The Ouachita National Scenic Trail is a 136-mile route that crosses from eastern Oklahoma to Central Arkansas and ends at Pinnacle Mountain just outside of Little Rock. Since it runs through Queen Wilhelmina State Park, we decided to hike a section of it to check it out. We decided to hike 3 miles along the trail until we reached the U.S. Forest Service lookout tower.
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| Beautiful maples just below Lover's Leap |
Not long afterwards, you arrive at a stone marker and the sign for the Ouachita Trail. We headed out in that direction and the trail begins to descend to a saddle below. You are essentially following the Scenic Road, but it remains above you and out of sight and you can only slightly hear the traffic.
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| A view opens up in the canopy |
The trail is pretty rocky with lots of loose talus. I was glad I had my hiking sticks with Hilina on my back. She hiked down to the saddle, but went on my back once we started back uphill. There are views between the trees of the valley below. After reaching the bottom of the saddle, it begins to climb to the next summit. Then, it goes along the side of the ridge to yet another summit.
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| Taking a rest after climbing a section |
Eventually, after 2.5 miles of relatively difficult hiking (mostly because of the substrate), you come out onto the road. The elevation loss and gain isn't really that much and either is the distance. Mostly it is just keeping your balance with 40 lbs on your back, with large loose rocks below your feet. Here at the road, the Ouachita Trail crosses the road and heads down the slope of the otherside of the mountain on its way to the bottom of the valley and then back up onto Black Fork Mountain (the next parallel ridge).
So, at this point, you just start walking down the road toward the fire lookout tower, which is obvious on the next summit down about 1/2 mile away. The shoulder is quite wide, as they mow it as a fire break. So, you are not having to deal with the traffic.
As you arrive at the access road to the tower, there is a sign that says that tower is open to the public from Noon to 4pm on weekends. Well, we checked our watch and it was 12:05pm and it was a Saturday. So, we were really excited to get that panoramic view. The views to the north were always obscured by trees, so this was our chance. Well, when we got there it was all locked up and they DO NOT want anyone going up there as it is surrounded by a tall fence with razor wire on the top.
We waited a while thinking maybe the attendants were just running late. But, one hour later, they still never showed up. Car after car drove up, people looked in confusion, and then continued on their way. Finally, we gave up and hiked back without getting that wonderful view. When I asked at the lodge about it upon our return, they didn't know what happened. They said it is normally open on weekends. So, without those panoramic views, I decided I wouldn't post it at http://www.hikemasters.com/ |
| Black Fork Mountain across the valley |
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