HIKE ON HIGH

HOME VALLEY BLUFF A NATURAL TRAIL TO LOFTY SIGHTS

Lou Whisenhunt takes in the view from atop a rock formation during a hike along Home Valley Bluff on Friday. The hike followed the lip of the bluff for views of the valley below and surrounding hill country.

Lou Whisenhunt takes in the view from atop a rock formation during a hike along Home Valley Bluff on Friday. The hike followed the lip of the bluff for views of the valley below and surrounding hill country.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Forests, lakes and streams are lyrics of the siren song that draws wanderers to the Ozarks from afar. Magnificent views like the one from Home Valley Bluff might be the chorus.

A dozen hikers gazed upon one vista after another Friday during a walk along the edge of this horseshoe-shaped Newton County bluff .

In an area blessed with lofty sights, the view from Home Valley Bluff is truly spectacular.

Here the Ozark mountains cradle a valley of neatly-kept farms and woodlots that make up the little community of Limestone seen far below the bluff .

photo

Hikers passed table-shaped rocks Friday during the bluff-top hike.

The valley has a dollhouse look, like pages from a storybook. Barns, ponds and hay rows appear tiny and quaint from this high sandstone perch. Angus cattle look small as dots made by a pencil point.

Travelers on twisting Arkansas 16 between Nail and Deer can see into the valley, but a walk along the bluff reveals so much more.

The hike was offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Arkansas, which offers classes and activities for people 50 years young and up.

Mike Adelman led our gang of 12 hikers downhill, through the forest and along a lane, until we were living on the edge, walking along the lip of Home Valley Bluff .

This first look down into the valley was only the appetizer in a banquet of views we’d savor during our five-mile hike.

SHAPED BY TIME

We’d barely started the journey and it was obvious Adelman knew the geology and history of this rock wonder and the valley below.

Over millennia, erosion created the basin that held our gaze. Limestone eroded and the bowl-shaped valley took shape, surrounded by the much harder sandstone of Home Valley Bluff .

“Limestone dissolved and the sandstone remained,” Adelman said. “It happens all over the Ozarks. They’re called solution valleys.”

photo

Hikers walked Friday along the edge of horseshoe-shaped Home Valley Bluff in Newton County.

Four waterfalls up to 70 feet high spill over the bluff . The first appeared before we’d walked a mile. A chute of water poured into a crevice filled with mysterious shadows and clear, fl owing water.

“The perfect time to come here is after a big rain and then it gets cold. There are icicles everywhere,” Adelman said.

We walked in the woods for awhile, then back out to the edge of the bluff, from one magnificent sandstone patio to the next.

At one vista, a round dome of rock 4 feet tall begged to be climbed. Some in our group scrambled to the top, enthusiastic as if they’d scaled Everest.

Other delights waited in the woods, including beech trees.

“They’re one tree that doesn’t lose its leaves in winter,” Adelman said.

We inspected several beech trees on our tour. Their leaves were tan in color with a crispy feel.

“They have a papery leaf, very waxy. Feel that,” Adelman said, inviting our touch.

A faint trail was evident the first one-half mile. The path faded and the rest of the journey was true bushwhack. Briars and toppled trees were an occasional challenge, but the going was steady and level.

Finding our way was easy by following the edge of the bluff .

“I hear running water,” Adelman said on the approach to another waterfall. Part of our group stood on the bluff edge next to the pouring water while others took photos from a precipice nearby.

Adelman was right. Hiking this bluff after a rain would be best. So would bushwhacking down to the base of the bluff to get the optimum view of these cascades. Maybe next visit.

LUNCH, THEN RETURN

We’d hiked far along the horseshoe and stepped out on one last ledge that was fl at, roomy and perfect for lunch. Simple noontime fare was fine dining with a view here on the bluff .

Fortified by the nourishment, we retraced the route back to our cars.

photo

A waterfall and lush forest delight explorers Friday during a hike around Home Valley Bluff. The trek followed the edge of the bluff for views of the valley below and surrounding hill country.

There’s one glitch in this hike along Home Valley Bluff .You can’t get there from here, sort of.

Much of the bluff edge is public land of the Ozark National Forest, but you have to cross private land to get there. We walked to the bluff through some property Adelman had permission to cross.

Asking around in the store or cafe at Deer might get you access.

Home Valley Bluff is so impressive you’ll want to sing your own siren song to the valley below.

Outdoor, Pages 6 on 02/21/2013