30 May 2023 (backdated)
Greenbrier, AR
84ยบ sunny, calm, light breezes
Woolly Hollow State Park was number 2 on my list because it is super close to where I live and because a good friend had taken me kayaking there several years ago, so it felt familiar. My first stop was the Visitor Center to gather information and make a plan for my day. It was absolutely gorgeous outside and I couldn’t wait to see what the park had in store. This park is definitely a recreational hotspot as most of the RV camp sites were filled and there were dozens of people making use of the beach at Lake Bennet.
From the Visitor Center, I first drove down to the beachfront to scope out the area before the heat of the day arrived (when I planned to be under cover of the trees on the trails. At the beach, I quickly became enamored with the story of the lake’s formation as part of the Civilian Conservation Corp under the leadership of Dr. Hugh Hammond Bennett.
According to park signage, “The Lake Bennett Watershed was the first project in the United States built to scientifically study the effects of water run-off, silt, and erosion control from a specific watershed. The experiment included building the lake and erosion control structures… .” The lake was constructed in 1935 by a group of CCC men, and as I later hiked the park, I couldn’t shake the idea of what these men must have gone through to transform a then nearly barren landscape into the treasure it is today.
I did have to laugh at the note on one sign that read, “Bare backfill of the dam was planted with kudzu vine to keep soil in place. Kudzu’s invasiveness was not understood at the time.” That may be the understatement to beat all understatements.
Here is a view of the dam as it stands today. Of note, the original backfill was all washed away when the dam was overtopped during flooding in 2017. Regardless, the dam itself stood up to the damage, proving that the 1930s hand-built construction has stood the test of time. For those interested, here’s a great short video on the repairs. I guess the kudzu wasn’t mightier than the floods after all.
Leaving the beachfront, I spent most of my time at the park on the Huckleberry Nature Trail. I hiked about a mile of it from the campground trailhead and then doubled back, given time constraints not allowing me to complete the 3.5 mile loop. I knew I’d found a good trail, when the trailhead signage included a quote from Proust! “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
I should note that when I’m on these trips I’m not hiking for exercise per se, meaning I meander more than hike. I stop and try to identify trees and plants, I scope out the area for any wildlife, and I spend a lot of time thinking. On the trail, I had the great fortune to learn some new wildflowers, thanks to the Seek app. There was woodland sunflower, firewheel (at the entrance in the sun), heart-shaped skullcap, and my favorite, clasping venus’s looking glass (a poem in the name itself). I also managed to scare up a prairie lizard. It ran for a tree trunk and perched there, letting me look my fill from over three feet away. I confess that if I hadn’t followed it with my eyes, I never would have seen it, its camouflage game was that strong.
Back down by the lake, near the artesian spring, for lunch, I managed two favorite bird sightings as well. A green heron coasted over and perched in a tree right in front of me, giving me a good show as it preened. Later, a blur of color hurled itself across the lake toward me. After it perched, I couldn’t get a good view, but it was calling up a storm. The Merlin app let me know it was a kingfisher, a bird I’ve never spotted and id’d before.
I ended my day by stopping at the dam trailhead for the Huckleberry Trail on my way out on the park road. That hike was a bit of a heart-thumper as the altitude change called on the quads and calves to do their work. The view of the dam still standing, stalwart in the sun, was worth it!
Next stop, Pinnacle Mountain State Park
