2021 Backpacking Round-up

Trips

One hundred and twenty-two miles hiked, eleven thousand feet of elevation climbed, and twenty-one nights spent in my hammock. I went on a total of ten trips. I visited Hercules Glades five times. Piney Creek two times (and one day hike), and I’ve now hiked all the trails at Piney Creek, having completed the Siloam Spring Trail, Woods Trail, and the full length of the Piney Creek Trail. And I did one trip each to Devil’s Backbone, Ridge Runner Trail, and Irish Wilderness.

I’ve (unpublished) write-ups on all of the trips, but, I visit Hercules so often, there is not a lot new to share — I did find a total of five, new to me, springs. The Ridge Runner Trail and Irish Wilderness are the only new trails/wilderness areas I hiked. The last couple of trails at Piney Creek were new, and hiking the complete length of the Piney Creek Trail was fifty percent bushwhacking, as the western end appears to get very little traffic. It doesn’t help that the hollow is very narrow in places so the trail gets washed out.

Gear

My gear has remained remarkably stable this past year. The only changes have been in minor refinements and upgrades.

Note. None of the links below are affiliate links.

Tarp — I invested in a Hammock gear ‘The Journey’ winter tarp, with doors, for use in colder and wetter weather.
Tarp Stakes — along with the tarp I got some new aluminum ‘Y’ profile stakes. I wasn’t expecting them to be anywhere as good as my needle stakes (which you cannot buy anymore). I was wrong. They are very good and work well in the Ozark’s rocky ground.
Wood Stove — I bought a titanium wood stove to shave off some weight to compensate for the additional weight of the bad weather tarp. I’ve not used it much, but it doesn’t seem to work as well as my Firebox Nano stainless steel stove.
Water Treatment — After breaking a dirty water bag, I added some connectors and piping so I have a gravity filter which does not put undue strain on the connectors, which was what broke the dirty water bag. The Sawyer Squeeze is still going well, and I see no reason to change filters.
Camera — I got a new phone with a good camera, and that’s allowing me to drop a couple of pounds, and just as important some bulk. It’s not as good as my mirrorless camera, but for places I’ve visited countless times, it is fine.
Tent — Yes, you read that right. We bought a tent. Our MSR Mutha Hubba Has not stood the test of time well. After less than ten years of careful, intermittent use, the fly-sheet fabric has become all sticky and, well, unusable. We are not impressed. MSR ignored our requests for help, so, I’m sad to say, that’s a manufacturer we will not be using or recommending again.

We’ve replaced it with a Zpacks Duplex tent. Very expensive, but also very light. Ginger has been doing some solo trips, so a light-weight dependable tent was essential. Its five minute set up time is leaving me with a bit of ground-dweller envy.

Hercules Glades

Rainy day - and it had been a rainy night, the night before. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Old forest road - notice how wet and green it is. No wonder I found several springs near here. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

All that remains - is a dry patch. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Gary and Ginger at the Pole Hollow Cairn – I know how to treat Ginger to a good time, I made sure she had plenty of exercise, time to relax, and her own room with a forest view. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Flowering Prickly Pear Cactus. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – So named (by us) because of the huge numbers of cartenter ants there were here. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees, or they moved in because the trees died. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Ginger's new tent ultralight (24oz) Dyneema tent. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Spring - The water was rushing out of a tiny 1"-1.5" hole (center frame where the weed is collecting). It was putting out several gallons per minute. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

View across Hercules Glades from the Pilot (Tower) Trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped on 'Ant Hill' overlooking 'Twin Falls Hollow' Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Mores Branch. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Found just off the Pees Hollow Trail. I've no idea why I've not spotted this before. It's right by the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped near the Pees Hollow Trail, Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Spring - I am always on the look out for reliable springs we can camp near. Hopefully this one keeps running all year round. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Long Creek. Hercules Glades Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Hercules Glades Wilderness from the Pole Hollow Trail - Looking east. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Warm-ish night no tarp required. I was actually too hot at one point. It was nice to be able to watch the stars. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Piney Creek

Lunch Break - I decided to stop and have lunch by this small creek on the Siloam Spring Trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Woods Trail, Piney Creek Wilderness - This was a great section of the trail, very easy hiking. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Back on the Piney Creek Trail – it’s a 20′-30′ drop the the creek I was looking for good camping spots. The best are probably at the very start of the Piney Creek Trail. While obviously used the Piney Creek trail is overgrown and difficult to follow. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Morning Tea – you are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but it was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Large pool on Piney Creek - I didn't check how deep, but judging by the color, a few feet. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Cat Briar Central (looking west) – I name this area Cat Briar Central. The cat briars around it were horrendous, and I carry the scars to show for it. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

What is it with truck cabs in the wilderness? I’ve no idea what sort of truck this was, and there was no sign of the chassis, engine, or drive-train anywhere around. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Dogwoods on the 'Farm Track Trail' - Spring is sprung in the Ozarks. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Day Hike with Katie and Lanie - The end of the hike. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped in Piney Creek Wilderness - It's good to be back. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Enjoying the view - between interludes of journaling and swimming. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

I'm standing on tiptoe - I knew the low bluffs would be underwater, so I checked where the drop off was before I found out by accident. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Day Four - Misty campsite - I'm used to seeing fog and mist on the lake here, but today's mist was extra thick. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Through the veil - looking across the lake, the mist was lifting. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Lifting mist - spot the heron. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Devil’s Backbone Wilderness

Testing my new 'The Journey' tarp. I don't know why I've not used both my treking poles in porch mode before. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Testing my new 'The Journey' tarp. All snug with the doors closed. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Ridge Runner Trail

Another year, another empty trailhead – parked up ready to start my hike. When I returned two days later there were five horse trailers parked here, so it does see some use. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped off the Ridge Runner Trail - My plan for Friday night was to hike in a mile or so and set up camp for the night. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Ozark Trail Blaze - The Ozark Trail Association gets my unreserved thanks. They do a great job. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Steam Mill Hollow - Cool and pretty, but very overgrown, and I decided to fill up with water and camp somewhere else. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped for the night above North Fork River - not that I could see it. I was over 200 ft above it. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Back on the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Irish Wilderness

Camp Five Pond - from the end of the dam. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Bliss Spring, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Camped at Bliss Spring. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Eleven Point Scenic River. This is pretty much the only overlook in the entire 20-mile Whites Creek Trail. The trail here is very narrow and rough with a 100+ft. drop off on one side. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

I have a picnic table and a grill. When I found this empty float camp with a picnic table I knew I'd found my spot for the night. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

A nice cup of hot chocolate. My campe chair turned out to be much more comfortable than the picnic table. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

eek Float Camp - signs that there has not been a lot of maintenance for a while. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Despite the sign, all caves (and mines) are closed because of White Nose Syndrome. This is the only sign I've seen with an apostrophe in White's. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Whites Creek Cave – No I didn’t go in. I took this picture through the grill using my headlamp at full brightness to light up the cave. Had I been thinking, I would have set the camera on my mini tripod and gone for a longer exposure and some light painting. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

Whites Creek – has lots of large (very large) pools. I had planned to spend my third night camped near one of them. But I had to cut my trip short for a family dinner. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.