• All motorized vehicles prohibited on this trail

    All motorized vehicles prohibited on this trail — Sign just after crossing Paddy Creek Road. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Gary, about to cross Paddy Creek Road

    Gary, about to cross Paddy Creek Road — The Big Piney Trail has three road crossings. I’m about to cross Paddy Creek Road, and if things go according to plan, I’ll be crossing it again a few miles further on and after lunch. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Day Two — Camped off of the North Loop of the Big Piney Trail

    Day Two — Camped off of the North Loop of the Big Piney Trail. The perspective is a tad confusing here. I’m looking down at my hammock. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Camped off of the North Loop of the Big Piney Trail — lots of horse activity this morning. I heard two groups pass by on the trail. One was three people — I caught a glimpse of them through the brush. The second group I couldn’t see, but it sounded like 6-8 horses. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Visitor

    Visitor — It’s not the first time I’ve shared my tarp with an amphibian when it rains. I have no idea why they do this. I would have thought they would relish the rain, not seek shelter from it. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Junction with the shortcut to the South Loop

    Junction with the shortcut to the South Loop. Big Piney Trail, Paddy Creek Wilderness.
    Junction with the shortcut to the South Loop. It had been raining on and off for a couple of hours, I had somehow hurt my foot, and my pack was playing me up. It was still good to be out, and I’ve only got another fifteen minutes or so, and I’ll be where I planned to stop for the night. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • No one at home

    No one at home — someone has removed the surprise from this trash/swill can. That’s very mean. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Surprise! The previous occupant — November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I thought I’d check on the occupant of this trash/swill container. The result was — crickets — humpback crickets, to be precise. Apart from the crickets and lots of spider webs, it was empty. That’s a shame. It seems the previous occupant has been removed by someone. What a killjoy.

    No one at home — someone has removed the surprise from this trash/swill can. Looking southwest back along the trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Lunch Stop

    Small waterfall on the Big Piney Trail, North Loop. Paddy Creek Wilderness, Missouri. May 2023.
    Small falls on the Big Piney Trail, North Loop. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Stopped for lunch. Heating water for some noodles. . Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Small falls just off the Big Piney Trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Time for lunch, a cup of tea, some noodles and summer sausage.

    I watched four people on horseback go by on the main trail. Only their guide saw me. As is appropriate, we recognized our mutual presence with an ‘Ozarks salute.’

  • Junction of the North and South Loops, Big Piney Trail, Paddy Creek Wilderness

    Junction of the North and South Loops, Big Piney Trail, Paddy Creek Wilderness. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    North Loop to the left of me, South Loop to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.1

    For a change I’m starting out on the North Loop (left).

    1.In case you didn’t get my play on words, the original was Stuck in the middle with you by Stealers Wheel, written by Gerry Rafferty & Joe Egan. Released in 1972.

  • Starting Out — Hiking the Big Piney Trail Clockwise

    Starting Out — Hiking the Big Piney Trail Clockwise. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I’ve taken a day off so that I can spend three days on a slow hike of the 16-mile loop of the Big Piney Trail in Paddy Creek Wilderness. Unlike previous trips, it is forecast to rain on the first day, not the last.

    I left home around eleven-thirty and arrived at one-fifteen, and would have been on the trail in a few minutes. … Except the trailhead had been moved and there is a new parking lot, so I had to move the car. It was gone one-thirty before I got started. From the four vehicles at the trailhead, it was likely I was going to meet four or more people on horseback on the trail.

    I planned to hike around four miles today (Friday), seven miles Saturday, and five miles Sunday. That should be nice and easy, except there are some pretty steep hills to climb.

    I’m hiking the trail clockwise. I’ve never hiked the complete trail in this direction, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes. There’s rain in the forecast for this afternoon and tomorrow. With all the rain we’ve had recently, I’m wondering if the creeks will be up.

    Good weather for the weekend — once the rain clears. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Journal: Three days hiking at Hercules Glades Wilderness, April 2023

    Lunch before hitting the trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    My original plan for the weekend was scrapped. With some time on my hands, I decided to head down to Hercules Gades for a couple of nights.

    For details of my trip

    Journal & Photos
    Photos

  • Hike over, back at the trailhead

    Back at the Trailhead — Two nights, 18.5 miles, and 1400 ft. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    It took me a smidge under two hours to hike the four-and-something miles from ‘Cab Creek’ to the Tower Trailhead. At the Brushy Creek crossing I met two people hiking the trail counterclockwise. The only people I saw in my three days’ stay. It was a warm hike out, and I missed packing a lightweight Tee shirt. Lesson learned (I hope).

    This was an excellent trip, with enough miles and plenty of time spent watching the underbrush grow – apparently, the Dutch have a word for this practice, ‘niksen’ – I also managed to spend a couple of hours sitting in the sun. I’ll count both of those as wins!

    Lessons

    My preparation was a little off. I packed a base layer top, shorts, an extra buff, and an extra bandana. I’m not quite sure what I was thinking.

    I made one silly mistake, and that was to use my two-liter clean water pouch for collecting creek water. I gave it a good wash and a dilute bleach bath when I got home. Everything else was just fine.

  • Camped at ‘Cab Creek’

    Camped at ‘Cab Creek’. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Finally, the sun is high enough to start warming things up. I went and sat in the sun on the other side of ‘Cab Creek’ and enjoyed the morning.

    Camped at ‘Cab Creek.’ Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    2018: Standard feet in front of the fire shot, only with added headlamp lighting this time. Copyright © 2018 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I don’t think that the fire ring, which is so neglected it can hardly be seen in this picture, has seen a fire since May 6, 2018. And that’s also when we left the stack of firewood for future campers too. This is no longer a well-frequented spot.

    I enjoyed the sun and the quiet, drank some tea, prepared lunch, broke camp, and finally set on my way just after two. With around four and a half miles to go and a long uphill climb, I expected to be back sometime between four and five. Which meant I’d be home just after six. That was perfect timing if it worked out.

    ‘Cab Creek’ was hardly flowing. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Day Three – tea in bed at ‘Cab Creek’.

    Day Three – tea in bed at ‘Cab Creek’. Note the sun just rising above the edge of the hollow. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    ‘Cab Creek’ and not ‘Wahoo Point’. While hiking yesterday, I decided that if I arrived at the spot where I needed to start bushwhacking towards our ‘Wahoo Point’ campsite before six, I’d carry on and camp at ‘Cab Creek’. I arrived at six exactly, and carried straight on for another couple of miles or so, stopping at ‘Cab Creek’. Doing so upped my day’s hike from under six miles to nearly eight.

    This area was farmed and clear-cut not too long ago, so it is very scrubby. It was also cold overnight. So much for the forecast. It dropped to 33°F, that said, I was warm tucked up in my hammock. That expands the temperature range of my summer gear, which is comfort rated to 40°F. Excellent news — weight and space savings when hiking in the ‘Shoulder Seasons’.

  • Rose Verbena (Rose Vervain)

    Bit of a nothing picture. At the time, though, I’d just finished hiking through a section of dense trees, and the colors in the sudden patch of sunlight really popped. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/rose-verbena-rose-vervain Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Pilot Trail

    I’ve taken pictures here before also, but, again, each time the light, the vegetation and the trail are different. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Fire ring by the trail

    Fire ring by the trail. Look at all the flowers! You might think the trail goes straight on. It doesn’t it runs to the left of the fire ring. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Pilot Trail

    Pilot Trail — I’ve taken pictures here before, but each time the light, the vegetation and the trail are different. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Sig Sauer P938 Extreme, Alien Gear Shape Shift Holster, and a spare magazine

    Photograph of a SIG Saurer P938 Extreme with and Alien Gear Shape Shift retention holster with a spare magazine on a background of fall leaves.
    Sig Sauer P938 Extreme, Alien Gear Shape Shift Retention Holster, and a spare magazine. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    I could have sworn that magazine was full when I headed out. This picture shows the ‘clean’ side of the Sig and the holster, that is, the side facing me and my pack. Fortunately, my holsters take the worst of the wear and damage meted out by rocks, dirt, and stones when I set down my pack. My guns aren’t ‘Safe Queens.’ They go out in all weathers and sometimes end up in the dirt with the rest of my gear.

    The Sig’s been out in the rain and damp a lot recently. I researched how to fully strip it and the magazines down for cleaning and discovered that this combination of grips and frame was sold as the P938 Extreme. Hmm. I bought it new and didn’t even notice that. I just thought it was pretty 🙂

  • Preparing and eating lunch

    Lunch before hitting the trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Lunch before hitting the trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    And finally the sun has come out!

  • Packing away

    Packing away — It rained quite a lot last night and the drips were still falling from the trees, so I kept the tarp up while I packed everything away. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
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