The Big Bend on Richland Creek

I returned to Richland Creek last week. I had hoped that the USFS (U. S. Forest Service) had made some changes to Forest Service Road 1205 and reopened the campground, but sadly I found that this was not the case. It’s a sad thing to note that the U.S. can spend 16 billion to bail out GM (to no avail), but can’t take about 100K to fix up the road network to one of the most pristene parts of the Ozark National Forest and Richland Wilderness Area.

My last trip to Richland Creek was in late October 2008. I was hoping that all the water from the twin Hurricanes in August and early September would keep the water table high enough so that the waterfalls on Big and Long Devil’s creeks would stay up. Unfortunately, after the 1st week of September, Arkansas received no more rain and the creek didn’t hold.

Richland and it’s surrounding watersheds are to me some of the best unspoiled parts of Arkansas. However in March/April of 2008 due to the heavy rainfall, a large part of Forest Service road 1205 slumped off. This blocked the southern approach to Richland Creek Campground. Promptly, the Forest Service, closed Richland Creek campground and put berms up on the bridge over Richland. I attempted to contact the Forest Service about this area and how important it was to Arkansas but never really received a response.

Now it’s over a year later, and really not much has changed. The campground has a permanent gate and Forest Service road 1205 is still blocked. This means that the only way into Richland is to drive around on FS 1203 and hit the northern end of FS 1205. Then drive through Iceledo Gap past Dickey Junction and then down to Richland.    Here is a shot on the Creek, looking upstream taken about 1/2 mile  above the campground.

This past week, I made this drive and was glad to see that FS 1205 was still in OK condition. It was apparent that 2009 ice storm caused a good bit of damage. I quickly lost count of the trees that had fallen across the road and had been cut. It also became quickly apparent that the damage is not going to be hidden as the trees gain full leaf, instead if anything the damage becomes even more obvious.

I started the hike at the top of the last switchback turn in 1205 before you get to the bridge. There is a good trail here that runs up to Shaws Folly Rapid (also known as Bill’s Thrill). From there I crossed the creek which was running at 100 CFS and hiked up two Cindie’s Hole. I love to work this rapid since the way the rocks are positioned in the creek really frames the shot well. The sky was perfect this day, deep blue with huge white clouds slowly moving across. I will note that up to here, the trail was still pretty much open, with only one small tree down. However this soon changed. 100 CFS is a great level to photograph Richland since you can easily make crossing without too much risk. I personally draw the line at 400CFS. At 400 you have to be very careful when crossing up by Twin Falls.

From Cindie’s on up the trail really becomes considerably harder. There are at least 8 new trees down and some of them are really taxing to get around with a full pack. The trail showed signs of recent hiking and had good tread. The worst of the new trees are up near where Big Devil’s comes into Richland. Here there are 3 in a row all of them at least 24 to 30 inches in diameter. When they fell they took more smaller trees down so you really have a task to get around all of it.

I crossed Richland right at the head of the rapid that is directly below the mouth of Big Devil’s creek. At this level this is an easy crossing, however when the creek gets higher, I will move upstream to the base of the rapid above the mouth of Big Devil’s creek and pick my way through the rocks. I should note that at 400 CFS, this is a dicey crossing so make sure if you are carrying camera gear, to have a fully waterproof pack.

I was surprised to see that a good flow of water was coming in at the mouth of Big Devil’s creek which would translate to a good flow of water at Twin Falls. The big bend of Richland was beautiful this day and I stopped to take several photos. I was working with mixed light and it made the photography difficult since I had to photograph for the sky and then the trees. This will be a hard combination to work up.

The trail up to Twin Falls, also has a new major tree down. One huge tree has fallen directly across the trail and taken with it a large number of smaller trees. This has totally blocked the trail, but other hikers have already created a work around.

I found a good flow of water at Twin Falls. I had noticed last year that the side flow near Big Devils falls had increased in flow thus causing less water to flow over the top of Big Devils Falls. I was up there last year at 400 CFS on Richland and the flow at Big Devil’s Falls looked like 150CFS on Richland. There was not a complete flow of water all the way across the falls. In the past this was not the case. This means that to really catch a large flow at Big and Long Devil’s falls, you will have to hike down from the cemetery near Iceledo Gap. The entire area around Twin Falls changed dramatically in the floods of 2008. One of the most noticeable spots is the run out below the falls after the big pool. In the past the rocks there framed one of the best shots of the falls, however in the flood all of these rocks were moved expect for one and the shot doesn’t have the same appeal to me as it did in the past.  One of my more traditional views of Twin Falls, note the Log across the top of Long Devil’s Falls, on the left.

There is now a huge tree down above Long Devil’s falls and it protrudes past the top of the falls. It’s too big to move, so only time will tell what happens to it. After photographing the falls, I headed back down Richland and left Richland Falls for another trip.

The sky conditions of this day really allowed for some excellent shooting of the falls. There were times when a large cloud would move across the sun and the effect was to even out the light. Twin Falls is a tough subject to photograph in bright light since you have to expose for the waterfalls or the shadows and combine the images later. I prefer this look at times since it allows for a lot of contrast, but there are times I like to shoot Twin Falls with even lighting. You can watch the sky and then wait will a large cloud moves across the sun.

For Richland Creek and Twin Falls, I like to use a CL-PL (Circular Polarizer) in combination with a ND (neutral Density) filter. I prefer to shoots longer shutter speeds, up to 2 seconds due to the effect it has on the water. In bright sunlight you will need to pick the lowest ISO setting your camera has and set your aperture in the 12 to 14 range to keep the high lights of the water from blowing out. The CL-PL will cut the glare off the water and enhance the greens. It’s important to remember to use a CL-PL in both shade and sun.  This is shot featuring the Big Devil’s or Right side view of Twin Falls.

As I worked my way back down Richland, I stopped at several of my favorite spots to take more photographs. As I mentioned, the conditions were just perfect, mixed light with little to no wind. I ended the day at Shaw’s Folly and then hiked back to my truck. The trail from Shaw’s to FS 1205 is in excellent condition with no new trees down.

As the campground is currently closed, the odds are during the week if you hike up Richland you will not run into another person. Make sure you let someone know where you are going. Since the campground has closed the area has really reverted to pure wilderness. If you head up there with more than 300 CFS in the creek, you may find some kayakers out for a run on the upper or lower portion of the creek. Based on the current amount of rain that has fallen in May, Richland should be holding up for hikes through late June. I should also note that the ticks were terrible so be prepared for them.