DOOM – Ouachita Doom

DOOM Ouachita Doom is the flagship distance of the DOOM bikepacking series, a 325-mile (approximately 525-kilometre) event through the Ouachita National Forest of Arkansas with over 32,000 feet (9,750 metres) of elevation gain on terrain that is 80% or more unpaved. Starting in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the route digs deep into the Ouachita Mountains on singletracks, forest service roads, and rocky mountain trails that challenge technical skills as much as endurance. The Ouachita Mountains are an ancient east-west range — the only significant mountain range in the United States that runs east-west rather than north-south — characterised by quartzite ridges, dense pine and hardwood forest, and a wildness that belies their proximity to the American South's major cities. The March timing means spring is arriving but conditions remain unpredictable: temperatures can range from freezing overnight to warm and humid during the day, with the possibility of rain, mud, and flash flooding on the lower trails. DOOM stands for something the organisers have kept deliberately vague — the name reflects the character of the event rather than an acronym. The self-supported format requires riders to carry all their own equipment and navigate with full autonomy on trails that are not always clearly marked.