2022 Backpacking Round-up
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A quick roundup of the few backpacking trips we managed to fit into 2022. And, of course, some pictures.
More >Tagged: Piney Creek Wilderness
2021 Backpacking Round-up
A quick roundup of our 2021 backpacking trips and a rundown on our gear changes. And, of course, some pictures.
More >Leave no trace – How NOT to camp in the Wilderness
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.
More >2020 – All Change! New gear: an ultralight backpack, some luxury items, and cooking kit changes
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.
More >Trip Report – three days in Piney Creek Wilderness
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
More >Piney Creek Wilderness – January 2020
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.
More >Trip Report: Piney Creek, Three Days Solo Backpacking
Ninety-degree temps, and three days spent by Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness. Some much needed rest & Recuperation time.
More >Trip Report: Solo Backpacking at Piney Creek Wilderness
An unplanned two-day hike at Piney Creek Wilderness.
More >What does your MO look like?
Trail Map: Piney Creek Wilderness
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.
More >Photo gallery: Piney Creek Wilderness
Welcome to our gallery of photographs taken at Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri.
More >Forest Service Location Poster survey marker
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.
More >Trip report: Three days backpacking in the Piney Creek Wilderness – June 2012
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?
More >Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: Wild Blue Phlox
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.
Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: Wild Ginger
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.
Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: Hoary Puccoon
Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: Pussy Toes
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.
Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: The Violets
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.
Ozarks Flowering Tree: Dogwood
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.
Ozarks Flowering Tree: Buckeye
I remember being told by the old time Ozark natives that having a buckeye in your pocket is good luck. Of course that meant I carried them around with me for a while. My mother probably got tired of finding buckeyes in the wash.
Ozarks Flowering Tree: Rusty Black Haw
Places to go: Piney Creek Wilderness
Right off the bat, the most unusual thing about this Wilderness area is that its boundaries circumscribe the entire drainage of Piney Creek. So you always start on a ridge and go down into the valley of the same creek system. There isn’t a lot of up and down all day hiking. Once you’re down in the valley it’s flat. Piney Creek opens into Table Rock Lake on the east, allowing access to and from the lake…
More >Trip report: Backpacking at Piney Creek Wilderness – April 2012
One of the more problematic aspects of an outdoor-loving lifestyle is that you have to either find someone to take your kids while you go play or you have to bring your kids with you. We finally have two kids old enough to leave at home. But our youngest is still a bit young so we’ve been working on getting her interested in the idea of going on backpacking trips with us
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