Hike #7 - Mt. Kessler

Today we took on another local favorite, Mt. Kessler.  Mt. Kessler is going through a lot of changes.  Most of the trail is on private land. (Email ahead for the required waiver if you ever plan to go: kesslergreenways@pgtc.com.)  Because it has gotten so popular, and visitors were consistently blocking the landowners' driveways, they recently extended the trail to a new trailhead at Ozark Mountain Smokehouse for more parking.  The city also now owns and is developing the access on the other side of the mountain.  We've done that once, and it is another place the kids classify as a "walk" instead of a "hike."


The highlight of Mt. Kessler is Rock City and comes about 3/4 of a mile in (it used to be 1/4 mile in). This is a short stretch in the trail with some very interesting rock formations that are just begging to be climbed.  This is a really enjoyable trail all the way that is never overly strenuous in any one spot but definitely gets you worn out before you are done.  Eventually you get to the "top" of the mountain and there are at least four trails that go off for several miles in various directions.  We would love to get to explore them, but by the time we get to them, we are ready to head back every time.  Last time we were here there was a really good sign pointing the way to all of the different trails.  Now the sign is either broken or some markers have been purposefully taken off.  We honestly aren't looking forward to the changes coming to the trail as the city takes the lead.

Travel time from home: 15 minutes
Today's miles: 4.5
Remaining miles: 70.37

Hike #6 - Prairie Grove Battlefield

Today will likely be our easiest hike of the year, although everyone deserves it after our last outing.  Prairie Grove is a Civil War battlefield with a mile+ paved trail past the historic buildings and other landmarks.  Normally our kids consider a paved trail to be a "walk" not a "hike," but we figure it counts because it is a state park.  It works great too because grandma and grandpa are in town for Spring Break.

The visitor center is very nice here with a neat interactive museum and videos explaining the significance of the battle.  One of the most interesting features on the trail is two very old trees that are different species but over time have grown together and are now intertwined.

Travel time from home: 25 minutes
Today's miles: 2.06 (although the kids did many more running among all the buildings)
Remaining miles: 74.87

Hike #5 - Hemmed-In Hollow

Today we pushed ourselves to the limit and almost bit off more than we could chew.  Hemmed-In Hollow is the tallest waterfall between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.  There are two ways to get to the falls.  By boat (canoe) it is a 3/4 mile hike from the Buffalo River.  By car is a 2.5 mile hike with a 1,000 foot descent to the falls and 1,000 foot ascent back to the car.  As we are gluttons for punishment, and we had done the from the car hike once before, we decided to hike from the car to the falls, to the river, back to the falls, and then back to the car.  Let's just say we were all proud to make it back in one piece.

The hike is almost immediately steep.  There are several very steep parts and some downed trees to navigate around.  We had an extra advantage today in that it was raining too!  We were still in leaf-off stage, so we got some nice views of mountains, the Buffalo River, and its famous bluffs.  There are great rocks, trees, and moss all the way.  Between the trailhead and the falls there are three backpacking camp sites, which would make a really fun trip.  The last one is less than a mile from the falls.  Both times we have hiked this, the spots have been occupied.



The flow at the falls was pretty light, but it is still wonderful.  Even with no water, the rock formation that is the hollow is impressive.  From here we did the spur to the river which we had never done before.  The river was flowing well and we saw several canoes go by.  The kids decided to make a rock bridge from the shore out to a little island.  Of course their bridge was so rickety that anyone who stepped on it wound up in the water anyway, but they were not deterred.

Then came the 2.5 miles out and 1,000 feet up to get back to the car.  At about mile 6, everyone hit a wall, but we were sure we were close.  At mile 6.5, we assured the kids it was only another five minutes.  20 minutes later at mile 7, we assured them it was again only another five minutes.  At this point dad tried to run ahead, drop off some kids at the car, and come back to carry another kid, but dad quickly realized that we still weren't close enough to the car to do that.  When we finally reached the parking lot, our tracker said 7.71 miles.

This kid was champ of the day.  His five-year-old legs take two steps for every one of dad's steps under normal circumstances.  For the last mile he could barely lift his feet and probably took five steps to every one of dad's.  Even though he put in the equivalent of about 15 miles, he never complained and walked the entire way.  He earned his nap on the way home.

Travel time from home: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Today's miles: 7.71
Remaining miles: 76.93