Sixteen TrailBlazers headed for Hot Springs to try out a new trail for us, the Sunset Loop. There was the possibility of rain, but hike leader Kenya told us to bring rain gear to ward it off, and this ploy worked! For those who may not know, Hot Springs is a very unusual national park right smack in the middle of the old town, surrounded by hillsides with hiking trails. Back in the day there were lots of bathhouses, some still in use, and people came to drink the water, vacation, take the rest cure, bathe, gamble and do lots of other things in Arkansas’ answer to Sin City. 

It was a little cool under gray skies as we waited around for our drivers to set up the shuttle. Once we started trekking we warmed up rather quickly as there were plenty of ups and downs and just enough rocks on the trail to deal fits to tired old knees. There were still small patches of snow her and there, but most of it was gone We met various people on the trail, including Terry who has hiked with us before. Linda, our sweep, was making plenty of snowballs and was threatening us with a rear assault. Yours Truly stuck with Billigene as a means of self defense, because nobody would dare to pelt our matriarch! 

After lunch we took a small detour where we did some slip-sliding down a gravelly incline to see Balanced Rock. Mike did his best do knock it off its pedestal, but his efforts proved futile, so the rock remains safely balanced for others to enjoy. As we hiked along high ridges we did not see as many overlooks as hoped because even with the leaf fall there are plenty of tree trunks and brush to obscure the view in most places. The rain held off so hiking conditions proved to be fine, and once again we were glad to be out and about after a tiresome winter.