This wasn’t my first hike of the Bell Mountain Trail. We backpacked here during Spring Break 2012, again staying two nights. Then we’d gone around the loop counter-clockwise. This time I’d be going the opposite way around.
Starting at the North Trailhead, the trail begins with a spur trail that goes southwest to meet the main loop. You are immediately made aware of the difference in the geology here on the central and east side of the state. Gone is the karst geology of the western Ozarks, which is replaced by predominantly volcanic geology. Near the trailhead that manifests itself as a lot of large lichen-covered boulders spread across the hillsides on either side of the trail. The good news is that the Bell Mountain Trail isn’t quite as rugged and hard to hike on.
One thing I’d forgotten from my last visit, or hadn’t noticed, was how wet and muddy the spur trail was.
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