The Quartz Mountain Primitive Trails Project contains three miles of interpretive and backcountry hiking trails that meander through trees and boulder formations. The new trail area, west of the main park entrance on Oklahoma 44A, provides comfort stations, picnic areas, educational kiosks, signs and an interpretive route with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
“The purpose of the trail system is to provide the public valuable recreational and educational opportunities in a unique wilderness-like setting,” Mosley said. “The opportunities include hiking, climbing, frontier camping, nature observation, inspiration for art and photography and environmental education and interpretation. If you have an opportunity, you need to walk the trails to see what a magnificent asset this is to Quartz Mountain.”
Project funding came from an $80,000 federal trails program grant (requiring 20 percent matching funds), administered by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism. Quartz Mountain's grant application to the Oklahoma Trails Grant Program in 2003 was rated number one in the state. Primary project contributors were Marion Hutchison, grant writer and volunteer; Sue Hokanson, park naturalist who prepared the signage; and Steve Kemp, recently retired head park ranger who led the trail construction.
Mosley presented a granite plaque to Hutchison for outstand-ing leadership in the trail development. “He is so knowledgeable about the sport of mountain climbing and preservation of natural areas, one of our best friends; without him this project wouldn't have happened,” Mosley said.
Hutchison began climbing the Baldy Point boulders while still too young to drive. “I got so much out of it; it's a place that needs to be preserved so everybody else can have the same experience,” he said.
Hutchison worked with the late Jim Angell, a trail-building expert from Bend, Ore., who staked out the trails. According to Mosley, “It became quite an adventure at that time. Jim Angell, one of the most colorful characters that we encountered along the way, was a crusty, old Lee Marvin type of guy who came in and laid out the trails; as a result, we have something very unique.”
Kemp spearheaded the trail construction with Hutchison's assistance. “The park employees did all the work,” Kemp said. “We followed Angell's stakes and did everything in house, building the mountainous trails by hand, moving rocks, cutting trees, trimming weeds; we did whatever it took to get through.”
Hokanson prepared the trail signage. Two trails, each a quarter-mile long, begin and end at the Baldy Point Trail Head where the technical rock climbers gather. One trail with interpretive text about the area's geology follows the base of the mountain. A second parallel Mesquite Valley Trail emphasizes forestry.
A side trail leads to the Cedar Valley Area, a box canyon with granite mountains on three sides and an open south side. Cowboys moving cattle to depots in Dodge City, Kan., stopped in Cedar Valley on the Great Western Cattle Trail from 1866 through 1885. The area with a large parking lot is especially suitable for school and scouting groups. The exterior loop uses the theme of animals found in the area. A gently sloping handicapped-accessible inner loop, less than a quarter-mile long, carries an interpretive plant theme.
“It is rare to have a yucca, a Western dry plant, right next to an Eastern red cedar that needs a lot of moisture. The fact that these two are found in the same place is one of the reasons that Quartz Mountain is so unique,” Hokanson said.
“The self-directed interior loop starts and ends at the same spot, so you can't get lost. The trail is approximately 10 feet wide with a series of benches so you can stop and enjoy the ambience of the area. It is awesome out there.”
Baldy Point natural area covers 300 acres of pristine granite mountains, managed by Quartz Mountain Park to protect the valuable natural resources and provide outdoor nature opportunities for the public. Preservation of the area as part of Quartz Mountain Nature Park was made possible by private land acquisitions, donations and easements from Suzy Spradlin, daughter of Ted and Margaret Johnson; James and Mary C. Dunnam; the Access Fund; the Wichita Mountains Climbers Coalition; The Texas Mountaineers; and the Town of Blair.
Lowell Caneday, Ph.D., of Stillwater, chairman of Quartz Mountain's Board of Trustees, said the board worked to acquire a number of properties to ensure one contiguous area, “that we could protect as a biological conservation area. Now the public can go into the area and see the biological, historic, cultural heritage; it is truly a remarkable area with great history. Individuals can experience solitude and interaction with the natural environment.
“Baldy Point is a world-class climbing area. We don't think about people doing rock climbing here in Oklahoma, but people come here from the Rocky Mountains because the rock face contains so many different technical holds and routes. It's a wonderful resource.”
Glen Wallace, Granite Reformatory psychologist, owns property adjacent to Baldy Point. “Quartz Mountain and the Old Baldy Trail are the best-kept secret in the state. My children live in other states and they can't believe there is anything this beautiful in Oklahoma or in the United States,” Wallace said. “The big boulders as you enter Old Baldy, the cave my little grandson goes into, the wildlife, it is just a beautiful place.”
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