The year started well with two trips out in January, followed by another four trips by the end of April, including a three-day outing to the Mark Twain National Forest to watch the total solar eclipse. Read on for links to all the trip write-ups, plus notes on my gear changes.
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A quick roundup of the backpacking trips I managed to fit into 2023. And, of course, some pictures.
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A quick roundup of the few backpacking trips we managed to fit into 2022. And, of course, some pictures.
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A quick roundup of our 2021 backpacking trips and a rundown on our gear changes. And, of course, some pictures.
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Got your own land? Go for it, cut down trees, and make as much mess as you like. Public land? Leave no trace. Let’s not trash the wilderness. One-minute read.
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No, I’m not referring to COVID-19, though that has thrown a monkey wrench into my backpacking and hiking plans. I’m going to briefly talk about what I’ve been doing on the trails, plus some life and gear changes.
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Rain, thunder, a flooding lake, wading, and bushwhacking make for a different start to a weekend’s R&R. Piney Creek Wilderness. Trip write-up: Ten-minute read, 45 pictures
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Piney Creek Wilderness – January 2020 – A three day, two night, relaxing stay by the lakeside in Piney Creek Wilderness. Trip write-up: 11-minute read. 54 pictures.
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Ninety-degree temps, and three days spent by Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness. Some much needed rest & Recuperation time.
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An unplanned two-day hike at Piney Creek Wilderness.
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Piney Creek Wilderness is one of our favorites.
Located in Barry County Missouri, the Pineview (Tower) Trailhead is 5.5 miles west of Cape Fair on Highway 76 off Farm road 2150, and around 4.5 miles on Highway 76 from Highway 39. See Getting To Piney Creek.
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Welcome to our gallery of photographs taken at Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri.
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We found this survey marker by the Tar Kiln Trail in Piney Creek Wilderness. It’s quite hard to see, but I was able to make out that the tack in the center marks the place where this post is on a grid.
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School’s out for the summer, so there’s no school run to worry about. Lanie’s staying with her grandparents for a few days. The big kids are old enough to be left home alone. What better opportunity to get in a few days backpacking?
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Also known as Wild Sweet William, Wild Blue Phlox is a favorite spring wildflower gives bright splashes of color to the woodlands. Growing best in the dappled shade of the woodland borders and preferring well drained ground, you often see Blue Phlox decorating the edges of trails.
Of course the name of this plant always makes me smile. My name is Ginger, of course, so Wild Ginger just sounds so…wild and fun and rather appealing. This plant is not really a ginger like the root we use in cooking. That is Zingiber officinale and only grows in the tropics. Our native Wild Ginger is actually called Asarum canadense. But it gets its name from the spicy roots that have been used medicinally.
Down underneath the leaf litter of the forest floor the basal leaves of Pussy Toes begin to peek through. You start to notice these rosettes of silvery green leaves. Soon you see there are buds poking through and pushing up on a stalk. After a week or so you begin to see where Pussy Toes gets its name. The little flowers on the ends of the stalks are a bit fuzzy and resemble the little toes of kittens.
The spring-blooming violets capture the romantic imagination of poets and songwriters. Growing in well-drained yet fairly moist areas in the hills of the Ozarks, there are dozens of different species and variations. You will see violets that are blue, purple, lavender, white, and yellow. Some are bicolored. Some are striped. Many have little fuzzy beards in the throat of the flower.
No other flowering tree is more iconic and well known than the Dogwood. Native to the midwest, cultivated by homeowners, and lauded as Missouri’s official State Tree, the Dogwood is the quintessential indicator of spring in the Ozarks.
