I decided to climb Pinnacle Mountain, which is in a state park about 12 miles west of Little Rock. I’d hiked the trail to the top once before, when I was in my early 20’s, and remembered it being a hard climb, so I decided before I even began not to carry the chair. I did stop along the road to get this photo.
The West Summit Trail was partially closed — hikers had to walk halfway up the mountain on a service road — so I chose the East Summit Trail. The map said this was the more difficult route, but I felt up to the challenge.
At first, it wasn’t too tough.
But that soon changed. At least two-thirds of the ascent was straight up the side of a boulder field.
It was a hard climb, but I’d determined to make it to the top without stopping to rest. I got to the place where I took the above photo and thought I could see the summit. I was decidedly tired and light-headed, but I wasn’t about to stop. I passed a guy coming down and asked him if that was, indeed, the top. He said no, that I wasn’t even halfway up.
Oh. I found a flat rock and leaned back and rested for about three minutes. When I could breathe normally again, I headed up. Turns out I was right. That was the summit. I have no idea why the guy said I was only halfway. Maybe he’d lost track of where he was or maybe he was just a jerk. I don’t know. I think I could have made it.
The weather was amazing and the view was incredible. I’d filled my pockets with peanuts and an energy bar and sat and enjoyed the day.
These three panoramas overlap. Although they weren’t all taken from exactly the same place, they together give a 360 degree view from the summit.
Looking northeast with the Arkansas River in the distance and Little Rock in the haze to the far right. The west summit is on the left.
Looking northwest over Lake Maumelle with the west summit on the right.
Looking south. Little Rock is in the left distance.
I spent about 45 minutes on the summit, then hiked down the West Summit Trail. This one was much easier, especially after I got to the place where it followed the service road.
I took this photo from the parking lot at the base of the mountain (visible in the lower right of the above photo that shows the field). Depending on which source you believe, I climbed somewhere between 850 and 1,100 feet.
Of course, I was also on the opposite side of the mountain from my car, so I hiked the base trail back around. My total hike was about four and a half miles, but they weren’t easy miles.
