Mount Kessler outside Fayetteville, AR

Distance: 5.6
Elevation range: Start at 1204' to peak at 1724'
Significance: just to the southwest of Fayetteville, close network of trails for mountainbikers and hikers.  Great photographic opportunities after heavy rain, when green and yellow lichen and fungi stick out.

https://www.nwatrails.org/trail/mount-kessler/
http://www.mtkesslergreenways.com/index.html

Fayetteville, AR never got the snow that blew north across Missouri overnight.  Instead I endured a cold, steady rain.  My 85-mile drive into town took me most of the night, as I kept stopping every ten miles to rest, then fall asleep and not get up again until my cold feet woke me up.  At least traffic on I-49 is much less congested than on I-44 into Oklahoma. I made it to Fayetteville at sunrise, and saw the day begin at Bolder Coffeeshop, a hip coffee joint on a hill outside the University of Arkansas.  I never got to explore the historic downtown area; that will have to wait until my next visit.

The rain had stopped as I was ready to leave and continue on to Fort Smith, prompting me to take advantage of hiking in the Kessler Mountain Regional Park outside of town.  Alltrails lists this as a network of mountainbike trails around Mount Kessler, a forested hilltop with radio towers on top.  I chose this area to hike as it was along my route of travel.  Mount Kessler is a ridge with a dominant north-south trail network and part of the regional park complex.

I lucked out with this gem of a trail.  I pulled into a large parking lot next to a soccer and baseball field.  Basketball courts, restrooms and a large playground are also included.  There is some construction equipment along the hillside, either because of a landslide or because of recent construction.  I parked near the Mount Kessler sign and took off right behind another man also determined to head up the hill.  I ended up following him for most of the way.

The rain had stopped, but I was now in a cold fog which got denser the higher I got.  I was on the Terrapin Station trail which followed the east side of the hill, then it intersected with the Trent Trail on the north end.  There are other trails here and all are well-marked with poles.  Additional colored symbols on these poles indicate the difficulty of the trails.  I didn't understand the various symbols and just wanted to head on uphill.

I quickly lost the man in front of me as we neared the top.  We took separate trails here.  The fog was very dense now, but the fog also emphasized the colors of the lichen.  Water was gushing down every crevice, forming pools near the trail that I'm sure are not always there.  Once I looped around the north end and ended up on the Eggbeater trail (what kind of name is that for a trail?) I was away from traffic noise from the city and now in solitude. It felt like a wilderness forest. I saw unique rock formations everywhere!  Slippery leaves and large roots make the trails a real challenge (despite the easy grade), but there were no mountainbikers out this morning after the steady rain.

I wanted to reach the peak and followed whatever trail to get there.  I ended up at a gated radio tower on the south end of the mountain, but then saw the man from earlier and caught up to him.  He was Bill, retired Navy, who moved here to Fayetteville 22 years ago.  He loves hiking like I do and gave me other tips for local hikes, all which I would have to explore another time.  He likes the Mount Kessler park.  "The city got a lot of money from the Walton foundation to build these trails" he added. We walked together for a short distance before I continued back down on the Trent trail and he continued north on the Serpatine trail.

My feet were wet from all the rain and I took a while to change into cleaner clothes once I got back to my Honda.  The Honda CR-V has held up nicely on this roadtrip, but I discovered that it is smaller than my Ford Escape, and harder to get dressed in!  Luckily I knew where my dry Cloats hiking boots were.

I had spent an exciting 2:30 hours in this park.  The rain had stopped and the sky had cleared yet the ground was still very drenched, but I knew I had to drive on.  Heading south to Fayetteville instead of west toward Tulsa last night meant I was now an hour and 60 miles off my route of travel and couldn't afford to dawdle long.  The drive farther along on I-49 into Fort Smith is a scenic drive over tall bridges and deep canyons before the land flattens out to what is now Fort Smith, the old frontier town developed as a guard town against the various Southeastern Indian tribes forced to make Oklahoma their home.  It lies on the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers. 

The fort is now an historic site managed by the National Park Service.  I have been here before and walked the trails along the river, which I did once again for another 1.2 miles of urban walking.  Oklahoma doesn't have much to offer hikers in the winter and I delayed entering Oklahoma for as long as I could.  Once I did drive into the state, it was a clear shot west on I-40.  The cheapest gas along my entire route of travel was in Shawnee, OK, where a gallon of regular unleaded was $1.61.

I didn't stop to walk around until I made it to Amarillo, where I stopped in the Long Wooden Spoon brewery for a Green Chile ale and Hefeweizen.  The owner recognized me from my July visit although we both forgot each other's names.  "Two more brewpubs have opened up in town since you were here" he told me. I will have to explore those on my next visit, as I like the quiet ambiance of this little brewery, I like the owners, and I like the beer.