Hike Kite Trail to Bison Trail Loop Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK

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Kite Trail to Bison Trail Loop GPX Track

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Feb 14, 2018 — This loop is part of the Dog Run Hollow Trail System, and was a nice warm-up as I started out west and was passing through Oklahoma. The loop I did starts by following the Kite Trail, which passes a feature called 40 foot hole, an interesting section of canyon much deeper than anywhere else on the trail. The trail sort of misses the mark, officially leading too far from the feature to see it well enough, so I followed a series of heavily-used social trails that go more along the rim of the canyon.

I reached a dam over Lost Lake and crossed it. While this isn't officially part of the trail, the dam is wide enough that walking along it shouldn't pose an issue and there were no signs reading that it was a problem. On the other side I met with the Bison Trail. I decided to head counter-clockwise along the Bison Trail, which paralled West Cache Creek as it wandered through the meadows. Rather than follow the Bison Trail, I cut south at a junction and took the Longhorn Trail to gain a little elevation on this otherwise quite flat hike. The Longhorn Trail rejoined the Bison Trail. Alternatively, you could continue along the Bison Trail to make the loop slightly longer. The Bison Trail continues south and approaches 40 foot hole again. You could just scramble down into it and reemberge back on the Kite Trail, but I just headed back to the dam and crossed over it again instead.

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Starting along the Kite Trail.

40 foot hole.

Looking back at the 40 foot hole. Misleading name for a canyon, but definitely a pretty thing.

Crossing the dam to join the Bison Trail.

Yum. I saw three or four carcasses like this one.

A quick re-route up the Longhorn Trail to get some elevation gain on this otherwise flat loop.

Back on the Bison Trail.

Approaching 40-foot hole again.

40-foot hole.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!