Our second trip was on the newly opened 24 mile Middle Fork section of the Ozark Trail. The official start to this section is actually at an intersection with the Trace Creek Section which is crossed a short distance south of the Council Bluff turn off. A short mile or so from
this intersection is the parking lot trailhead at HWY DD which is where we set up camp Friday night. Members of this trip were Ron Mueller, Isaac Noland, Dave Tudor, Ben Nicholson, Shawn Bradley, Jeremy Dean, Neil Wiggins, Josh Heater and Fly. This day just happened to be the first day of firearms deer season (my fault) so we came equipped with hunter
orange, although we didn't really have an appropriate amount visible. This trail, being of modern design, was well marked and flowed very well, complete with many Missouri vistas. We came across one oddity, however…a car in the middle of the forest with no obvious source of its entrance. We posed for a few pictures, tried to drive it, then
continued south. We camped high in a clear cut at about the 12 mile point. Shawn wanted to dry his boots out by the fire that evening because of an earlier misstep during a stream crossing, so he set them up to get the most heat from the fire. Since this was his first backpacking trip...or camping trip ever, we warned him against his decision to place them
right next to the fire. Not paying attention...he set them on fire. Damage was minimal and he learned some great lessons, fire is hot and rubber burns. We struck camp early the next morning and kept our southbound heading finishing the trail in early afternoon at J HWY in Oates, Missouri. The finish line for this trip is the starting point of the Karkaghne
Section which will be saved for another day. On a personal note, I was able to shave off about 13 pounds from my pack since the first trip. I had traded out my 4 season tent for a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight and simply left stuff at home. Final base pack weight (no food or water) for this trip was about 22 pounds. jm
Topo Maps
Our second trip was on the newly opened 24 mile Middle Fork section of the Ozark Trail. The official start to this section is actually at an intersection with the Trace Creek Section which is crossed a short distance south of the Council Bluff turn off. A short mile or so from 
this intersection is the parking lot trailhead at HWY DD which is where we set up camp Friday night. Members of this trip were Ron Mueller, Isaac Noland, Dave Tudor, Ben Nicholson, Shawn Bradley, Jeremy Dean, Neil Wiggins, Josh Heater and Fly. This day just happened to be the first day of firearms deer season (my fault) so we came equipped with hunter 
orange, although we didn't really have an appropriate amount visible. This trail, being of modern design, was well marked and flowed very well, complete with many Missouri vistas. We came across one oddity, however…a car in the middle of the forest with no obvious source of its entrance. We posed for a few pictures, tried to drive it, then 
continued south. We camped high in a clear cut at about the 12 mile point. Shawn wanted to dry his boots out by the fire that evening because of an earlier misstep during a stream crossing, so he set them up to get the most heat from the fire. Since this was his first backpacking trip...or camping trip ever, we warned him against his decision to place them 
right next to the fire. Not paying attention...he set them on fire. Damage was minimal and he learned some great lessons, fire is hot and rubber burns. We struck camp early the next morning and kept our southbound heading finishing the trail in early afternoon at J HWY in Oates, Missouri. The finish line for this trip is the starting point of the Karkaghne 
Section which will be saved for another day. On a personal note, I was able to shave off about 13 pounds from my pack since the first trip. I had traded out my 4 season tent for a Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight and simply left stuff at home. Final base pack weight (no food or water) for this trip was about 22 pounds. jm
