I had been talking about going hiking in Oklahoma for months and hiking is always a bucket list item on my...well bucket lists LOL but we always find ourselves too busy or occupied with other activities. We had an endless Summer this year and the weekend of November 4th was still warm but the Fall colors were finally showing themselves. I really had a ton of to dos to do and a messy house but I left it all to another day. Lesly and I loaded up and headed to Beaver Bend State Park in Oklahoma for a day of outdoor fun.
We checked into the visitor center and put our names on the list for the longest and hardest hike in the park... the Skyline Trail. 6 + miles of rough terrain and it warned that experienced hikers should only proceed. HA We are body builders and workout daily we thought. I get punched in the face for the love of hiking...we can for sure do this. Its OKLAHOMA how hard can it be!!!??? We parked the car at the entrance and started our hike on the Cedar Bluff trail that was filled with beautiful over looks and scenery of all the fall foliage before merging into the Skyline trail.
After the pretty look out points the scenery was still so relaxing and pretty to look at but the hike got increasingly harder. We had to really pay attention to the trail markers as we were on a trail that wasn't as heavily trafficked and so the path wasn't as beat down. We didn't talk much just got lost in our own heads and enjoyed the outdoors and the challenge.
All we had was our backpacks with water, toilet paper, and our park map so there was really no way to find out how far we had hiked but when we came across this STOP sign we learned that we had JUST BEGAN even though we had more than likely already hiked 2 miles. And this is where all the thoughts on "how hard could it be"...gets thrown in our face and crammed down our throats.
This rest of the hike was literally the most physically challenging and mentally challenging thing I have probably EVER done! The unknowns killed you...how far have you been, how far do you have to go, where are you, and what if we can't finish.
At the half way point, the power line road, we were enjoying being in the open and out of the woods and were taking a small breather. We were about to head back into the the woods when I started back on the trail and almost stepped on this HUGE spider...OMG I jumped back...Lesly had walked right over it not even paying attention. It was so fury and just gross omg I couldn't imagine having this thing crawling on me...we paid close attention to our steps and our surroundings back in the woods but didn't encounter any more spiders only a million daddy long legs.
Because of the unknowns we had to keep pushing forward and when we finished we were so glad to see people and get to the water fall. But we weren't really finished...this trail doesn't loop so we had to walk over a mile back on the highway along the damn of the lake back to our car. We were out of water, drenched in sweat, and so hungry. We stunk, had blisters, and every part of our lower body from the belly button down was so sore and achy. I felt like Reese Witherspoon in WILD!!!! LOL We were so proud of the accomplishment! Once we got back in the car we had more water and guzzled it down.
We made it back to the car around 4:30 and after catching our breath a minute headed back to the visitor center to let them know we were off the trail and to use the restroom to try and clean ourselves up a bit. Our shirts were soaked in sweat so we decided to grab a souvenir in the form of a baseball-tee from the gift shop. I changed into mine as I couldn't stand the smell of my current shirt or the cold sweat that clung to it. We asked the ladies running the office how long does the Skyline Trail usually take and they said 5-6 hours. Lesly and I completed it in 4 hours!!!! This made us even more proud of ourselves.
We left the park and immediately found somewhere to refuel...we stopped at a neat spot called Burgers and Blues right outside the park and the food was really good. I would definitely go back and recommend this place if you are in the area. The weather was still so nice and we still had daylight so we enjoyed our early supper outside and just couldn't get over the day we had.
Lesly and I were so proud of ourselves and felt so accomplished and emotionally energized after completing the grueling hike. We definitely respect the statement that that hike is for experienced hikers and we pity the fools who are really not athletic people who decide to embark on that trek....it is killer for real. We talked about it for the next week but not much on the way home as we were so exhausted. We could barley stay away as our bodies were spent and all our energy was completely gone. We got home around 7:30 that night and my bed was calling my name after a hot shower!
More info on the state park and to plan your own visit check out there website
HERE! I will be getting some hiking shoes before our next trip!
