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Category: Hike Reports
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Twenty-eight TrailBlazers under the command of Captain Dana took the scenic drive to Mt. Magazine State Park on a beautiful, sunny fall day.  Upon reaching the top of the mountain, we were relieved to still see blue skies with lots of sun.  There have been times when we have arrived at the Visitors Center to find ourselves enveloped in fog clear down to our toes!  On those occasions we had to take our group pic indoors, but not today!  Upon our arrival at the Visitors Center, imagine our surprise to see Alice Nahas who hiked with us a lot in the early years of the club.  Welcome back, Alice, and come again when you can!

 

Today we did a new hike for the club.  Dana, a member of the Arkansas Master Naturalists, was able to show us things we had not seen before.  In fact, Mt. Magazine is a very large park that features many places that most of us have never seen.

 Starting at the Brown Springs picnic area, we started trekking along the northern rim to the Dripping Spring area.  As Dana had warned us, the descent was short but it was steep, rocky, and leaf-covered.  Nevertheless, those who made the descent did so without mishap.  The spring looks like a dark triangular cave with a square inside it with a muddy patch at the bottom due to the dripping water that was not visible, at least not to Yours Truly!  The more energetic hikers continued on down the steep trail to the Eye of the Needle area..

 One of the neatest parts of the hike was the trek done down to the Window by some of our more nimble hikers.  It is beautiful in and of itself but also provides a frame to show a view of other hikers on top of a high bluff in the distance.

 Next we went a short way down the trail where we had a great view of the valley from a rocky bluff.  Several people either ate their lunches or had a snack at this beautiful spot.  Continuing on, we reached another large, beautiful bluff area that featured some rocky water-filled holes, gorgeous panoramic views, and a sighting of Nuclear One in the distance.  OK, so the latter has limited scenic value because it is definitely not natural!

 A handful of us went over to the Lodge to check out the view of Blue Mountain Lake from the deck at the Lodge.  Of course it was beautiful but, alas, fall color was conspicuous by its absence.  It’s just that kind of year!

 We had a great hike today with perfect weather as the icing on the cake!

 If you plan to hike with us at Petit Jean next week, please sign up on this site.

 Pictures are below.  Click on any picture to enlarge, and then click on the arrow at the right to create a slide show.

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