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Hike Above Little Missouri Falls
6/7/14
It's about time to do some southwest Arkansas exploring for a change. Let us partake of some of what the Cossatot Mountains have to offer. The one bad thing about going south is the lack of early morning breakfast restaurants. The only choices are Waffle House and IHop in Hot Springs. I opted for Waffle House. Both are filled with idiotic drunken clubbing rednecks...but what can you do. My starting point was at the Little Missouri falls parking area. By 5:15 a.m. the bridge across the Little Missouri above Little Missouri Falls was crossed. From there it was a climb to the top of the ridge that runs towards the west. My plan was to follow this ridge until the Athens-Big Fork Trail was hit and follow the Little Missouri Trail back. Unfortunately...the ridge top was not taking hikers at this time. I knew that the ridge was rocky but experience with other ridges in the area had me worried that it would be too brushy to traverse. This, indeed, was the case. Waist high weeds and higher shrubs and sticker bushes were the norm. My bare legs were no match for this. After achieving the top of the ridge and taking in the view, my path was forced to the north side of the mountain and down into the valley of the Little Missouri. Here the trail was met and followed back to the falls area. The temp stayed in the 70's and the mileage was only 3. Some time was spent around the falls before it became crowded with local swimmers.
