Activating Petit Jean Mountain
On Monday we were having another 70-degree day so I hopped in the pickup to do another Summits On The Air activation in Arkansas. My destination was Petit Jean Mountain, which is about 10 miles south of Mount Magazine and on the south side of the Petit Jean Valley. This is not Petit Jean State Park, which is actually on Mud Mountain, which creates some confusion. I had read the notes on the summit. It sounded like there was good National Forest Road right to the summit, although the last mile might require hiking. That's a common scenario here in Arkansas. Many of the summits had fire towers on the top in the past, which have long been abandoned. But the roads often remain, either as trails or as rough roads that are probably above the capabilities of my Ford Ranger. I left home around 8:30 with plans to do Petit Jean Montain, then may swing over to Mount Magazine for a two-summit day. The National Forest Roads were good -- much better than they are down in the Oak Mounta