jolly hikes

Jonathon Jolly 30 year old adventurer that resides in Northwest Arkansas. This will be a collection of the places that I go and hike at, bike to, and hang out at with my hammock. All posts are originals, either by jollyhikes or by papercup which is...

[jollyhikes]

Where have I been?

The last three years have been great. I attempted the pacific crest trail in 2017; failed. Attempted again in 2018 and succeeded! Then just a few days ago I hiked over 100 miles on the san diego trans county trail.

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[jollyhikes]

Tonight's view

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[jollyhikes]

3 day weekend and what I did.

Hey there friends, sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been out enjoying this summer and exploring new places. I haven’t taken too many photos cause the majority of my time has been out on the water and I really don’t want to drop my phone. Here are some from my most recent trip from Dillards Ferry to Rush on the Lower Buffalo River in Arkansas. A shitttt ton of people, but we found some really nice shady gravel bars to relax, smoke, and have a few beers. Fun little 6 hour float. 

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Yesterday *June 19th* my friend RJ and I decided to do some floating on the Buffalo River, this is only my second time on this huge river and we decided to do Pruitt Landing to Hasty which is considered one of the easier sections, but one of the top 3 scenic routes as well. Water levels were super low as we had to get out and drag the boats about 10 or 11 times total on this 7 mile stretch, but it was worth it and super rad. Met some cool people, did some swimming, and drank way too many beers. I love Arkansas

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My friend Keith hit me up late in the afternoon and asked me if I wanted to get out of the house and go explore, he had never been to Kings River Falls and I figured it would be pretty quiet considering it was a weekday. We stopped at Caseys General Store, stocked up on snacks and hit the road. 

Last time I went to KRF *only a few weeks ago* it was on a Sunday afternoon after a week long rainfest. It was super crowded, but the nice thing about this place is that even when its really crowded, you can still find your own little quiet area and enjoy the waterfall.

This time, we took a route different from the one before. We drove through Huntsville which is a super small town that had a little mom and pop type pizza place I want to go back and check out whenever I have more time. The drive is beautiful, and I even mentioned to him that it seemed like a movie set, almost too perfect to be real. 

We got to the trail head around 5:45pm and there were about 6 other cars there. Its a 0.9 mile hike to the actual swimming hole, but its a very nice and gentle hike. Nothing too strenuous. There are a few spots along the way where you can push through some shrubs and have your own little private beach or swim spot which is nice, especially if you go on a weekend and there are a million people at the falls itself. 

When you finally get to the falls there are a few different places you can go. If you look to your left when you arrive you will see a little creek, if you follow the creek back about 0.6 miles you will come to another waterfall about 15 feet tall, im not sure if this waterfall has a name, Ill have to do some more research, but when we went it was barely flowing, still super pretty. You can also go straight, and kinda climb up the bluff which overlooks KRF. There are 2 little fire pits already up there, and since you’ll be above the trees its a great place to set up a tent and just stargaze throughout the night. 

With this only being within an hour of Fayetteville and an hour and half of where I live *Bentonville* I can see myself hitting this spot up, especially after a good summer storm. 

Dog friendly trails!!! The sign says no camping but I doubt there will be anyone out there checking. Theres also a cabin right near the trailhead that rents out 3 bedrooms for 200 a night with a beautiful meadow. love love love it. 

Trailhead. AllTrail Data. 

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[papercup]

had some shit happen this weekend that left me a little bummed, so i bought myself a present. 

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[jollyhikes]

Thursdays Route!

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this place was ridiculous to find, i spent one whole day on a wild goose chase with the wrong gps coords. decided to go back on Memorial Day and it was awesome. No one else hiking along the creek and I managed to squeeze in a quick little hour nap in the hammock. good shit. 

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View this post on Instagram

[papercup]

threw together this little video from yesterdays adventures. 

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Here are some photos I took earlier this year when my friend Rj and I hiked out to ‘Eye of The Needle’ out near Ponca, Ar. 

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Since my bike has been out of commission for a bit I decided to hit up the trails today. Met up with an online friend who I’ve known for 4 or 5 years, and we met for the first time today. I’ll upload some videos later from the gopro. <#