Thursday 4-8 Last Day at Mount Nebo & Bench Trail

 

Last day at Mount Nebo State Park

We woke up to a brisk cool morning with the temperature 54 degrees. There was a wind out of the west but clear skies and beautiful sunshine. The wind was very strong, at times we had to hold on to our hats.

I made pancakes for breakfast, I did better I didn't burn mine. After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike. Today we did a 4 mile hike for 2 hours. We decided to do the Bench Trail (blue). We started the hike from the campground on the Rim Trail (red). We hiked it for a half mile, where we picked up the Bench Trail. It was a strenuous section of the Rim Trail. We had to climb down a steep rock staircase that twist and turned down Mount Nebo. Below are a couple of pictures of the stairs. We were hiking down the east side of the mountain and the wind was from the west so we had no wind and it warmed up fast. We had to take off our jackets. As we hiked the rim trail we saw a lot of water coming down the rocks and it looked pretty. Once we were on the Bench Trail the trail widen and it was an easy hike. We hiked it for 3 miles. We hiked by some springs and CCC campgrounds. One of the springs was Gum Spring, we have been hiking by a signs about it. One of the signs was a trail direction rock carving by the CCC. We walked by Fern Lake. We were by Sunset Point and took the trail back up the mountain to the top. It was very steep and we had to stop half way up to rest and catch our breath. Once at Sunset Point we got on the 3 C's Trail and hiked it back to the campground, which was about a mile. We had a super hike.

 

 Larry climbing down the CCC stairs on the Rim Trail

Larry at the bottom of the steps

 

Gum Spring

 

Gum Spring trail direction by the CCC on the Rim Trail

After lunch I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 29 minutes and 35 seconds to complete, which put me in 7th place in my group. Then I hiked the 3 C's Trail to Sunrise Point and Sunset Point, which took me an hour and a half. When I got back I read. Larry spent the afternoon reading.

 

Reading is relaxing and fun

After dinner I hiked the 3 C's Trail to Sunset Point, which was 2 miles. Then I came back and finished my steps. I did 26,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group. Larry and I went over and took a shower. We spent the rest of the evening reading.  

 

Camping at Mount Nebo State Park

Today was our last day at Mount Nebo State Park. We had five fabulous days of hiking and camping. It was very peaceful. We watched the neighborhood kids play in the playground. We hiked 24.6 miles on four trails: Rim Trail, 3 C's Trail three times, Summit Park Trail and Bench Trail. We didn't hike as far as we did in Hot Springs but the trails were more strenuous, except for the 3 C's Trail, it was flat.

Mount Nebo State Park was established in 1933 and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The Company V-1780 was established in July of 1933. The "V" indicated that the men were World War I veterans. Most CCC camps consisted of young men between the ages of 17 to 25 but Mount Nebo's camp enrolled veterans mostly from ages 35 to 45. They were mostly married, had children and were native Arkansans. They had the skills so they could get right to work. 

Mount Nebo is a super park with a lot of history. Many of the original structures are still being used: cabins, Visitor Center, Large Pavilion in the campground and hiking trails. As we hiked we saw rock carving on trails and the directions, climbed steps and the actual trails the CCC built. When we were here in 2010 we hiked the same trails but mountain bike trails have been added, the trails signs are more modern and identified by color dots and the points of interests signs are more modern. We had a super visit.

CCC Large Pavilion

 

Mount Nebo State Park Visitor Center