Under gray skies with a chill in the air, nineteen TrailBlazers headed up Highway 23 to trek up Hare Mountain, the highest point on the OHT. Wilson led the 7.4 mile charge from Cherry Bend up the mountain and over to the Hare Mountain trailhead. Several years ago we did this same hike in a pea soup fog and saw nothing, so even with hazy skies we fared much better today! 

This hike involves a lot of ups and downs with fairly large elevation gains and losses, so we got some exercise. Recent rains, much needed, left a few mushy, squishy patches to navigate. There was some water running in the creeks with an occasional mini falls to please the eye. When we finally reached the ridge on top we had beautiful views on both sides bathed in bluish haze, Arkansas’ answer to the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

At our traditional lunch spot we met some backpackers setting up camp. Much to our dismay the picnic table had been moved, stolen, or otherwise purloined, so we made do with damp rocks and logs while lunching in a cool breeze. Some of us made the short trek to check out the old fireplace built by long-gone settlers as well as the old well. 

The sun was very stingy with a few anemic rays during most of the hike, but we did see some sun during the final leg and even more on the drive home. We hiked through a couple of cushy pine groves on the way down. Yours Truly was doing fine until the very end when her poor old knees showed they were the worse for wear after last week’s bushwhack. In any case, we had an enjoyable hike.