Snow? What snow?
I was most disappointed to find it didn’t snow in the night.
We got a call from the kids – their train was ahead of schedule so off we went arriving at the station just as their train arrived. Now I only had the two hundred odd mile drive back to Springfield to deal with. I wish I’d kept quiet about the snow. As we got near to Sullivan there were two inches; it was freezing on the road making the surface very treacherous, and it had started blowing almost a blizzard. I wonder what the troop of boy scouts that arrived at Meramec State Park the previous night made of that turn of events.
There was a jack knifed truck blocking the I44 at Sullivan, and over the next fifty miles I counted at least 10 wrecks. Mostly and worryingly minivans that had left the road and either tangled with the central reservation or the roadside ditch.
By Rolla the road was clear and we’d dodged the snow but it was slow and very nasty going for a while. We got home around four, and later we treated ourselves to a Mexican at our favourite place – Amigos. Pulling back into the garage I noticed that one of the headlamps was out. D’oh! They were both working on the drive home from St Louis.
26 March 2011 | 365:085 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Trail shelter, Bluffs Trail, Meramec State Park
I started the day with a monster hangover.
Which, of course, was totally my own fault. I obviously ate far too much cheese. I didn’t even start to feel human until the early afternoon, and lunch today was our only dehydrated meal failure – Fruit cous cous.
Trail shelter, Bluffs Trail, Meramec State Park
Something had to be done, so we went for a short hike on the park’s bluff and river trails. We found this curious trail shelter on top of the bluffs over looking the Meramec river.
Further around the trail we found a cave, albeit a very shallow cave, which the Camp Host had told us about, and unlike most of Missouri’s caves we could actually go into this one. Entry into the majority of the state’s caves is banned at the moment to protect the bats from disease and being disturbed. If you check out the cave picture carefully you’ll see I’m testing my special woolen socks with a toe that Ginger made for me to wear with my huaraches.
Cave on the Bluffs Trail, Meramec State Park
The other thing the Camp Host told us – after we’d picked our camping spot – was that there is a backpacking trail here with free camping sites. D’oh!
In the evening we went into Sullivan for a nice big fat juicy steak. Tomorrow we have to be up early and head for St Louis. We have plans to hit the REI store before picking up the kids. We’ve also been told it might snow overnight, though the weather radio is denying this.
Today’s alternate shot
Gary and Ginger at a trail shelter, Bluffs Trail, Meramec State Park
25 March 2011 | 365:084 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Gary and Ginger on the Ozark / Berryman Trail
Near Floyd Tower Road, heading towards Harmon Spring Trail Camp.
The day started dull and grey, with the overnight temperature somewhere around 45°F but it warmed up to 80°F later and was nice and sunny at times. We had a slow start, a problem we encountered most of the trip, what with sitting in our bags chatting, drinking coffee and eating breakfast, breaking camp and taking pictures. We never seemed to get away before eleven!
Our plan was to camp somewhere near Harmon Spring Trail Camp, and once we were on our way we stopped only briefly so that I could take pictures of one of the old campground grills, which are scattered around the area and are being slowly consumed by the undergrowth. I also took a picture of the completely unspectacular spring, actually an artesian well, which looks like a large metal gate post stuck in the ground, out of which runs a length of metal pipe with a bit of rubber tube on the end from which the water runs into a concrete trough. We’d already taken water from the creek – we use a MSR SweetWater Water Purifier System which combines an active charcoal filter plus a chlorine treatment, so we didn’t need to help ourselves to the spring water.
The problem with stopping near water (apart from the noisy frogs) is that it generally means the next day’s hike will invariably start with a climb of some sort. Today was no different, after a short walk up a hollow the trail started to climb a total of some 260 feet. It was fairly easy going, and after that the trail tended to hug the ridge contours. We crossed a couple of forest roads which is where I took today’s picture. The trail ran along side but not visible from a couple of gravel roads for a mile of so.
Soon the trail started to descend off the ridge towards Little Brazil Creek, near the bottom we passed a large man-made stock/wildlife pond. once in the bottom of the valley the going was fairly boring for a while, and it was difficult to work out exactly how far down the valley we’d progressed. We stopped for a quick trail mix snack after crossing a small creek. Shortly after, we crossed Little Brazil Creek and the trail to Harmon Spring Trail Camp was very wet and muddy. We realised afterwards that someone had blazed (follow the orange tapes) a higher and drier alternative trail. I was fine but very dirty squelching my way through the mud, Ginger had to do a lot of bushwhacking to avoid the worst of the mud and water.
Harmon Spring Trail Camp is obviously well used. There was a wonderful display of daffodils around a couple of the trees. Seemingly either brought in by the horses that are obviously tied up there, or providing more fertile ground for the daffs to grow in.
The area was too well used for our liking, so after a quick look at the huge stock pond built around the spring we carried on along the trail until we crossed Little Brazil Creek for the final time. At this point the trail then climbs back onto the ridge over to Brazil Creek. We left the trail following a forest road running North parallel to Little Brazil Creek, and bushwhacked off the road to find a camping spot near the creek. The weather forecast was good, and the overnight temperature predicted to be up in the fifties, so we decided to not set the tent’s fly, and watch the stars from our bed. I found a pool in the creek deep enough for a good, if cold, wash.
We spent the evening sat by the creek watching the sun go down and eating one pot pasta and chicken followed by rice pudding serenaded by hundreds of ‘peepers’.
Today’s alternate shots
Gary looking remarkably chipper before drinking his morning coffee.
Gary and Ginger on the Ozark / Berryman Trail
Gary taking a bath at Little Brazil Creek
Watching the sunset at Little Brazil Creek
Today’s Extras
Camping at Edward Beecher Recreation Area. There's no denying the scenery can be a little dreary at this time of year. The purple bag contains our food and trash and is hanging from a tree to keep it out of the reach of raccoons and such. It was very difficult finding a tree with a suitable branch able to hold the weight of our food.
Abandoned campsite at Edward Beecher Recreation Area. One of the old campground grills, which are scattered around the area and are being slowly consumed by the undergrowth.
The spring at Edward Beecher Recreation Area
Forrest Road - CR-205 (Floyd Tower Road)
Sundown at Little Brazil Creek, Missouri
Peeper
21 March 2011 | 365:080 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Gary and Ginger Backpacking on the Berryman Trail
Today the sun shone.
The Berryman trail is very nice hiking, the gradients are generally fairly gentle – possibly because they are adapted for biking, and the surface is generally good, either soft or gravelly with a few muddy patches, which the previous night’s rain added to. The puddles on the trail were a great test for my new huaraches, which worked well and didn’t slip against my feet when wet. However, there was a different problem; the foot-bed material was so hard and sharp it abraded my feet. I had to stop using them after today and revert to my pair with the foot-bed that becomes slippery when wet. For today though, it was great to be able to walk straight through the mud and small creeks while Ginger had to search for a dry route across.
We stopped for a cooked lunch of cranberry almond tabouli at a creek about four miles in. All of Ginger’s efforts with the food dehydrator definitely paid off. Even though the food was dehydrated, the six days’ meals we were carrying amounted to 16lbs between us. Over the week we worked out a revised food strategy which will shave a few pounds off. We had enough food for a cooked lunch, dinner and dessert every day. We quickly discovered we didn’t need the cooked lunch – our daily trail mix rations were quite enough to keep us going. We can also drop some of the heavier foodstuffs. The salmon and any pasta weighs a lot mot more than the alternatives.
Our plan was to hike a nice easy five miles a day, today needed a little bit longer, six miles, to get us to an old disused campground – Edward Beecher Recreation Area, where there is a spring which we could use to top up our water if no other opportunities presented themselves. The campground must have been quite large, though it is completely overgrown now with only a few posts and old fireplaces and grills to show it was ever there. The spring it looked like it was a popular party spot for the locals, so we bushwhacked off the trail to be well out of the way and set up camp near a creek.
Once we’d got the tent up, we collected wood for the fire; there were plenty of fallen limbs around to choose from, enough for us to keep a small fire going for a couple of hours or more. Dinner was smoked salmon pasta with carrot cake in a bowl for dessert. Who says backpacking isn’t luxurious?
Sitting quietly by the fire the amount of noise coming from the frogs was startling, and one in particular seemed to be intent on making a very eerie and initially unsettling noise.
Today’s alternate shots
Gary at Berryman Campground. A quick self portrait just in case I didn't get a chance later in the day.
Testing my new huaraches
Today’s extras
We camped a little close to the van, but it was the highest - and therefore driest spot around.
Berryman Trail between the Berryman Trail head and Edward Beecher Recreation Area. These were fairly typical conditions for this part of the trail.
The higher parts on this section of the trail were all pretty much in this condition. The trail markers can be found at almost every point where the trail crosses one of the many forrest roads (tracks). This part of the trail is also part of the Ozark Trail, which explains the top Ozark Trail marker.
20 March 2011 | 365:079 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Resting my eyes
At a service station in Eureka, Missouri, just off the I44.
The kids’ train to Chicago had been delayed until after five pm, meaning that after we’d dropped them off and driven the sixty odd miles back down the I44, we arrived at our planned destination, Berryman campground after dark. Finding the campground in the dark wasn’t all that easy either.
Not only was it dark, but it was raining heavily too. The first real test of our rain gear, and a challenge for me to remember how to put the tent up ‘fly first’, a cunning method which keeps the tent and contents dry. The rain gear worked great, and I mostly got the tent up fine; I say mostly because I made the mistake of staking it out before I’d put up the tent proper.
Once ensconced in the tent we shared a Subway ‘$5 Foot long’ before lights out and listening to the rain pitter-pattering on the tent before falling asleep.
For some reason I don’t have any pictures of my putting up the tent in the dark and rain. Our first night camping this trip and it’s throwing it down, not an auspicious start.
19 March 2011 | 365:078 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
