Hike to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower
/The morning was cool – a good time to start an uphill hike. My daughter and I had a hearty breakfast at the hotel and headed toward the visitor center at Hot Springs National Park, following the signs to the parking garage near the visitor center (the Fordyce Bathhouse). We walked uphill to the back of the bathhouses and along the Grand Promenade seeing steam coming from some open hot springs.
I had loaded the NPS app on my phone and was looking for the Peak Trail what would take us to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. We missed the trail’s connection to the Grand Promenade (signage was not good) but headed uphill and eventually connected with it.
There were quite a few burned trees along the way. Some looked like they had burned from within…others simply scorched on the outside. I read that the park service does controlled burns on the mountain to reduce the risk of wildfire. Were the ones that looked like they were burned from the inside caused my lightning?
The tower is at the top of the mountain. We took the elevator up (they don’t use the stairs except for emergencies) and walked around the two levels seeing how parts of the town emerge from trees, while much of the area continues to be forest (or at least appears to be forest). There was smoke from two fires in the distance….hopefully controlled burns.
On the way down I took time to notice more than the burned trees – lichen and moss decorated with pine needles and a branch ripped from a tree during a storm. The lichen and moss reflect the aspect of the forest that develops over time…the branch an example of a change that can happen very quickly.
I appreciated the downhill hike back to Bathhouse Row…and was glad our next activity would be lunch! The hike resulted in my Garmin detecting about 100 intensity minutes.
