Rich Mountain Trail

Appetizer: Begin with a bear encounter of the third kind, starboard side of the trail line. You commune in deafening silence each standing on two legs, staring into the other's eyes, questioning motives until you hear popping saplings echo down the ridge as she plows them over and out of sight. This strange encounter epitomizes the thrill of the Rich and her peculiarities abound. She is too southernly gentrified for scree so she offers up scrumble: Nana's cobbler, wet sidewalk cement and balls of silly putty. Scrumble season is spring/fall. Note: scrumble rhymes with tumble. Arkansan summer means vacationing the Gulf Shores in cutoff shorts and pasty beer bellies steering clear of Pabst Blue Ribbon anglers chumming the shoreline for inebriated hopes of catching the big one. If you've seen an Alabama shore shark caught in three feet of murky water, you'll recognize the fear you'll have when hiking through Great White Grass. Waist high and unable to see your feet, it's not white, nor great, but you'll hear the theme song of Jaws whilst working your way through it. Ouachita rocks lurk below eagerly awaiting to take off a toe. GWG twists ankles & blesses hikers with copious seed ticks. There is also the unsolved mystery of Bearcat Bushes. Bears here? Yes, and contrary to National Forest animal population stats, mountain lions too. Sadly, no bearcats. Outside of being MHS's most excellent school mascot, the bearcat doesn't exist. It's a mythical creature akin to the centaur, but more Arkansan. An enigma similar, is its namesake invisible bush. Hiking into, alongside or through the invisible bearcat bush instigates puritanical belief Bearcats exist. Post hike hocks magically adorn beautifully crosshatched cat- bear scratch weeping wounds which itch like poison oak rubbed in attic insulation. The vain of leg best don long stocking for leg vein protection. Main course: Beginning mile 6, rocks from the ancient mountain have clawed from the earth exposing themselves on either side of the trail; jagged, moss covered, appearing to be man laid and beckoning hikers proceed upward as if the trail end led to an ancient castle hung precipice reminiscent of your favorite movie, historically set in the middle ages. Ask yourself why the Hollywood movie titled "American Made" was filmed in Georgia instead of our beloved hometown. A side dish of #Mena Conspiracy goes delightfully with the next few miles and what will most likely be your favorite trail bites. The mountain steers hikers down a series of switchbacks settling to a quiet though beckoning ascent to soft piney ridges where forest animals convene, leaving prints in thick trail mud for adventurers to decipher. (Hint: feral hogs distinguished print with a dew claw outside of the hoof) Bacon and danger=delicious.Hop the Scenic Byway, meet up with the Ouachita Trail and let the distinct smell of mountain spring, wild honey and moss occupy your palate as you ascend a staircase of thick stone during a momentary jaunt amidst the shadows of the Black Fork Mountain. Dessert is served: Decadent, delectable and divine, devilishly decorated with hints of bad intentions. The second highest peak in the state did not gain her altitude without a fight. In the crux of her glades are the remnants of her wrestlings from the tectonic grips that bound her against her will. Gigantic boulders strewn about in jagged gigantic shards of ornately aged granite, the port and starboard line of the trail morphs into living chocolate molten cake sharply topped with caramelized toffees and the stones you hop over. A sure foot is needed; many a stone and boulder simply lay on the trail and are easily disturbed into movement by a fast moving foot. Sadly, the end of the Rich supper is subtly announced with the rising gusts of wind from the near peak. Head up, scrambling rocks, to the finish. Catch a photo at Lover's Leap and smile. Congratulations, your reservations for your next Rich Mountain experience are confirmed.

The Rich Mountain Trail is fairly new in its construction; at mile 8.5 it joins the infamous Quachita Mountain Trail which takes you from eastern Oklahoma all the way to Little Rock, Arkansas. For over 100 years, there has been settlers on Rich Mountain and the peak is the current state park and lodge which has a rich history of its own, from resort to college, to commune, to wild life preserve and state park.