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Dismal HollowHike to the edge of Dismal Hollow with dismal action, East Fork Little Buffalo
2/15/20
As the crow flies...so flies my ass into the forest. On this 25° morning the skies were clear to partly cloudy. The morning was dark, for it was 5:30 with sunrise scheduled for around 7:00. Please note that breakfast was taken earlier at Denny's in Russellville where Susie served up some fairly decent foodstuffs. She, however, had the personality of a hibernating beaver, and used the standard jargon of the seasoned waitress. Hon, sugar, dear, chubby...all pet names used to gain access to your tip purse. These tactics work on some, perhaps...but I was having none of that shit. I ate and left...moving up Hwy 7 to the north and evading random police cruisers that would have my license and registration. But no, it was not to be.
By 6:50 my eastward facing bluff was before me. Here, many fine and favorable views were observed and cherished. The cold wind did caress my loins, and these things, each in their turn, were savored. My communion with the nature before me did cause me to pause, and be refreshed. Then, I headed up the drainage. Many flowing rivulets fell over the the rim of the gorge to feed the flow below. Ice was abundant here as well. No wildland creatures challenged me along this course, causing a feeling of disappointment. Lunch was had near the stream with a beech at my back and the sun at my front. All here was good, and as life should be. By 11:30 with 42° my vehicle was in view. Clouds were building. I drove onward, back to the south. The hike covered 3.5 miles of purest hell.
