North Fork Pinnacle

North Fork Pinnacle is a crag of rock, an outcrop, in the eastern Ouachita Mountains.   Seen from a distance, there is a large, exposed rock face on the south side.  The top, except for the cleared, exposed, flat area at the summit, is covered with briars, gnarled old trees and is a jumble of boulders.

There used to be a fire lookout tower on the summit, which is why there is a road to the top; the concrete footers are still there.  The Ouachita Trail runs across its north side, hidden in the trees.  There is a spur trail from the OT to North Fork Pinnacle Summit, marked by a sign.

The 'trail' to the top is actually the old road to the lookout tower.  There is no actual 'trail', per se, but the old,rutted, dirt road is wide open, partly because ATV's use it.   The hike is 0.5 miles to the top and 0.5 miles back, with an elevation gain of 300 feet.  Its actually not much of a hike, but it is a local landmark, the geology is interesting and it has nice views from the top.

Because its so easy to reach the summit, don't be surprised to see beer cans, cigarette butts and other trash up there.   Generally speaking, any place in the 'wild' that's easy to reach will be littered to some extent and North Fork Pinnacle is no exception.