The continuation of the Ozark Trail for our group would have logically been the Karkaghne Section but there was not too much excitement for a 28 mile trip yet. And since we had some new faces that were onboard we decided to make it a short one. We jumped down a section to the Blair Creek which runs from 72 & P HWY down to the Current River and ends within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways at Owls Bend. In
order to keep this trip short we started at the 6 mile parking lot to make the final mileage around 20 miles. Members of this trip were David Moore, Miles Urbini, Nate Quest, Todd Whaley, David Tudor, Neil Wiggins, Isaac Noland, Jeremiah Stutte, Jeremy Dean and Tony Rocca. We struck camp early Saturday morning, posed for a group photo and headed southward past the trail kiosk. We dropped elevation and entered the Blair Creek
valley. The trail wound just above the creek for some time and then we cut to the west and down a beautiful ridge. This ridge is very prominent on the topo map and dropped us back into the creek valley. We took lunch at an old ice house or root cellar, some sort of concrete building that was cut into the adjacent hill. Our next stop was Harmon Springs, a large shallow lake with an old concrete building at its source. From here we crossed a
gorgeous lowland field with waste high grass and found a campsite just past this on the Blair Creek. This November was quite mild and Nate and I decided to take a very short refreshing dip in the frigid water. Our rocky campsite wasn’t the most comfortable but the sound of the creek all night was an added bonus. We cooked a group meal and then settled into a roaring fire as the temperature began to dive. The following morning we
awoke to ice in the water bottles and beautiful ice blossoms on some plants within the campsite; this I have never experienced before. Sunday took us through an old cemetery and a great wooden outhouse which most of us used. The outhouse came complete with a stash of leaves and sticks…we brought our own toilet paper, however, and left the stash for the locals. We left the Blair Creek Valley and headed due south towards the Current
River, passing a cave that had been completely blocked by steel bars. The trail continued higher in elevation and then through some pine forests. Without any warning we blasted out onto a huge overlook of the Current River and the great Owls Bend. This moment was the best so far of the Ozark Trail and we dropped our packs and enjoyed the scenery for over an hour. Once back on the trail it was an easy downhill mile into the National
Park Service area and to the vehicles. We loaded up the cars and headed back to the trailhead to grab the remaining vehicle and then booked it to the Family Restaurant for the buffet…only to be let down…the buffet was not up due to the retiling of the buffet area, maybe next time. This trip was by far the most scenic since it got you up and out of the forest for some long views. Missouri forest is absolutely beautiful but breaking the
monotony of the forest envelope can be ecstatic. We experienced lowland forest, lowland grass fields, creek valleys, ridge descents and accents, caves, cliffs, glades, frost flowers and a huge scenic overlook of the Current River. This was the first trip with the trekking poles and I thought they worked great and will stay on the gear list. Overall pack weight for this trip was about 18 pounds. It won’t be another year until the next trip! Stay tuned. jm
Topo Maps
The continuation of the Ozark Trail for our group would have logically been the Karkaghne Section but there was not too much excitement for a 28 mile trip yet. And since we had some new faces that were onboard we decided to make it a short one. We jumped down a section to the Blair Creek which runs from 72 & P HWY down to the Current River and ends within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways at Owls Bend. In 
order to keep this trip short we started at the 6 mile parking lot to make the final mileage around 20 miles. Members of this trip were David Moore, Miles Urbini, Nate Quest, Todd Whaley, David Tudor, Neil Wiggins, Isaac Noland, Jeremiah Stutte, Jeremy Dean and Tony Rocca. We struck camp early Saturday morning, posed for a group photo and headed southward past the trail kiosk. We dropped elevation and entered the Blair Creek 
valley. The trail wound just above the creek for some time and then we cut to the west and down a beautiful ridge. This ridge is very prominent on the topo map and dropped us back into the creek valley. We took lunch at an old ice house or root cellar, some sort of concrete building that was cut into the adjacent hill. Our next stop was Harmon Springs, a large shallow lake with an old concrete building at its source. From here we crossed a 
gorgeous lowland field with waste high grass and found a campsite just past this on the Blair Creek. This November was quite mild and Nate and I decided to take a very short refreshing dip in the frigid water. Our rocky campsite wasn’t the most comfortable but the sound of the creek all night was an added bonus. We cooked a group meal and then settled into a roaring fire as the temperature began to dive. The following morning we 
awoke to ice in the water bottles and beautiful ice blossoms on some plants within the campsite; this I have never experienced before. Sunday took us through an old cemetery and a great wooden outhouse which most of us used. The outhouse came complete with a stash of leaves and sticks…we brought our own toilet paper, however, and left the stash for the locals. We left the Blair Creek Valley and headed due south towards the Current 
River, passing a cave that had been completely blocked by steel bars. The trail continued higher in elevation and then through some pine forests. Without any warning we blasted out onto a huge overlook of the Current River and the great Owls Bend. This moment was the best so far of the Ozark Trail and we dropped our packs and enjoyed the scenery for over an hour. Once back on the trail it was an easy downhill mile into the National 
Park Service area and to the vehicles. We loaded up the cars and headed back to the trailhead to grab the remaining vehicle and then booked it to the Family Restaurant for the buffet…only to be let down…the buffet was not up due to the retiling of the buffet area, maybe next time. This trip was by far the most scenic since it got you up and out of the forest for some long views. Missouri forest is absolutely beautiful but breaking the 
monotony of the forest envelope can be ecstatic. We experienced lowland forest, lowland grass fields, creek valleys, ridge descents and accents, caves, cliffs, glades, frost flowers and a huge scenic overlook of the Current River. This was the first trip with the trekking poles and I thought they worked great and will stay on the gear list. Overall pack weight for this trip was about 18 pounds. It won’t be another year until the next trip! Stay tuned. jm 
great pictures!
ReplyDeleteNice blog, great photos. Thanks!
ReplyDelete