I wanna do some camping, but not sure where to go.  I wanna hike into it, live off my pack for a day or two, then hike out.  Can you do this in OK anywhere?

Southeast OK. In Haskell County, north of McCurtain, east of Stigler and west of Ft. Smith.

If you hear banjos and guitars playing "Dueling Banjos" get the fuck outta there!!!  Some good old boy may come up and want you to "squeeeeeel like a pig boy!!!".   Hyuck Hyuck!!!!!!  

acman145acp should be along to give you some camping pointers and stories. He's a good guy, just don't tell him any good Taurus handgun stories....oh wait...that'll be no problem, because THERE IS NO good Taurus handgun stories. :)

I was thinking along the same lines, but I want to turn it into a 4-wheeler atv trip. Load all my stuff on the 4-wheeler, spend a couple of days camping and then come back.

Get to McCurtain in Haskell County, head west on Hwy 31 until you come to an abandoned coal mine, turn north toward Panther. You can keep going north and you'll be up in good ATV country or hiking territory.
It's a nice area with an occasional dirt biker and bigfoot.

......or mothman.

Sweet.  My next question is who owns this land?  



Can I just head down there in my truck, park it, and go camping?





 

If you just want to get away from everyone...... Honobia Creek and Three Rivers are still good to go.   http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wmastate.htm


Now that they don't allow quads anymore it'll be pretty well abandoned wasn't much traffic even when they alowed quads.


If you want to carry a long gun with no issues pick a time when theirs a hunting season going




The permit isn't to bad~ if your going more than once a yr.





The Quachita NF and wma units is pretty well deserted too and doesn't cost anything.


None of these areas have real hiking trails so you'll have to blaze your own trail going in............





Cell phone coverage is spotty to non existent and once you get off the beaten trail nobody's going to find you or bump into you (almost guaranteed) so take a compass





ETA during deer season their is a quite a few people...... but i still managed to drive up and kill one on opening day without seeing anyone near my area....... but i've spent a lot of the last 3~4 yrs runing around the area you just have to be willing to go where nobody else will




 

It's leased by a logging company. I don't know who.
You can park your truck and just go. The logging roads will take you to some pretty neat places. Stream beds, old oil well platforms, water falls, etc.
We road ATVs from Hwy 31 to Hwy 9, about 35 miles there and 35 back. Lots of dirt bikes taking that route too.
It's been a while since I've been there so  clear cutting may have changed the look of a lot of it. You just don't know until you go.
Use Google Earth or Virtual Earth for an aerial view to get a better idea.

UHHHHH WAHT??????

That's a critter with wings.
It's really a vampire that likes to fly around at night scaring the hell out of people.
From Wikipedia:

Mothman
 
First reported November 12, 1966
Country United States
Region West Virginia
Habitat Air/land
Status Unconfirmed

The Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia from November 12, 1966, to December 1967.[1] Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its chest.

A number of hypotheses have been presented to explain eyewitness accounts, ranging from misidentification and coincidence, to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.

History

November 15, 1966

On November 15, 1966, two young, married couples from Point Pleasant, David and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were traveling late at night in the Scarberrys' car. They were passing the West Virginia Ordnance Works, an abandoned World War II TNT factory, about seven miles north from Point Pleasant, in the 2,500 acre (10 km²) McClintic Wildlife Management Area, when they noticed two red lights in the shadows by an old generator plant near the factory gate. They stopped the car, and reportedly discovered that the lights were the glowing red eyes of a large animal, "shaped like a man, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back", according to Roger Scarberry. Terrified, they drove toward Route 62, where the creature supposedly chased them at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. However, as quoted in Keel's The Mothman Prophecies, the Scarberrys, despite driving more than 100 miles per hour, claimed to have noticed a dead dog on the side of the road, and in fact made such accurate note of its location that they claimed to have gone back the very next day and looked for it. Explanations for how they were able to make so accurate a mental note at a time of such great distress, or why they would go back to look for the dead dog, are not included in Keel's book.

A plaque on the Mothman statue provides a version of the original legend: "On a chilly, fall night in November 1966, two young couples drove into the TNT area north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, when they realized they were not alone." Driving down the exit road, they saw the supposed creature standing on a nearby ridge. It spread its wings and flew alongside the vehicle up to the city limits. They drove to the Mason County courthouse to alert Deputy Millard Halstead, who later said, "I've known these kids all their lives. They'd never been in any trouble and they were really scared that night. I took them seriously." He then followed Roger Scarberry's car back to the secret ex-U.S. Federal bomb and missile factory, but found no trace of the strange creature. According to the book Alien Animals, by Janet and Colin Bord, a poltergeist attack on the Scarberry home occurred later that night, during which the creature was seen several times.
The plaque on the Mothman statue

November 16, 1966

The following night, on November 16, several armed townspeople combed the area around the TNT plant for signs of Mothman. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wamsley, and Mrs. Marcella Bennett, with her infant daughter Teena in tow, were in a car en-route to visit their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Thomas, who lived in a bungalow among the igloos (concrete dome-shaped dynamite storage structures erected during WW-II) near the TNT plant. The igloos were now empty, some owned by the county, others by companies intending to use them for storage. They were heading back to their car when a figure appeared behind their parked vehicle. Mrs. Bennett said that it seemed like it had been lying down, slowly rising up from the ground, large and gray, with glowing red eyes. While Wamsley phoned the police, the creature walked onto the porch and peered in at them through the window.[2]

November 24, 1966

On November 24, four people allegedly saw the creature flying over the TNT area.

November 25, 1966

On the morning of November 25, Thomas Ury, who was driving along Route 62 just north of the TNT, claimed to have seen the creature standing in a field, and then it spread its wings and flew alongside his car as he sped toward the Point Pleasant sheriff's office.[3]

November 26, 1966

On November 26, Mrs. Ruth Foster of Charleston, West Virginia reportedly saw Mothman standing on her front lawn, but the creature was gone by the time her brother-in-law went out to investigate. Further, on the morning of November 27, the creature allegedly pursued a young woman near Mason, West Virginia, and was reported again in St. Albans the same night, by two children.[4]

1967

A Mothman sighting was again reported on January 11, 1967, and several other times that same year. Fewer sightings of the Mothman were reported after the collapse of the Silver Bridge, when 46 people died. The Silver Bridge, so named for its aluminium paint, was an eyebar chain suspension bridge that connected the cities of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Kanauga, Ohio over the Ohio River. The bridge was built in 1928, and it collapsed on December 15, 1967. Investigation of the bridge wreckage pointed to the failure of a single eye-bar in a suspension chain due to a small manufacturing flaw. There are rumors that the Mothman appears before upcoming disasters, or that the Mothman causes disasters.[5]

After the event

The word "Mothman" was an invention by an Ohio newspaper copyeditor, after the first news stories of the "Big Bird" sightings appeared.

A large collection of first-hand material about the Mothman is found in John Keel's 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies,[6] in which Keel lays out the chronology of the Mothman and what he claims to be related parapsychological events in the area, including UFO activity, Men in Black encounters, poltergeist activity, Bigfoot and black panther sightings, animal and human mutilations, precognitions by witnesses, and the December 15 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge spanning the Ohio River.

Keel's first book was the basis of a 2002 film, The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, and Will Patton, directed by Mark Pellington. A companion book called The Eighth Tower, also released in 1975, was derived from material edited from The Mothman Prophecies by the publishers.

In the May-June 2002 issue of the Skeptical Inquirer, journalist John C. Sherwood, a former business associate of UFO hoaxer Gray Barker, published an analysis of private letters between Keel and Barker during the period of Keel's investigation. In the article, "Gray Barker's Book of Bunk", Sherwood documented significant differences between what Keel wrote at the time of his investigation and what Keel wrote in his first book about the Mothman reports, raising questions about the book's accuracy.

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, in conjunction with Sony/Screen Gems studio and as noted in the documentary film by David Grabias, "In Search of the Mothman", served as one of the fictional movie's two publicity spokespersons (Keel being the other, although Keel's involvement was limited by health concerns).[7]

Andy Colvin, a photographer and documentary filmmaker who claims to have seen the Mothman, has produced two books and a reality series on Mothman called The Mothman's Photographer, featuring John Keel and almost 50 witnesses. Colvin's sister took a snapshot of him in 1973 that allegedly shows a Garuda in the background.

Analysis
1976 British edition of The Mothman Prophecies.

There are several theories concerning the Mothman phenomenon.

Supernatural theories

John Keel claimed that Mothman was related to parapsychological events in the area, including UFO activity, Men in Black encounters, poltergeist activity, Bigfoot and black panther sightings, animal and human mutilations, precognitions by witnesses, and the December 15, 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge spanning the Ohio River.

Misidentified bird

One of the early theories is that the Mothman was a misidentified Sandhill Crane, which, in the late 1960s had been a problem in surrounding regions. Sandhill cranes have an average wingspan of 5.3 feet (up to 7 feet), average overall length of 39 inches and have the general appearance described, glide for long distances without flapping, and have an unusual shriek. Other theories suggest the possibility of the Mothman being a Barn Owl, an albino owl, or perhaps a large Snowy Owl (based on artists' impressions). Skeptics suggest that the Mothman's glowing eyes are actually red-eye caused from the reflection of light, from flashlights, or other light sources that witnesses may have had with them.[9]

Hoaxes

In Episode 2 of the short-lived TV series X-Testers, the researchers on the show attempted various ways to duplicate various photographs of what is said to be Mothman on bridges. The researchers concluded that a recent photo of an unidentified object on the bridge is possibly just a black garbage bag, and earlier photos are possibly just camera tricks. [10]

Come on down to McCurtain Co. if you want to hike, since they banned our quads in the areas. I can give you info on the choice and safer areas.

Ouchita Mountains

damn thank god theres no mothman in oklahoma,but then again we have a higher redneck ratio,so there could have been one but not no more

Yep, here's the place! FYI it's pronounced wah-sha-tah

If anyone does fo into the three rivers or honobia wma make sure you get a land access permit. They have been really tight on that since they changed so much and leased out lands last year. I also suggest that you carry.

This sounds like an awesome time.  I;m in search of a tent now, I need one worthy of backpacking.  



Thanks OKHTF.  



Dan, when I actually get ready to do this I'll probably give you a holler.

http://www.tarptent.com/productsheets/SQUALL2.pdf



 

There's a few of us around that do (or in my case, used to do) some serious backpacking and there are a few places in OK to get a decent 2/3-day experience in.

Robber's Cave is small, but the entire state park has a backpacking trail around it.  You can do it in a day if you hump it, or you can relax and hike in about 4-6hrs and stay overnight (they have  a primative backpacking site) and hike out.  There's lots of trails that aren't on any map I've seen and there's plenty of neat hiking there.  Bring iodine or chlorine tablets for your water as there are horses around that area and just filtering isn't going to get rid of the viruses.  There's a pretty good sized state park with camping facilities there, but the hiking trails are far enough away from that stuff that you don't see/hear it too much.  Heavily wooded (think Ozark-style mountains)

Devil's Den in AR (just across the border) is pretty cool too, and its larger than Robber's cave.  There's some neat stuff to see there, but its also got a large state park in it, so you have to avoid that if you want the seclusion of hiking away from people in loud RVs etc...  Pretty heavily wooded (Ozarky again)

Winding Stair National Park down on Talamena drive is one of my favorite places to tent-camp with the family.  It also has a backpackers camp-site and miles and miles of trails.  Its very secluded, the only problem is that the scenery doesn't change much - you're pretty much on a single stretched out Ozark-type mountains the entire time.  Iits very pretty scenery (just doesn't ever change).  Beware again of horses (and horse trails) if  you ask the ranger for a map, be sure to get both hiking trails and horse trails as the two cross and combine/split often and its easy to get them mixed up.  Very few water sources around there, so get them pegged out before you hike too far.

The Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge over near Ft. Sill has backpacking allowed - its more of a Nevada or exposed dirt/rock mountain area.  I've only been there once, but its been a long time.  There seemed to be plenty of creeks and stuff for water but very little tree coverings in lots of areas so exposure to sun is an issue.

Quartz Mountain has some hiking, but I don't know that they allow overnight backpacking in the mountains.  I'd love to find out because that's honestly one of my favorite places to camp with the family.  They've got a huge lodge, cabins, tent-camping, and RV hookups though, so it can get busy, but its easy enough to get away from that stuff.

You might try the Washita National Wildlife Refuge, but I've had no real luck with finding any decent hiking there two times in a row now.

Hanobia Wildlife Management Area and 3 Rivers Wildlife Management area are awesome, but not for the weak (on foot).  If you're on an ATV, they can be awesome places to see and you can cover a lot of ground.  If  you're on foot, they can be a serious challenge and pretty hazardous.  Lots of logging roads, but II've heard rumors that you can walk into the wrong area and be on someone's weed-patch or meth-lab.  I wouldn't attempt this unless you're a serious hiker or if you weren't going to stray more than a couple of miles from your vehicle.  Take a buddy down there - I wouldn't hike down there alone no matter what.  I go down there to camp about twice a year and will usually go on short hikes with friends, but there is just so much friggin terrain - and its hard to try and bushwhack down there - very thick underbrush among those pine trees in lots of places.  There is some really awesome stuff to see down there.  I wouldn't go down there unarmed under any circumstances.

If you feel like heading further into AR, there's lots of cool places that you can pretty much get lost in for days.  Petite Jean State Park has miles and miles of cool hiking around it.  Mount Nebo is small, but its pretty cool.  Mount Magazine has some awesome trails around it.

Thanks for the write up, all of those places sound very interesting.

That looks pretty neat, but I'm looking more at something like this.

http://www.rei.com/product/791634





 

That's a nice tent.

I've got several cheapies and a Kelty 2-man w/vestibule.

The cheapies are less than 4lbs, but not really 4-season tents.

I've got a ton of extra gear - actually I've got enough gear for a second person, but I can never seem to make myself sell any of it.

I've got a 2-man Eureka Timberline you can use. (if I can find it!)
The best thing I've used is one of those old cowboy canvas fart sacks with a sleeping bag in it.
I used one in a cold far off land when I was younger and it worked like a champ.
From MadMule Saddlery:

From Butler Bags - darn expensive:

It works if you want to sleep on the ground with no tent over you.
A bivy bag ain't too bad either from what I've had others tell me.
From Cabela's:

Those are kick ass tents i've got rei's version(half dome).

It's kept me dry in some ferocious storms. The only bad thing about them is the weight for backpacking they are a little on the heavy side.

Now that i'm getting older and lazier




The tarpten is less than half the weight.
 

This its pretty big and you just might find an abandoned still site dont ask me how i know.

Or the Wichita mountains down by lawton and Fort Sill

Get married. Problem solved.

I have a couple marmot jackets that I REALLY like, so I'll probably splurge a little and get that tent.  The weight isn't that critical, not saying I want to carry an airstream though, since I don't think I'll be going too far.