Fifteen TrailBlazers had a beautiful fall morning to take the short drive to Lake Fort Smith State Park to hike the Shepherd Springs Loop.  Some fall color was in evidence but it has not yet reached its prime.  It was only a little cool when we arrived and temps warmed up pretty fast.

With Captain Linda in the lead we started out on the OHT from the Visitors Center.  Next we turned at the sign for Shepherd Springs Loop and then trekked up and down on this rocky trail with only occasional glimpses of the lake since most of the leaves have not yet fallen.  We checked out some large boulders along the way and stopped every now and then to chat.  Yours Truly must report that this latter activity is not limited to hikers of the female persuasion!

 Next we were thrown a curve when we arrived at the spot where we were supposed to turn only to find that the trail was blocked by yellow tape!  We did not know what the problem was and wondered if there was a large tree blocking the trail or a mudslide.  The latter seemed hard to believe since we have had very little rain!  

 At this juncture we had three choices: hike back the way we came, throw caution to the winds and ignore the tape, or try to find out why the trail was closed.  Most cells didn’t have service but fortunately Jason had 3 bars so Linda could talk to the Visitors Center.  The tapes were there to mark the route for a race that was to take place on the trails.  We were told that we could ignore the tape and pass under it.

 Continuing on we were now on the lower return trail where we were closer to the lake and had better views.  We also took photo ops at the two old chimneys that were probably part of homes of a bygone era.  Amy noticed that one of the native stone chimneys had a fireplace with fire bricks that had been made in St. Louis!  There were a couple of places with steep rocks to climb that are tricky for vertically challenged people like Yours Truly!  There were at least two places on the loop where there were downed trees obstacles that we had to scramble through.  This is nothing new for TrailBlazers!

 Completing the loop, we arrived back at the Visitors Center where some of us ate our lunch on a stone wall and others decided to eat out.  What a great day for a hike!

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 Hike pics are below.  Click on any pic to enlarge it and then use the arrows to see the slide show.

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