2021

Whites Creek Cave. +1

Looking back down the trail – the trail turns up the hill here (you can just about make it out in this picture). Most people (including me) appear to miss this. The trail marker is not particularly helpful either.

Heading up towards Whites Creek Cave – the trail is narrow and the drop-off steep. It appears that most people miss where the trail turns left up the hill to the cave.

Back on the Whites Creek Trail – Whites Creek Float Camp spur trail (branching right in the foreground). Time to head back to the trailhead, seven and-a-half miles of hiking and lots of rain in my future.

‘eek Float Camp – signs that there has not been a lot of trail maintenance for a while.

Crossing Whites Creek – You have to cross Whites Creek to get back to the main Whites Creek Trail. It’s not very obvious in this picture (or in reality), but the trail climbs up the bank just to the right of the tree on the left side of the frame.

Change of Plan (And an unloved wilderness registration point) – My original plan for today was to hike part of the southern loop of the Whites Creek Trail and stop for the night near one of the big pools that form on Whites Creek. Instead I’m heading home. One-minute read

Time for a nice cup of hot chocolate – Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate, of course. +1

I have a picnic table and a grill – When I found this empty float campsite with a picnic table I knew I’d found my spot for the night. +1

Path from the put-in to the float camp.

Whites Creek at the Whites Creek Float Camp – Whites Creek Float Camp looks to be abandoned, but I’m guessing it is just showing a lack of TLC brought on by a year of neglect because of COVID-19. +2

Caves on Whites Creek.

Eleven Point (Wild and 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. 2

This is not the trail you are looking for… You would think (and I and apparently, many, many others have), that the trail goes straight on here. Not so. Look carefully and there’s the trail, two feet in front of the sign on the left going up the hill. +1

Campsite by the Eleven Point River. I followed the trail, that I thought was the Whites Creek Trail to this campsite. I took a couple of pictures and then went back to Bliss Spring to work out where I went wrong.

Old homestead chimney

Camped at Bliss Spring. +2

Bliss Spring (Second spring). +1

Bliss Spring. +1

Bliss Spring has to be seen and heard, so I recorded a short video. Video: 2 minutes

Bliss Spring – Panorama

The two springs at Bliss Spring, Irish Wilderness, Missouri.

Bliss Spring – Irish Wilderness

On the trail to Bliss Spring – I’m not sure when I made up my mind to hike the eight miles to Bliss Spring, but I kept moving on. For some reason, I didn’t take any pictures of White’s Creek when I crossed it. I should have, it was wide and fairly deep. There was a big pool too. +6

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