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Last Backpacking trip of 2020
Last Backpacking trip of 2020 – I’m planning on staying out three nights, finding my way to Beaver Creek to the north of the bluffs, and hiking the only trail here that I haven’t hiked yet. Hercules Glades – Day One. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. When I added the figures of my last trip to my year’s total, I realized I was just 10 miles short of hiking 200 miles this year. A short break in the weather and a few days off work decided me on a mid-week hike at Hercules Glades, where I could push my mileage up over 200 and I had some unfinished business. I wanted to get down to Beaver Creek to the west, and I wanted to hike the only trail in the wilderness I’ve not hiked yet. The Blair
WitchRidge Trail.I planned to stay three nights, and just like my last trip, I was starting with some nice weather, and it was going to get progressively colder and cloudier, ending up with snow and rain in the forecast for the final night and the hike out. I quite fancied getting a picture of a snow-covered hammock tarp.
I’ve made a couple of minor gear adjustments.
- Gone is the hammock winter cover. I’d experimented with leaving it off on the Berryman trail, and I liked how much nicer it was to sleep in the open air. So now to try it in some colder temperatures.
- I’ve taken so many pictures at Hercules Glades I decided to leave my usual camera behind and for ‘old times sake’ take along my 13 year-old point and shoot camera.
- I’d realized that my old down jacket was actually lighter and more compressible than my fleece jumper, so I left the fleece behind and brought two down jackets.
- I also packed a pair of fleece pants that I’ve not tried out before.
- Finally I’d bought another merino base layer top in what I think is a rather fetching mustard color, which I plan to use as my winter hiking shirt. We’ll see how that goes.
My plan:
- Day One. Hike the six miles down to the bluffs on the western side of the wilderness, and try and get to Beaver creek to the north of them. I’d spotted a hollow on the map that looked like it would make getting down to the creek possible.
- Day two. Hike to Long Creek, another six miles, and camp near the creek (and water), ready to hike the Blair Ridge Trail on Day Three.
- Day Three. Hike the Blair Ridge trail out to the Blair Ridge Trailhead and back again. Camp near Long Creek. That should be another six miles.
- Day Four. Hike out, around three miles.
Total around 21 miles.
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Recycling
Recycling -It’s been a long time. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s been a long time. We bribed one of the kids to do it earlier in the year; at that time, there was a huge amount because it included all the packaging for Ginger’s studio remodel.
We’ve had the car for over a year, and thanks to COVID-19, it’s never been cleaned…
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Working and bopping
Working and bopping. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved Preparing some social media posts ready for Christmas. I’ve just got to get a week’s worth of evening prayers prepared and scheduled, some loose ends to tie up, and I can take a week off work. I might even go and spend some time in the woods.
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Geek Moment
Geek Moment – Work Laptop (L) Personal laptop (R). switched 21:9 widescreen monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Recently my computer of nine years died, and I decided to replace it with a gaming laptop (right). At the same time, I found a deal on the LG ultra-widescreen monitor, so I replaced my nine-year-old monitor as well.
I’m looking forward to my office refurb when I’ll replace my desk’s top with something purpose-built with better cable management, drawers, and built-in stands for the laptops. The speakers will be wall-mounted so I can have a nice clear desk.
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Ginger & Gary December 2020
Ginger & Gary Copyright © 2020 Ginger Allman, all rights reserved. There I was standing at my desk working when in strides a purposeful Ginger, phone in hand. The rest was pretty much as Ginger describes it herself…
Gary: “What are you doing? Why are we doing this?”
Ginger: “I need a new profile picture.”
Gary: “No, not like that. You’re holding the camera wrong. Wait, I look terrible. Move your hand.”
Ginger: “My wrist doesn’t go like that.”
Gary: “I don’t like the door in the background. Let’s move.”
*shuffle shuffle*
Ginger: “Okay, that will do it.”
*checks camera*
Gary: “That’s quite cute. Just like us.”I don’t think I’ve mentioned recently how much I love my wonderful wife. I do. Lots! 🙂
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End of trip selfie – Day Four
End of trip selfie – It was cold. Lower forties cold on the hike out. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. In total I’d hiked 27.5 miles and climbed over 2,600ft. I’m still not particularly fit, but my averages are rising. I have to remind myself that I’m doing this for fun and some light exercise, and not to take the stats too seriously and want to push the results.
It was a good hike on a trail in wonderful condition, but the downside was the very few views of the countryside.
I learned that if instead of wearing the hood of my waterproof jacket, I decide to keep my hat on in the rain, I must carefully tuck the hood down inside the jacket. If I don’t, the hood will fill up with water and at some point I’ll get a lot of very cold water poured down the back of my neck. 🙂
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Splashes
Splashes. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. As anticipated, the hike out was cold and damp. So I ‘poured on the coal’ again and got moving. I wanted to get to the warmth and heated seat in the car as soon as possible.
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Packing up after the rain
Packing up after the rain. Berryman Trail – Day Four, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Everything including the hammock has been packed away leaving just the tarp which I kept up so that the occasional rain shower and drips from the trees didn’t get me and the gear wet. My campsite selection must have been okay, because although there were some quite heavy gusts in the night, and the sound of the wind in the trees on the other side of the hollow had been impressive, I was fine, I only heard one biggish limb fall down in my vicinity.
Somehow, I’d managed to get ready for the trail before nine-thirty, a record! All I had to do now was pack up the tarp and make my way down the steep hill to the spring, where I would collect my water for the trail. Today was going to be cold, low forties cold, and damp too. After six-plus hours of rain the trail was going to be wet going, and I was wondering how full the creek at the bottom of the hill, that I had to cross, was going to be–just over ankle deep as it turned out.
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Beecher Spring and site of the abandoned Edward Beecher Recreation Area
Beecher Spring and former site of the Edward Beecher Recreation Area. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I wasn’t expecting to arrive here quite as quickly as I did, and I was caught off guard. It started to rain and I dumped my pack to put my waterproofs on. It was only when I looked around that I realized I’d arrived at my destination for the day. There was a lot of rain, and gusty wind from the south (left of frame) in the forecast so I planned to find somewhere up on the ridge to the left to give me some shelter.
I followed the trail around the corner looking for a less steep route up the ridge, and then spent half an hour or more in the pouring rain looking for a suitable place to camp. I ended up about 150ft above the spring (up the hill left of frame in the above picture). The ridge gave me good shelter from a very gusty wind that made a lot of noise. And it rained hard for six or more hours straight. I was glad that I’d recently practiced setting up camp in wet weather.
Despite the wind and rain, I was nice and cozy, though I did have to deploy my rain skirt around one end of the hammock to stop the rain from driving in.
Beecher Spring
Is not a spring, but an artesian well, the water comes out of a small spigot for human consumption, and via a pipe into a trough, presumably for horses, livestock, and other animals.
Okay, technically it’s an artisian well and not a spring. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Horse/stock trough – Edward Beecher Recreation Area. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Berryman Trail sign
Berryman Trail sign – Anyone know what the logo at the bottom is? Ginger reckons it’s a bong. I think it means potable water. Again Google has let me down. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Anyone know what the logo at the bottom is? Ginger reckons it’s a bong. I think it means potable water. Again Google has let me down.
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Poor flag etiquette
Poor flag etiquette – So why is it that the patriotic individual who took the trouble to place this flag here doesn’t know it’s not supposed to touch the ground? Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Not content with letting the flag touch the ground, it’s also in an appalling state. This cairn was marking the trail to a hunting camp or party spot. I’m not sure which.
It puzzles me as to why the people seem so hell bent on messing places up, rather than looking after them. I’m sad to say that many of the popular camp sites at Hercules Glades are in a far worse state.
Gathering spot. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Kudos to the Ozark Trail Association
Kudos to the Ozark Trail Association – this trail is very well maintained, and I like the new routing away from all the wet and marshy ground. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The trail is very well maintained, and I like the new routing away from all the wet and marshy ground. The extra three miles are welcome too. I noticed that the complete Berryman Trail is now marked as a ‘spur trail’ of the Ozark Trail, which is good. If only all the Missouri trails were this well stewarded.
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Crossing Floyd Tower Rd. (again)
Crossing Floyd Tower Rd. (again). Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
“Blazes? We don’t need no stinking blazes.”
I have no idea. They are everywhere. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I have no idea. They are everywhere.
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Cedars – make for a nice soft trail
Cedars – make for a nice soft trail. These though have been a bit burned. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Gary (without Ginger) on the Berryman Trail
Gary (without Ginger) on the Berryman Trail. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
21 March 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The caption refers to a picture I took in March 2011, about three-quarters of a mile from where this picture was taken.
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What the blazes?
What the blazes? There are hundreds of these blazes in various forms on this section of the trail. I couldn’t see any rhyme or reason for them. Unfortunately, Google was of no help either. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. There are hundreds of these blazes in various forms on this section of the trail. I couldn’t see any rhyme or reason for them. Unfortunately, Google was of no help either.
What the blazes II. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
It’s a bit brushy in places
It’s a bit brushy in places. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Fire damage or prescribed burn?
Fire damage or prescribed burn? Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Whether the fire was accidental or a prescribed burn to control the underbrush, huge swaths of the western loop go through areas cleared by fire. I have vague recollections of a large fire here, but Googling hasn’t shed any light.
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Ozark Trail – Trail Blaze
Ozark Trail – Trail Blaze. I can attest to the effectiveness of the reflective strips when night hiking. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
