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Re: [pct-l] PLEASE suggest a trail



Hi, Bob,

I don't know where you live, or how far you're willing to travel, but
there is the Ozark Highlands Trail (180 miles) that runs from Ft. Smith to
U.S. Hwy. 65 through northwest Arkansas. I've hiked small portions of it,
and it is quite scenic, and there are some challenging sections that will
put one's heart, lungs, and legs to work. I have hiked all over the front
range of the Rockies through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and some in
Montana, and there are some vistas on this trail that favorably compare to
vistas that I've seen in the Rockies. In wet season (March to mid-June),
waterfalls and springs abound. There are some year-round creeks and rivers
that it crosses. It gets pretty hot in late July and August, but there are
places to take a dip. There are not many towns along the way, just a few
mountain villages with small stores. There are a few post offices there.
One could conceivably carry enough food to complete the OHT.

A guide book has been written and is now in its third edition, "Ozark
Highlands Trail Guide, published by Ernst Wilderness, 1994. The author is
Tim Ernst. The book is available from Adventurous Traveller(s), an online
book store.

I think that there is a website for the Ozark Highlands Trail Association,
but, offhand, I don't remember the URL.

Craig W. Smith      FAX: (417) 873-7432
Associate Librarian      Phone:    (417) 873-7339
F. W. Olin Library       E-mail:   csmith@lib.drury.edu
Drury College
Springfield, MO 65802

"O Solitude! If I must with thee dwell, let it not be among the jumbled
heaps of murky buildings--Climb with me the steep, Nature's
Observatory..." 


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