We headed to the Ozark National Forest, north of Morrilton. There is a nice collection of waterfalls in this area, which is great since it's a relatively short drive away. From Conway, it only took an hour to reach the parking area for the waterfall. Which is a bit better than the usual three hours it takes to drive up to the Buffalo River.
The waterfall we were to visit that day was Ladderbucket Falls. It's a 36 foot-tall waterfall set back in a cool grotto. The hike is about 4 miles, and some of the hike was along either a 4-wheeler trail or a logging road. But the hike does turn into a very steep bushwhack when you have to descend from the top of the hill down to the creek. It wasn't easy, and I wasn't looking forward to having to climb back up that hill later on.
We eventually made it to Ladderbucket Falls, which unfortunately had neither a ladder nor a bucket there.
It is a really neat waterfall, and it's a place that very few people have visited or photographed...
Before climbing back up the big hill, we stopped and visited another waterfall along the way - the 84 foot-tall John Mountain Falls. But my pictures didn't turn out, so I won't bother posting them. We slowly made our way up the very steep hill, and eventually made it to the top (just as my legs were letting me know that they didn't appreciate this and would be sore for the next few days). On the way back to the car, we stopped at a smaller waterfall and went to explore it. While navigating down the muddy and leaf-covered hill, I slid and crashed down to the ground. I'm sure this amused Zack and any animals that may have been watching.
Back at the car it was time to head home, with two waterfalls visited and a few miles of hiking completed. Not too bad, even if it meant waking up at 7:00 am.
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