Welcome to running a fever. My name is Michael Davis, and this is a show about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the very end. It’s all about living long and living life. So yeah, I’m at Mount Kessler here.

 

And it’s, we’ve never been here before, so it is a new adventure. And it’s especially a new adventure because there’s no real logic here that I can see so far. In terms of, I mean, there are maps, there’s an online map. There’s another map at the bottom of this hill.

And all I’m seeing are signs for the outdoor classroom and nature center. This is actually the road. It’s gotta be Judge Cummings Road. So I’m gonna go back down.

We may just be wandering around for a little bit here. Hopefully, I don’t get lost. But if I do, that’ll just mean more adventure for us today. Probably ought to go with someone who’s more experienced here.

Top of the mountain here, we call it that. They do call it that; it is about 1,800 feet above sea level. Yeah, I think I’m in the wrong parking area. There’s supposed to be a playground next to it.

I don’t see a playground. This road curves. The one on the map doesn’t curve. A friend of mine said it was pretty confusing here, and I think he was right.

So this must be a trail. And there’s a bridge. It’s not really a bridge. It’s steps.

Hidden biodiversity. The forest is home to many organisms. Some you may never see. These plants and animals make up the hidden biodiversity that play important roles in the ecosystem.

Well, while I’m wandering around here fairly aimlessly, I’ll give you a little information about Kessler Park and Mountain. Construction is finished on the second phase of improvements at Kessler Mountain Regional Park. The work included four new ball fields, parking, concessions, restrooms, a building, and other related improvements, and took approximately 15 months. The project was funded through the 2019 park bond.

For you investors out there. Drills can be accessed from the playground area and the north parking lot at the baseball fields. Kessler Mountain Regional Park in southwest Fayetteville comprises some 620 acres on and around historic Kessler Mountain, which reaches 856 feet above sea level. The park serves as a regional sports park with numerous soccer and baseball fields, and a nearly 4,000-acre nature preserve. It is also a popular area for mountain bikers and hikers, with more than 10 miles of natural-surface trails.

Location at 2600 West Judge Cummings Road. And there were no ball fields. I’m in the wrong place. I mean, not necessarily the wrong place.

But not the place that’s on my map. And so, need to figure out what that is. But, it’s okay. Got this trail, seems pretty straightforward.

There are no branches off of it yet. If I walk back this way, I should be okay. The athletic facilities at Kessler are suitable for tournaments and special events, including six lighted soccer fields, eight lighted baseball fields, and two restroom/concession buildings. There’s a large playground in the park’s interest, generously funded by the Rotary Club of Fayetteville.

Future construction phases at Kessler Mountain could include softball fields, A new pavilion, and additional trails. As if what they had wasn’t enough, how about additional signs? That would be a good addition. And you can reserve a ball field on the online portal.

Kessler Mountain Nature Preserve. In 2014, the city acquired an additional 387 acres of pristine Ozark forest adjoining the regional park on Kessler Mountain as a nature preserve and outdoor recreation area. This acquisition was made possible by a generous $1.5 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. And if you don’t know, the Waltons are the Walmart people, descendants of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.

One of the largest companies in the world, and a company with, gosh, I don’t know, certainly millions of employees. And an agreement with the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association to help raise a portion of the remaining funds. and to create a conservation easement to assist with the protection and management of the property. It’s nice.

It’s a beautiful day here at Kessler Mountain, I’ll tell you that. I like the forest here. I’m walking away from the traffic. Let me just take a look back.

Yeah, I have lost sight of the parking area where I parked, which is also a business. And whatever trail there is, the leaves are kind of covering it. So it’s not really straightforward. I mean, that could be a trail that goes across a creek or whatever, but it could be.

I mean, I’m just walking in between trees here. Any direction I look in could be a trail. Anyway, I’ll keep going. The park terrain includes open meadows, rolling hills, scenic bluffs, and a mature forest featuring native Ozark oaks, hickories, dogwoods, and redbuds.

Two intermittent streams flow through the property. providing an invaluable water supply for the wildlife residing on the site. I think I’ll eventually realize I’m not on a trail at all. Land is now preserved as a natural playground for outdoor recreation and a valuable environment for appreciating and learning about our native flora and fauna.

Kessler Mountain Trails. Kessler Mountain was a favorite spot for mountain bikers for more than 15 years prior to the acquisition by the city of Fayetteville. During that time, volunteers, with permission from the landowners, built a network of expert-level biking trails throughout the property. The new trails incorporate sections of the original trails and offer beginner- and intermediate-level loops for less experienced mountain bikers.

Through strategic, sustainable design, this plan was developed to address the needs of all users, including hikers, bikers, nature enthusiasts, trail runners, groups, and individuals with special needs. Gessler Mountain’s natural-surface trails total approximately 20 miles and range from easy to very difficult. Mountain bike trails. Cato Springs Trail, a 12-foot-wide concrete trail, connects to the Razorback Regional Greenway.

You can look at a map of the trails or an interactive map of the trails. Rock City Trail is not open to the public. The Rock City Trail is located on private property just outside the boundary of Kessler Mountain Regional Park. And some of the history, Kessler Mountain is named for the family who purchased 13 acres across its peak in 1866, Philip and Kate Kessler, and their daughter Clara.

Kesslers built a home and a wine cellar on the property and started what is likely the first winery in Arkansas, complete with a vineyard. They also operated Kessler’s Wine Hall on West Center Street in Fayetteville, serving Kessler’s celebrated wines and peach and apple brandies. Drinks are 10 cents or three for 25 cents. The family home is no longer standing, but the stone wine cellar and the well are still visible on the property.

Yep, well, you know, if this had been as crowded as what I experienced at Devil’s Den the last time I went, I would not have any trouble. and but if you look at the video you can kind of see that what i’m looking at right here this trail goes through kind of a wide spot between the trees and kind of over on the left maybe yeah this is uh i don’t want to get lost in here folks so i’m gonna head back Fairly adventurous here, although I’m kind of taking a safe route. Not safe, not really sure.

Until I get back. This looks like the trail to me. Ah, it’s got a five on it, so it probably is. Oh yeah, let’s see.

They’re on the other side of the trees, so I didn’t see them on the way up. So maybe there’s more of these on the other side of the trees. And maybe it’s a one-way trail, I don’t know. But plenty of leaves, just like in my last hike.

See plenty of empty trees. You can see for quite a distance in the forest. Also kind of covers up some hazards along the way, so you can’t see them. Got to be careful, as always, when hiking.

But I don’t know. I spend a lot of time looking up here. Probably not a wise thing to do, but I didn’t get in trouble, so. And this looks more like a trail.

I don’t see any more blazes here. I was hoping to go along the Razorback Greenway, which supposedly connects here with that 12-foot-wide concrete trail. And just because it’s my first time here, I wanted to, you know, do something easy to navigate. Hey, man.

Moved around enough to get sweating a little bit. It’s 50 degrees in the 50s today. But wearing short sleeves, I knew once I got moving around, I’d be warming up. Down can definitely be more treacherous than going up.

So anyway, it was nice to introduce you to Miss Nanny’s Trail. That’s what we’ve been on, Miss Nanny’s Trail today. Outdoor classroom and nature center. All pets must be on a leash.

I don’t know, must be something. Should I go up there? Why not? It’s advertised as a trail.

Outdoor classroom. Mr. Oh, it’s a mister this time. Mr. Clyde’s Trail. See how far we get on this one.

I don’t know what road this is. We’re going up right away. Mr. Clyde’s Trail forest composition. Forest along Mr. Clyde’s Trail is made up of mostly shag, bark, hickory, and white oak.

The rich soil on this cooler north-facing slope provides habitat for several species of Ozark wildflowers. Mr. Clyde’s Trail at Kessler Mountain. It does seem a little cooler here, but it must have been a big squirrel. Look at this movement of trees and everything.

So far, this one’s pretty well trodden, at least. And we’re going to have an incline here. OK. 1,362 elevation.

21 minutes, half a mile. But it hasn’t been half a mile of straight walking like at Lake Fayetteville. half a mile of terrain like this up and down. Nobody here in this area.

Maybe I should go to the ball field area. Maybe there are more people there today. It’s a beautiful day. It’s a little cooler.

I think the rain is predicted for late tonight. And it continues uphill. No rest for the wicked. Not sure where that saying came from, but somewhere in the Bible it says there’s no peace for the wicked, I think.

not knowing. Because when I’m sitting at my desk, I can always ask the co-pilot or Google. One of the two. Okay.

We are actually getting a workout here today. I’m glad I came on my own because most of the people I know are younger and more fit than me, and could probably just leave me in the dust while I’m trudging up or down the hill. I think there’s a lot of potential here. There are apparently 10 miles of multi-use trails, and I think it’s a good thing to get to know some maybe difficult-to-navigate terrain.

It makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something now that you know something more, you know? More local area knowledge. And I’ve lived here for almost 20 years now. In a couple of months, it’ll be 20 years.

And so I should know a lot about the area. Oh, I see another plaque up here, something to read, a place to stop, an excuse to stop. Okay, old-growth forest. Did you know larger trees are not necessarily older?

Some of the smaller trees in Kessler Mountain are actually hundreds of years old. These old-growth tree stems are part of what makes Kessler Mountain unique. And maybe that’s what makes it historic. You know, they called it historic in the material.

And I think, really sunny. See that sun up there? This is a good time to turn around. Not quite 30 minutes, but that’s 30 minutes from when we started on that other trail.

And I’m gonna try not to fall on the way down because it’s kind of steep and a lot of roots, that was one of them yeah, this trail is a lot better, more challenging for sure, but the other one I just didn’t even know I was on a trail, I don’t know, disconcerting is a correct word. Grammar department. Concert, I believe, means together or togetherness.

When people act in concert, they’re acting together. A concert, musical concert, is usually a group of musicians, although I think it could be a single musician as well. But that might have come about just from the tradition of multiple musicians. So disconcerting would be a pulling apart, not a pulling together.

That’s just what I think. It’s great being out here and not being tempted to whip out my phone and look up all this information. Just let it flow out there. And if you’re listening on a computer and you can’t stand not knowing, then go ahead and look it up.

I’m always for improving one’s grammar skills. I was an English major in college, but they didn’t spend much time on grammar. Kind of assumed you had that in high school. I had one semester of grammar.

And then you just read and write the rest of the time. And I guess you’re supposed to learn by writing and getting yourself corrected. What good grammar is from there on out. A lot of roots here.

Must be these old-growth trees reaching out for water and nutrients. Of course, Arkansas is a very rocky terrain. You’d expect that on a mountain. Just gotta get under that topsoil.

Not as easy sometimes, just going horizontally, I guess. Kind of amazing that trees grow at all here. But they do. We’ve got some really great parks and forest areas here.

Never been in any real wild forest around here. Today is about as wild as it gets. Now, some hikers like to go off the beaten path, as they say it’s probably a good thing, but you gotta know again, you know, you gotta know what your area gotta know how to get back safely. Some people carry these. It looks like a walkie-talkie, but it’s actually a satellite GPS. So even if you’re outside of cellular range, you can reach a GPS satellite.

So you can get your location and transmit it to someone else with the right equipment. Kind of pricey things, I think, but out of, you know, the kind of hikers that go off the beaten path and the, I don’t know, I’ve seen them advertised for divers as well. So if something happens, someone can find you because they would know someone you know has your GPS coordinates, and you’d be able to navigate there. Not a bad idea.

But as for me, I’m just going to stay on the trails for now. And it’s already plenty of a challenge for me, most of the time. When it’s no longer a challenge, maybe I’ll go off the beaten path. You can probably count on me going off the metaphorical beaten path.

But as for the physical beaten path, probably not. But I hope you’ve enjoyed it. It was an adventure. We’re finding out stuff.

We’re going to completely new terrain here, trying to learn our way around. And as always, you got that fever for Running A Fever, then keep that fever burning. And if you don’t, catch the fever. And I’ll see you next time on Running a Fever.