Cover: Broken Bow Lake

We are lucky to have so many breathtaking National parks and State parks in the United States. Four friends from Dallas went on a trip to Oklahoma a few years back on a weekend trip to Beaver’s Bend State park. While I have written a story about the experience we had, my dear friend Meera Menon, wrote a funny poem about it which is on this blog. Thanks to her for sharing this experience via her lovely poem. Find park resources and information on hiking trails at the bottom of this page.

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Beavers Bend State park in Oklahoma, is a serene retreat to relax, hike and camp. The large Broken Bow lake is part of this park. 

Located in the foothills of the Kiamichi Mountains, it is located about 9 miles north of the town of Broken Bow. The words that come to mind with Broken Bow are Hills-Streams-Hills-Streams on repeat! Why? Read on…..

April 2018
Four of us who call ourselves Quattro, planned a much overdue girls trip to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, about a 4 hour drive from where we live.  As luck would have it, the weather was a freak cold day with a high of 35 deg F which is not typical for April in Oklahoma. However, we didn’t let that dampen our spirits as we drove, listened to songs, ate the Janaki brand ribbon pakodas (Indian junk food) and other such stuff bought from the bins of Patel Bros.

After enquiring at the office about various trails, we decided to go on a two hour trail which our friend Malathy said they had been on before when her dog was little. The lady at the office gave us the usual precautions and advised us to get back by dusk for we didn’t want to run into any bears (a remote chance but not ruled out). We started walking the trail and 45 minutes later we found ourselves back at where we had started. Hmm, so perhaps we hadn’t taken the right one? So we set out again intent on finding the longer hike that would take 2 hours. There were ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as the scenery unfolded before us, we took pictures of the river flowing much below us, from various vantage points. The rain did not bother us nor the flapping, unbecoming ponchos. My head was filled with the song my kids sang when little, “Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go…..” .

We met groups of people and solo hikers, merrily agreed to take their pictures as they did ours. All in all, a happy time was being had as we scaled hills and crossed cold streams. We noticed a couple who seemed like professional hikers pass us by, we came across a solo walker as we contemplated how to cross a rather wide river without getting our feet wet. An impossible feat, as we discovered after! Hmm, shoes wet and socks wet. But the solo walker had assured us we were going along the right way. We marched on. As the hours went by we were scaling more hills and crossing more streams as we walked through the woods. Seeing no other people any more, we began to wonder how much longer this trail was. Hadn’t we walked some 5 hours already? We called the office and told them where we were by identifying some signs around us. They told us we should be ok and so we ploughed on. By now my wet feet had started to go numb, hands freezing. Pree and Mal seemed to have sensible shoes. Meera and I sported ones with pink laces which seemed fit to walk on a paved road. Mal walked on ahead, looking for better markers. The three of us, miserable in different ways, started to fret about the time, the sunset, and the path that seemed to have no end in sight, constantly asking how a so called 2 hour trail had turned out this long!  Climbing another large hill and crossing another stream was only adding to the stress. At one point after crossing another cold stream, my feet were so numb that Mal had to use her shawl to rub them hard. Then she lent her spare mittens to both Meera and me, one mitten each which we managed to promptly lose along the way! This was starting to be a nightmare. The three of us continued to fret, mutter and curse as Mal walked ahead. We rested at a tree with the sign SL-20 on it. A little farther we saw a tree with two arrows, pointing in two different directions. Which way to go? The woods that seemed beautiful just a few hours ago began to take on an ominous quality.  It was 6+ hours since we had begun this hike now. With none between us being a professional hiker who could read a map, or had a sense of direction by looking at the sky, we could only go by a blind majority toss. A statement thrown by Mal every now and then that we were on the right path, did little to allay our stress because we knew that she was in the same boat as us, not knowing where we were headed or how much longer it would take us to get back to civilization!

​Finally at a clearing in the woods, where we had 3 phones with no signal, one phone with a weak AT&T signal and battery dying, we decided to call 9-1-1 before the Sun let us down!! The prospect of the dark woods, the biting cold and a bear or two were enough to make us want to bawl. The sound of a human voice had never sounded sweeter. In a few minutes we saw an ATV rumbling down the hill with our savior, the ranger, on it. Once we were seated, much to our surprise, the ride only seemed to take a few minutes to our cars!! Thanking our hero, we went back to the cottage, warmed our feet in a hot water tub and slowly all was well with the world again.

The woods were lovely dark and deep, I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep
​–Robert Frost 

Yes, we certainly did many miles before we slept that night!! We had dinner to cook, wine to enjoy, a lot of analysis and post mortem discussion to get through where we went wrong (for which we still have no answers), and thank our stars many times before we went to sleep that night!! After looking at the trails later, we determined that what we had done was the Skyline trail. All trails says, ” a very challenging trail for experienced hikers. Trail is very steep at times. Several potentially difficult water crossings (especially after hard rains). Keep an eye out for trail markers as the trail can be easily lost at times”.

​Some of our spouses and kids didn’t seem to get the gravity of our adventure because they all laughed their heads off!

– by Jyothi 

This poem written by my friend Meera beautifully captures the essence of our trip!

The  Quattro set out on a trip together
Rearing to go, it was our first ever!

Food and bags all ready to go
We headed to the cabins in Broken Bow

Preeti at the wheel, Malathy the navigator
The ride was full of music, fun and laughter

Our cabin was called Tall Timber
A cozy little place we’ll always remember

We settled in, chatting over food and wine
Huddled on the sofas, having a great time

Ready to set off on a hike the next morning,
Little did we know, what the day would bring!

Rainy and cold, the weather not in our favor
This was surely a hike like no other?

We trudged along chatting, singing all the way
The scenic route ahead, taking our breath away!

Jyothi and Meera had on their ponchos
Preeti was ahead, Mal was the honcho

The hike went smoothly, the hours went by
No signs that anything could possibly go awry

We scaled hills and crossed many a creek
The trail went on, markings played hide n seek

Still, we clambered up, squishy shoes and all
Poor Jo’s feet begged a rub with Mal’s shawl

Deadened at SL-20,  which way do we go?
Phones with no signals and dying, oh no!

Pree is unsure to go on, Jo needs to rest
Meera worries, is the sun about to set?

We call for help, sensing something is wrong
Mal thinks- what kind of a bunch did I bring along?

We move on and reach a clearing
But the signs disappeared, a Red Herring?

Then , at last-the sighting of a ranger
We knew then we were out of danger

Back at the cabin, hungry and in a better mood
We laughed it off over coffee and food

And so, our great  adventure ends right here
An experience we’ll forever hold dear

A getaway full of moments  to cherish
Memories of a lifetime that will never perish!

Saved by the ranger!

All smiles after being rescued

A warm soak after!!

Time to relax with some Lavender oil

All’s well that ends well!!

For more detailed information about the park, go to the Beaver’s Bend site and Travel Oklahoma site.

Resources for hiking trails with description of the trail, its length and difficulty

Best 10 Hikes and Trails in Beavers Bend State Park | AllTrails     We did the Skyline trail!

Hiking Trails & Biking Trails in Beavers Bend State Park (beavers-bend.com)

Best Hiking in Broken Bow & Beavers Bend | Trail Map & Guide (rusticluxurycabins.com)

Cabins in Broken Bow/Beavers Bend

We had stayed in Kiamichi cabins. There are anyway several in the area and a google search on Cabins in Broken Bow or Beavers Bend will give you a range of them to choose from.