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The View from my hammock, Piney Creek Wilderness, Day Two
View from my hammock. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. You are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but this was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail.
It was cold overnight 33°F. The forecast was for the low forties, but I expected it to go lower, it always does. I brought my 40°F top and underquilts, and wore my merino wool baselayer, plus my puffy jacket to bed and I was warm. Though I did refuse to get out of the hammock until the sun touched the ground.
Breakfast with a view – the forecast was for 40F overnight. It dropped to 33F, so I refused to get up until the sun touched the ground. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Morning Tea – you are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but it was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Looking up Piney Creek
Looking up Piney Creek – it was a nice view to wake up to, but I don’t like camping near creeks. Too noisy and too messy. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Camped by Piney Creek
Camped by Piney Creek – you are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but it was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I spent a long time searching for a decent campsite yesterday evening. The sides of the hollow here are really steep, and while I could hang my hammock, it would have been a risky business moving around. The flatter areas are very brushy and finding a couple of trees with nothing sprouting up between them near impossible. And the hollow is so narrow it’s not practical to get the regulation distance from the trail or water source. I didn’t fancy hiking an overgrown, intermittent trail in the dark, and the light was rapidly fading when I picked this spot as the best I could find.
It is very pretty, but I do not like camping next to creeks. I don’t like how the noise of a creek masks any other sounds in the neighborhood, and it’s best not to mention the hidden voices that running water manages to conjure up. The air is damp, it is cold, and the bottoms of hollows are scruffy with washed-out debris, limbs, and trees. All in all, I’d rather camp somewhere else.
Camped by Piney Creek – you are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but it was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camped by Piney Creek – you are not supposed to camp this close to a water source, but it was the only spot I could find. It was getting dark when I arrived, and the hollow is so narrow, it’s impossible to not camp near the creek or the trail. I opted to put the creek between me and the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Piney Creek – the start of Day Two
Piney Creek – the start of Day Two. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Back on the Piney Creek Trail
Back on the Piney Creek Trail – it’s a 20′-30′ drop to the creek. I was looking for good camping spots. The best are probably at the very start of the Piney Creek Trail. The trail is overgrown and difficult to follow in many places. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It doesn’t look like it, but it is a 20′-30′ drop to the creek. I was looking for good camping spots. The best sites are probably at the very start of the Piney Creek Trail, but I wasn’t too keen on camping there because the trail overlooked them. I do like my privacy when I’m out in the wilderness. Not that anyone was likely to come past.
Carrying on down the trail, it became increasingly overgrown and difficult to follow. I found this spring which isn’t marked on the maps, which is always a good thing to find. The further I went, the narrower the hollow became, the steeper the sides were, and more bush-whacking was required. I was zigzagging from side to side of the hollow, looking for a nice spot to stop. Good and even bad campsites were in short supply, and I kept on heading down the trail. I’d find somewhere to stop eventually.
Spring – it’s always good to know where a spring can be found. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Woods Trail, Piney Creek Wilderness
Woods Trail, Piney Creek Wilderness – This was a great section of the trail, very easy hiking. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Stock Pond off the Woods Trail – I’d spotted this stock pond on the aerial photographs of the wilderness. It’s not marked on any of the maps. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Woods Trail, dropping into the hollow – the trail was easy to follow even once it started descending. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
The official start of the Woods Trail
Official start of the Woods Trail – Five O’clock, and I still have a fair way to go before I stop for the day. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Piney Creek’s Woods Trail meets the road
Piney Creek’s Woods Trail meets the road – It seemed to take forever to get here, but it took just under an hour to hike the 2.6 miles. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Farm Road 2185
Farm Road 2185 – it seemed a very long 2.6-mile hike from the Siloam Spring Trail trailhead to the start of the Woods Trail, one of my last unhiked trails in Piney Creek Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It seemed a very long 2.6-mile hike from the Siloam Spring Trail trailhead to the start of the Woods Trail, one on my last unhiked trails in Piney Creek Wilderness. The view from ‘Big Buck Lodge’ gave me my only glimpse of the surrounding countryside.
The view from Big Buck Lodge – Lodge is, shall we say, a generous title. The ‘Lodge’ is on the opposite (north) side of the road, to this southerly-facing view, which has obviously been cleared to provide a view from the lodge. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
I’ve been here before
I’ve been here before – nearly nine years ago on June 7, 2012. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. This is where the trail down to Siloam Spring joins the farm road. I didn’t have anyone to take my picture this time, and the lack of leaves to block the sun is making me squinty. Well, that’s my excuse.
And below, here I am in 2012.
It’s gone 4 p.m., if I’m to get to some water, I’d better get moving. Many miles still to go.
Here I am in June 2012. Picture by Ginger. Copyright © 2012 Ginger Allman, all rights reserved. -
At the Siloam Spring Trail trailhead
At the Siloam Spring Trail trailhead – I’m guessing that the pickup belongs to the only person I met in the three days I spent in this wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. That’s the Siloam Spring Trail checked-off on my list. We’ve been here before. You’ve guessed it, June 2012. Then, instead of hiking all the Siloam Spring Trail, we diverted off to visit Siloam Spring and then took what is now called a ‘Social Trail’ that is an unofficial trail up to Farm Road 2185, which we hiked eastward to this trailhead, where we then headed off down the Tar Kiln Trail. Completing the Siloam Spring Trail has taken nearly nine years!
Now it’s time for me to hike 2.6 miles along the gravel farm road to the start of the Woods Trail. Maybe I’ll stop for a selfie where the unofficial trail from Siloam Spring meets the road.
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Climbing up the ridge
View to the north – partway up the ridge leading to the Siloam Spring Trail trailhead. This view gives a bit of a feel for how steep the valleys are at Piney Creek. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Despite knowing the climb was going to be hard for this out-of-condition aging Brit, I was still surprised at how hard it was. I’m not going out hiking often enough to keep my condition up. The view was spectacular, and near the top of the ridge, I saw a hammock slung up by the trail. The occupant was on a day hike, and that was the limit of our exchange.
The start of the ridge I’m about to climb. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Small Bluffs – just before the climb up the ridge to the Siloam Trail trailhead Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.The trail was difficult to follow at the top of the ridge, but I knew where it was heading and so I bushwhacked in the general direction until I picked it up again. The top part of the trail runs parallel to the Farm road I needed to take to the Woods Trail, and I was tempted to not bother hiking the entire trail and just take the road to my next hike. But I didn’t feel I could claim to have hiked the trail if I didn’t get to the end. So on I went.
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Lunch break on the Siloam Spring Trail and plans for my trip
Lunch Break – I decided to stop and have lunch by this small creek on the Siloam Spring Trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Despite a late start, I decided to stop and have a hot lunch (noodles) along with some tuna. I arrived at the trailhead shortly after 1 p.m. so I was happy with my progress–it was now 2:30 p.m. My plan for this trip is to hike my last two unhiked trails in this wilderness and hike the Piney Creek Trail from beginning to end. Hiking down the Tower Trail, I changed my mind about the direction I was going to hike the trails. Originally I was going to go counter-clockwise, I decided it would be better to hike the route clockwise, starting with the Siloam Spring Trail. When I get to the end of that, I have a 2.6-mile hike along a gravel road to get to my last unhiked trail, the Woods Trail, which ends at the start of the Piney Creek Trail.
I’ll camp somewhere along the Piney Creek trail tonight. Then tomorrow hike my unhiked portion of the Piney Creek Trail and end up at my favorite spot by Table Rock Lake. That’s the plan.
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Prepare to Descend
Prepare to descend – Tower Trail, Piney Creek Wilderness. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Piney Creek Wilderness – Descending the Tower Trail – Day one of a three-day backpacking trip into the Piney Creek Wilderness. The Tower Trail is a bit steep and rough in places. 7 June 2012 | Copyright © 2012 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. This is one of two very steep sections on the Tower Trail and one of the steepest sections in the wilderness. Here’s a picture of Ginger on this section of the trail on our June 2012 visit (more about that later) which really gives an idea of how steep it is.
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I have my COVID-19 jab booked
Who knew? My age, health, and profession mean I am in the current tranche of vaccination recipients.
My profession – Communications gets a leg up the COVID-19 ladder apparently. And to prove I’m worth it, here’s all the COVID 19 Stuff I’ve variously published/edited/written. 🙂
The only down-side? I’m going to have to cut short my planned four-day backpacking trip this weekend.
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Packed ready for a four-day trip
Packed ready for a four-day trip. Except there has been a change of plan, now it’s only going to be three days. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Except there has been a change of plan, now it’s only going to be three days. This morning I found out I can get a COVID-19 shot Tuesday afternoon, so I’m probably going to cut my trip short and return home Monday, rather than rushing to hike out Tuesday morning.
I cannot be bothered to unload the extra food. Anyway, I may change my mind and stay the extra night. Time will tell. Before I get to go, I have a work (Deanery) meeting to attend, then it’s off into the woods for me.
I’ve rearranged the way I pack the outside pockets of my backpack and it’s a lot easier to get to everything and I’ve got more room inside my pack too. Review, revise and improve. It’s a continuous process.
My plan
I had three goals:
- Complete hiking all the official trails at Piney Creek Wilderness. I have not hiked the entire length of the Piney Creek Trail because the western end is badly overgrown and difficult to hike. I’ve not hiked the Woods Trail at the western end of the wilderness, and I’ve not hiked the entire length of the Siloam Spring Trail, which runs between the Piney Creek Trail and The Siloam Spring Trailhead.
- Get some more miles under my belt, hopefully, 15 or more.
- Get in some downtime relaxing by the lake.
Day One. Because of a Saturday morning meeting, I wasn’t going to have a lot of time on my first day. I planned to bushwhack my way west along the Piney Creek Trail, and either stop near the start of the trail or if I did really well, try and hike along Farm Road 2185 and stop at Siloam Spring.
Day Two. Hike the Siloam Spring Trail back down to Piney Creek trail, and then take the Piney Creek Trail down to lake and my favorite camping spot.
Day Three. My original plan was to do nothing. The revised plan was to do nothing until late in the day, and then hike out via the ‘Farm Track Trail.’ I put that trail name in quotes because that’s what I call it. However, the name seems to have stuck and more people are using it now. You never know, at some point it may become its official name.
My research for this trip revealed that it is an old road, the original route of Farm Road 2150, and it served several homesteads along Piney Creek leading down to the James River. All of which was subsumed into Table Rock Lake when the dam was built on the White River.
Food for four days
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Journal: Checking off all my unhiked trails in Piney Creek Wilderness, March 2021
Breakfast with a view – the forecast was for 40F overnight. It dropped to 33F, so I refused to get up until the sun touched the ground. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I was initially planning on a four day trip, but I had to cut it short to get back to Springfield for my COVID jab. I’ve been wanting to hike all my unhiked trails at Piney Creek for a long time, and this was my chance to do just that.
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Gear Test – Sealskinz waterproof socks
Wet shoes, dry feet – Waterproof sock, and they worked. Now I have a footwear solution for snowy trails. It’s just a shame I didn’t get these before it snowed. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. A couple of weeks ago, we had some nice weather, but the trails were covered in wet and melting snow. I realized I didn’t have the right footwear for the conditions, and as a consequence, I missed out on an opportunity to go backpacking. I don’t need snow boots for the once in ten years that it snows here, but I do need something I can wear when it all starts to melt, but the ground is still too cold for bare feet.
A quick bit of searching reminded me of Sealskinz socks, which we first tried out ten years ago. Back then we bought the original versions of these socks to wear when kayaking in the cold. They kept our feet warm and dry while getting in and out of the Kayaks. The originals were a bit big and floppy. The current Sealskinz socks look just and fit like an ordinary pair of socks.
The advantage of waterproof socks is that I didn’t have to buy another pair of hiking shoes. The disadvantage was that they are expensive ($54), but at more than half the price of a pair of hiking shoes, I guess it’s arguable if that really is a disadvantage. Provided, that is, they continue to work well. From what I can tell, based on my initial six miles of very wet trail testing, these should be great for the few times I need them.
Although it was only six miles, I think the hike was long enough to prove that there were no major blistering or other issues with them. My next purchase needs to be, waterproof toe socks! From a quick look online it looks like such things do exist!
Gear Testing – Sealskinz. These are waterproof socks. Today they will get a good test on the trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. A note about the links. The links marked with a this icon – – are affiliate links, if you buy through them, it doesn’t cost you more, and I get a tiny percentage which helps me offset the cost of keeping this website running. However, please buy from the source that makes the most sense for you!
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Gary on the hike back
Gary on the Pilot Trail. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. All I really need to say about the hike out is that it rained. A lot. I took another picture at the Pole (Pete) Hollow Cairn because the first one was rushed. That said, the second attempt wasn’t much better. Then of course, there was the obligatory end of trail selfie once I got back to the car.
Pole Hollow Cairn (again) – I almost got the cairn in this picture. I’ll have to go back and try again. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Trip over – back at the car and the empty trailhead parking lot. Seems no one else was daft enough to be hiking in the rain. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.Day One
Day Two
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All that remains – is a dry patch
All that remains – is a dry patch. Copyright © 2021 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
