This will be my last backpacking trip of 2024. I’m nowhere near my goal of hiking 240 miles in 2024, but I’ll be spending the next four days hiking the twenty-seven-mile Berryman Trail near Potosi, Missouri, which will get me a bit closer.

The Berryman Trail

I’ve hiked the Berryman Trail twice — in 2011 (clockwise) and 2020 (counterclockwise). When I hiked it in 2020, the trail had been substantially rerouted and extended to its current length of twenty-seven-odd miles. In 2011, it was 24 miles. On my last visit, it was in excellent condition, well-graded, blazed, and easy to follow. That will make a nice change from the Whites Creek Trail in Irish Wilderness!

The trail runs through short-leaf pine and oak forests and generally follows the contour lines into and around the hollows. You’ll enjoy this trail if you like the Ozark’s crinkly bits with deep hollows. The Berryman Trail is not in a designated wilderness and is open for hikers, equestrians, and cyclists. Motor vehicles are not allowed on the trail but can be encountered at the trail’s many forest road crossings.

The trail is divided into east and west segments. When I last hiked it, water was available on the West Segment at the spring at the abandoned Beecher Campground, Harmon Spring and Trailhead, Little Brazil Creek, and Brazil Creek. The East Segment has a reputation for being dry — I’ve seen caches of water at the point where the trail crosses Floyd Tower Road. However, I have found a low-output spring on the trail a mile or two south of Floyd Tower Road.

According to signs at the trailhead, logging and road-building operations are in progress to the south and west of Berryman Campground.

Weather

The weather should be warmish, mid-thirties to mid-fifties, mostly overcast, and there’s even some overnight rain in the forecast. There will be some gusty winds on a couple of nights, so I’ll need to pay attention to how I set up my hammock.

Gear

Basically, I’m going with the same gear I took on my recent Irish Wilderness hike: my summer quilts and tarp, backed up by winter clothing, just in case it turns chilly. This will allow extra water to be carried, if necessary, on the East Segment. This time, I remembered to pack my Pop-Tarts, and I have a nice thick book to keep me occupied through the long dark evenings.

I’ve swapped out my LED light string for my LED camp light. It’s much quicker to set up and put away, and I want to see if I miss the light string.

The Plan

Dawn is around seven-thirty, and sundown is around four-fifty, so daylight is in short supply.

• Day One. I’m hiking the trail clockwise, so my stopping point will be the abandoned Edward Beecher Campground with its handy spring. As that’s some seven miles from the trailhead, I’ll need to get moving to get there before dark.
• Day Two. My shortest day, at around five and a half miles. I’ll hike to Little Brazil Creek and camp there somewhere, probably on the ridge to the west of the creek.
• Day Three. My longest day of over eight miles. Hike to Brazil Creek Campground, top up with water for the East Segment and the remainder of the trip. I’ll stop at the spot where I camped on the first night of my previous visit.
• Day Four. Hike the remaining six miles back to the Berryman Campground Trailhead.

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