Ascent of Pinnacle Mountain on 2011-12-17| Others in Party: | Karen Musser
| | Date: | Saturday, December 17, 2011 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Pinnacle Mountain | | Location: | USA-Arkansas | | Elevation: | 1011 ft / 308 m |
Ascent Trip ReportWe were fortunate for the day. It had rained for 2 straight days and the entire state was soggy and the wetlands and farm field were underwater the entire weekend. We got only good weather. The west trail was muddy but we wanted the more steep class 2 and 3 east trail. The mountain is in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. It rises over 700 feet above the valley floor and exposes a lot of sedementary rock. The sandstones and shales that make up the mountain were formed from a sea around 300 million years ago. This mountain range was thrusted upward from thrust vaults and mountain buidling forces sending the the sandstones and shales upward as a syncline. I note this from the geologic reading at the park, as it completely the opposite reasons the mountains exist in the other state parks we visited the following days (Mount Nemo and Mount Magazine SPs are the remains of compressed seabeds of sedimentary rock where everything eroded away leaving the large high plateaus)
This was our second hike of the day and third peak, as we wandered through the the small mountains near Little Rock. The views of the Arkansas River were very good. We popped over to the second tiny peak and headed down. We had not had lunch and Karen's legs were becoming rubbery. There was also a really good view of Lake Maumelle which is quite large and impressive.
This is the highpoint of Pinnacle Mountain State Park. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 741 ft / 225 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 741 ft / 225 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 1.6 mi / 2.6 km | | Grade/Class: | 2+ and 3 | | Quality: | 6 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Scramble | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear
45F | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 711 ft / 216 m | | Distance: | 0.8 mi / 1.3 km | | Route: | East Summit Trail | | Start Trailhead: | Parking lot on east side of SP 300 ft / 91 m | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 741 ft / 225 m | | Loss Breakdown: | Net: 711 ft / 217 m; Extra: 30 ft / 9m | | Gain on way out: | 30 ft / 9 m | | Distance: | 0.8 mi / 1.3 km | | Route: | same | | End Trailhead: | same 300 ft / 91 m |
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