Nineteen TrailBlazers left Van Buren on an overcast, windy morning to drive I-40 and Route 7 down to the Ouachitas to Forked Mountain. We traveled part of the way up the mountain on a dusty dirt road to start the hike. Alas, there was no trail to speak of, so this was more of a scramble-bramble bushwhack than a hike - somewhat reminiscent of Pinnacle Mountain. Therefore, Yours Truly cannot award it her foot, ankle or knee-friendly rating as she ended the hike with her own poor knobby knees a-knocking! For her it must be a one-time “been there, done that” experience! Various TrailBlazers pushed, pulled or hauled her over some rough spots.
It was warm and sunny as we started out on a four-wheeler road that abruptly ended leaving us faced with a tall, rocky wall. Here we started attacking a boulder field and ever-so-carefully pussyfooted our way upward. One hiker abandoned the assault immediately and we lost a few more along the way. Eventually we reached the top where there were great views. After taking photos for bragging rights, we then slipped, tripped, slid, stumbled or bumbled our way down the other side of the mountain. We spent about 2 hours doing this 1-mile round trip trek, but it seemed longer!
After having something to eat, we drove over to Flatside Pinnacle and did the short, but steep trek up to the aptly-named Vista Point. This was an actual trail so it was much easier and we were soon rewarded with some great views. We had a neat day and several of us treated ourselves to burgers at CJ’s on the way home.
Twenty-five Trailblazers, 2 canines, and 3 latecomers drove up 215 north of Mulberry on a hot and sunny day to explore Fern Gully. Unfortunately one carload from Springdale seemed to have been lost in transit, probably because it is not easy to find the elusive gully! As we turned onto the dirt road, the forest road sign was conspicuous by its absence. The road itself was actually in pretty good shape, but not the muddy, rutted dirt track to the parking area.
After scrambling down to the creek, some with more grace than others, we all headed off in different directions to explore this scenic area with its rocky creek and towering rocks. The creek was flowing well so there were little waterfalls everywhere. Since there isn’t much of a trail, we crisscrossed the creek many times to find a place to hike with better footing. There were dogwoods in bloom, huge boulders, enormous palisades, and several slot canyons – something for everyone to enjoy. Since this is not a formal hike, people trekked as much or as little as they wanted. There was time to rest along the creek and visit with friends.
This time we managed to find and hike out a very nice trail with a gradual ascent up through a slot canyon to reach the high bluff where the cars were parked. Usually we scramble and claw our way out on a steep, rock-covered bushwhack to the top. Hopefully we can remember where this neat exit is – after all, some of us are subject to senior moments and might not have good recall next time! It was a very enjoyable afternoon.
Colorado bound, 21 Trailblazers, comprised of 16 JetSetters and 5 RoadRagers, settled into Moak Lodge, heard elk bugling in the night, and awoke to a collective case of sinusitis. Weather ran the gamut with the first 2 days being Forever Summer. Sun. we drove through Rocky Mt. NP, doing 4 short hikes to get acclimated. On Mon. we hiked Fern Lake Trail to the falls and on to Fern or Cub Lakes. Two moose were sighted on the descent, a rarity on the east side of the park. After driving up the dirt Old Fall River Road with its panoramic vistas on Tues., we experienced gale-force, chilly winds trekking down the Old Ute Trail from the Alpine Center to Milner Pass where it was balmy.
Wed. found some of us hiking the Bierstadt Trail with its scenic vistas up to the lake while another group tackled Glacier Gorge Trail to The Loch. Thursday featured The Quadruple Crown Lake tour, starting out in rain and sleet, up to the lakes - Nymph with its lily pads, Dream with its white caps, Emerald with its mountain backdrop and Hiayaha with its ancient tree. With the trail ascending higher and higher, a few hikers balked at the steep rim trail to the fourth lake in favor of a shortcut down past Alberta Falls. Friday found some on a trail ride, with one rider mounted on a horse named Arkansas, others making a steep trek up to beautiful Blue Lake, and another group hiking down Glacier Trail where there was an incredible moose sighting in a pond.
Aspen in golden fall attire was everywhere, and animal sightings included elk in abundance, moose – supposedly non-existent on the east side of the park, a snake, a fox, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, Stellar Jays, mule deer, ducks, colorful trout, and ptarmigans, to name a few. Haiya-HA, y’all! (This is our new club battle cry.)
Thirty plus TrailBlazers once again made the annual spring pilgrimage to Devil’s Den to finish off our 10th season. Of course, our crack forecasters, prophets of doom and gloom, predicted rain and later amended this, indicating that the skies would open at Devil's Den at 4:00. Of course, none of this happened at all – it was just warm and muggy (humidity conservatively estimated at 122.34785 %).
Not being terribly ambitious due to the humidity, one group trekked along Lee Creek, what there was of it, and the larger group trotted over to the Devil’s Den Trail. Alas, the waterfall over the ledge and the one behind the bridge were conspicuous by their absence, so we sort of hoped that the predicted rain had actually materialized. It is always a neat trail, with lots of bang for our buck, and we particularly enjoyed the cool air rising out of the crevices and the Ice Box. As we approached the Lee Creek area we became true TrailBlazers by hoofing through some tall grass, hanging on a vine and dropping down into Lee Creek and crossing it. It might sound cool and refreshing, but there was no water in it at all until we reached the bridge! Continuing down the trail we walked over the dam – no falls at all – and returned to the pavilion.
Our “hiking” in no way worked off the calories consumed during our picnic complete with hot dogs, all kinds of salads, dips and desserts. Of course, most of our members are of the female persuasion, therefore touchy and easily offended, so the only thing we could do was valiantly stuff ourselves so that nobody would go home unappreciated. In this, we succeeded! We all had a great visit. See y’all next fall on the trails!
Under very unpredictable weather conditions forty-odd (and/or not-so-odd!) TrailBlazers headed for Devil’s Den, experiencing rain en route. As luck would have it, it stopped when we arrived. Doug and Debbie were the only two to brave the crevices under slick and muddy conditions, with most of us opting to check out the falls on the Devil’s Den Trail.
This area must have experienced torrential rain recently, because tons of water was thundering over the dam, and the trail was not only muddy and soggy, but actually had streams of water on it in places, making it seem like we were trekking in a creek bed. We saw “falls” in places where we never had seen then before! It was a Tim Ernst kind of day for camera buffs. We all got sprinkled as we hiked under the big falls. Of course, this meant that we had to watch where we were placing our feet. It wasn’t terribly hot, but the humidity must have been 120%, giving a new meaning to “muggy”! The icebox and Devil’s Den Cave were closed because of the white nose disease that is threatening the bats.
At the pavilion it was immediately obvious who had hiked as opposed to who had arrived later just for the picnic. The latter had that “band-box” look, while the rest of us were damp, sweaty, bedraggled and/or having a bad hair day! It started to sprinkle just as they finished cooking the wieners, but we were dry under the pavilion as we chowed down on all the great munchies, salads and desserts. It poured while we were eating, and then stopped once again.
Yours Truly would like to thank everyone for the lovely card and thoughtful gift from the club. Billigene was also pleased and touched by the beautiful album that some members made for her. Happy trails to you – see you in the fall!
Thirty-eight TrailBlazers, including several new faces, and two canines made the scenic drive to Mt. Magazine to hike around Cove Lake. We were pleased to have Billigene back in the flock since we had not seen her for a couple of months. We certainly lucked out on the weather as it was bright, sunny and warm. There is nothing like good weather, a short drive, and a moderate hike to bring people out of the woodwork!
We drove over the arched bridge to a parking lot near the campground that would accommodate a bunch of cars. After crossing the road, we started up the trail, sometimes hiking close to the lake and sometimes not. There were several little rock-hopper creek crossings and more bridges of various types than Yours Truly remembered. Along the way we saw moss, ferns, interesting fungi, a sweet gum magnolia, little creeks and several crops of ($#*^#%%&) greenbrier lying in wait for us! At one lakeside campsite we saw an inviting red canoe. In places there were mud holes and mushy ground, so we had to watch our steps.
After we arrived on the other side of the lake about half of us opted to do a mile round-trip hike up to the highest point above the lake. It was a steady climb, so there was a lot of huffing and puffing to get ourselves up to the top where we were rewarded with a beautiful overview of the lake.
Here’s the scoop from guest reporter Patty: Seven Trailblazers opted for a kinder, gentler hike at Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton, Oklahoma, on Saturday. The heavily wooded Coon Creek Ridge Trail led us to an area of crevices, large rock formations, and a scenic bluff offering a beautiful view of the surrounding hills. Billigene was happy to find a service berry in full bloom. We followed an adjacent trail down to Coon Creek and enjoyed lunch in a pretty area complete with a waterfall. A couple brave TrailBlazers even made their way across the creek while the rest of us took bets on whether they would make it back to us drenched or dry. After hiking, we enjoyed the wildlife museum and heritage center located in the visitor center. Lastly, we explored Robbers Cave, where the likes of Belle Starr and Jesse James hid out long ago. The area is very rocky and offers fantastic views. We even watched some rappellers before making our way back to Fort Smith. It was a glorious day to be outside enjoying a beautiful eastern Oklahoma park.
Billigene reports that it was a delightful hike in perfect conditions led by our very own Bonanza Bob who maintained a nice middle-aged pace that didn’t leave them breathless – amen to that!