Roark Bluff
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| | Difficulty:3B II (v3a2 II) Raps:4-6, max ↨140ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional 12 min drive. Much longer hike. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best season: | Year round, but hot and buggy in summer months.
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36.0463, -93.3484
36.0415, -93.3526
36.0403, -93.3458
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Introduction
Above Roark Bluff is a series of shorter rappels ultimately leading to the 140 ft drop down the bluff.
Approach
Park car on side of road just north of Ponca. Hike the Chimney Rock Trail to the start of the wash.
Descent
Hike in wash. Rappel down drops. A couple are taller, while a few are lower angled but slippery. A few tree anchors have webbing present. Use retrievable tree anchors otherwise as needed.
Once at the top of Roark Bluff, up along the cliff edge RDC is a pine tree 15-20 feet from the edge slung with webbing. Rappel from here to the river bottom and ford the river. NB! A tagline will be necessary for most common rope lengths to pull down.
Also, a guided rappel is possible crossing above the river from the top of the bluff. This is requires a single 200 m rope blocked in the middle and anchoring at the bottom of a tree on the other side of the river.
Exit
500 ft walk to your shuttle car.
Red tape
Beta sites
Trip reports and media
Background
I explored this in February 2024 and subsequently set up a guided rappel over the Buffalo River. I was not the first person down this hollow. A couple webbing tree anchors were encountered up canyon, though I could not determine where they ultimately rappelled Roark Bluff.