>>1283568Yep and I just got back from it yesterday. Mt. Magazine, tallest mountain in Arkansas. I hiked Cove Lake Trail, a nine mile trail leading down or up the mountain. I went up because I wanted to actually climb the mountain. I'll greentext the rest
>Unroll tent>Where are my tent frame poles?>WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY TENT FRAME POLES?>Fuck I can't camp here>Pack up tent and haul ass >Only halfway there at this point and it's almost dark>Keep going, pull out flashlight to see the trail. >Last few miles are in the dark up a steep mountain. Thankfully there were switchbacks.>See a timber rattler and scare it off with rocks>I was on a slope so I could not walk around it>Plenty of creatures started stirring and I felt like I was being watched>heart rate and blood pressure skyrocketing>ticks all over me and swarm me every time i stop to catch my breath.>Finally get back to my car, turn on the AC, and rest for a moment>Head back to the Lodge at Mount Magazine and the night shift lady saw how beat I was and let me chill on the couch for a bit and gave me coffee>ranger tells me there is a bath house nearby and I circle the mountain a few times to find it>encounter tons of deer, a striped skunk, and this weird animal I'm not even sure what it was>Possibly eastern spotted skunk but I'm not sure. Definitely not a possum but near that size.>Woman who originally shuttled me to the trailhead told me she's seen mountain lions even though the government swears they're extinct in this regionMy feet are blistered, I have tick bites, and I'm still worn out and have to go back to work today. I'm done yall. No more hikes until fall. I barely came back from this one.
