Take a fall hike in the Wichita Mountains
The Crab Eyes formation at the Charon's Garden Wilderness Area in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is two huge boulders sitting atop the formation in a precarious balancing act that gives the peak its signature appearance.
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is my favorite outdoor destination in Oklahoma.
It’s a great place for a fall hike and one of its best trails is the Charon’s Garden Trail.
The 4.4 mile-long trail is rated “moderate” for difficulty.
Hikers must navigate a boulder field and there are small streams and waterfalls on the trail which provide stunning mountain views.
The hike is “probably the jewel of the Wichitas,” said Randy Hale, refuge environmental education specialist. “There are places where you wonder, ‘How am I going to get from here to there?’ It’s really rugged.”
Hikers should bring plenty of water and can access the trail from the Sunset Picnic Area at the base of Elk Mountain.
If that parking lot is full, park instead at Treasure Lake and hike south to north. Roadside parking is not allowed.
Canadian smallies, geese, guns and whitetails
Carl Albert High School football coach Gary Rose holds two nice smallmouth bass that he caught on his summer fishing trip to Canada.
Carl Albert High School football coach Gary Rose shared some photos of his summer fishing trip to Canada.
Rose and his fishing partner, Matt Evans of Midwest City, pounded the smallmouth bass for nearly a week on the Seine River Chain near Atikokan, Ontario.
The anglers caught about 350 smallmouths in 5 1/2 days of fishing, many of them 3-pound plus bronzebacks, Rose reports.
Banning Lake, Perch Lake, and Calm Lake were the best waters on the Seine River Chain, Rose said.
Washita goose hunts
Hunters have until Sept. 28 to apply for winter goose hunts on the Washita National Wildlife Refuge near Butler.
Applicants must be 18 or older.
For more information, call the refuge office (580) 664-2205 or email washita@fws.gov.
Gun club schedules sight-in days
The Oklahoma City Gun Club will be open its Benchrest range to the public Sept. 15-16 for hunters to sight in their guns for the upcoming hunting seasons.
The cost is $5 per gun. Shooters should bring eye and ear protection.
The sight-in days are from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Gun club members will be there to assist shooters.
The gun club is located north of Arcadia on Sorghum Mill Road between Anderson and Hiwassee Roads. There will be signs directing the public to proper entrance on sight-in days.
Whitetail workshops
For those interested in deer hunting and deer management in Grady, McCLain and Cleveland counties, there will be workshop Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Norman.
The workshop is free to the public, but those attending must RSVP by Sept. 18 to Cherry Slaughter by calling (405) 321-4774 or emailing cherry.slaughter@okstate.edu.
Featured speakers from the Oklahoma State University Cooperate Extenions from each of those counties will cover a variety of deer management and hunting-related topics.
