Twenty TrailBlazers made the scenic drive down to the Ouachitas enjoying flowering forsythia, serviceberry, magnolia, wild plum and Bradford pear trees. It was damp, chilly and windy as we waited for the shuttle drivers, so to keep warm some of us started out immediately from Charlton Campground heading for Lake Ouachita. The first leg of the trail has a significant elevation gain, but the trail climbs gradually and has switchbacks, so it wasn’t hard. As we climbed, the wind started to really whip around, so out came some windbreakers and gloves. There was a lovely, hazy view from the high ridge.

Bonanza Bob took the early lead and was praised for his restrained pace, welcome to many of us! We saw several serviceberry trees along the trail, and of course there were lots of pines, some holly trees and tons, literally, of quartz rocks because all of these are characteristic of this area. After a while, Billigene grabbed the lead. Although it wasn’t long until the shuttle crew was gaining on us, our octogenarian matriarch held them off until lunchtime! We finally found an area, out of the wind, with some rocks and logs to sit on, so we decided to eat. No sooner had we plopped down when the wind started to pick up – oh, well, Murphy’s Law is alive and well! 

Hike leader Katie finally gained command of her troops as we trekked up and down, crossed some little creeks, saw an old spring, and finally reached Lake Ouachita. The sun only put in a few cameo appearances of short duration, but the temps did warm up some. A highlight of the hike was Hanna’s head gear – her mosquito net was either for mourning, to block the wind, to make a fashion statement, or an attempt to impersonate Mata Hari. Only Hanna knows. It was an enjoyable hike and 4.3 miles was a comfortable distance.