks for the info Zen!
I have often wondered what was upstream of all of those tribs to the Mulberry as I passed over them.

[Zen B.]

Thanks guys!

Here's an OT report from my friend Wes Williams. He did a solo hike/bivy from Herrod's to the summit of Hare Mountain during the frosty March of 2011:

Before starting I looked at my old Ozark Highlands Trail guide. It said the mileage from Herrod's creek to Hare Mountain was 4.7 miles, so I guesstimate the mileage from Byrd's Store to Herrod's Creek to be roughly 1.5 miles. A one-way hike to the summit of Hare Mountain would be about 6.2 miles if you hike the old wagon road from Byrd's to the OHT crossing at Herrod's Creek and follow the trail.


Wes Williams photo


Directions from the store at Byrd's:

Follow the old wagon road westward toward Herrod's Valley. Spot the bluff overlooking the meadow on the right and the Mulberry River on the left. Intersect the new Highway 215 bridge over Herrod's with the old bridge underneath. At the old bridge, you can avoid crossing Herrod's by staying right for a couple hundred yards and bushwhacking beneath a bluff till you get back to the wagon road leading into the woods.

Follow the old road northward along Herrod's Creek (upstream) till you intersect the Ozark Highlands Trail, marked with white blazes and running east and west. Turn west and follow the OHT across two narrow channels of Herrod's and up the mountain. There are several great campsites in this area.


Chris Robertson on Angle Iron (5.12a) at Herrod's Creek


Guidebook author Tim Ernst comments on four waterfalls along this section of trail up to West Cobb, Morgan Fields, and the summit of Hare Mountain. Two of these have short spur trails leading to them from the main trail (look for blue blazes). Going west from Herrod's Creek, the first spur trail to waterfall #4 is just a short distance up the hillside. This was Tim Ernst's first photographed waterfall to be published in National Geographic.

Nearing the top of the ridge you intersect with the Spy Rock and Redding Loop trails. Be careful not to get lost in the "Redspyder Triangle"!

After several miles on the main OHT you cross FR 1504 near the upper trailhead. The trail gets steeper the closer you get to the summit of Hare Mountain. Few reliable year-round water sources exist between Herrod's Creek and the top, but there is an old well on the summit with a bucket on a string. A spur trail runs to the well and to popular summit camp spots.


Summit spur. W.W.　



My frozen bivy on the morning of March 6th, 2011. W.W.



The view south down Mountain Creek. W.W.


Hare Mountain is around 2395 feet in elevation. Beech Grove at the Mulberry River is around 800 feet in elevation. The elevation gain from Byrd's to the summit is about 1595 feet. Have fun!

Wes Williams
March 2011



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