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The curious image of the rock-eating tree
what a mouthful – I suspect the tree will win in the end. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. When it comes to trees vs rocks, my money is on the trees. I see them growing in all sorts of unlikely crevices and places. It looks like this tree has had some sort of allergic reaction to the rock causing the excessive growth. Strange growths on trees seem to be far more common here than I remember on the trees of the UK. Maybe I’m just more observant now.
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On the edge
On the edge – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Not the longest drop along the ridge, but the trees help give the picture a more vertigo-inducing look. It’s probably only 60-80 feet.
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Little Paddy Creek Scenic Overlook
Scenic Overlook – That’s what it says on the map, and it was very pretty. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It took me an hour to get to the ridge that drops down to Little Paddy Creek. I was so busy trying to make up for lost time, that I didn’t realize I’d arrived at the ridge until the appearance of a fire ring prompted me to take better notice of my surroundings. It was just as spectacular this time as it was on my first visit. I might have been in a hurry, but I stopped to take some pictures anyway.
I was hurrying because I hadn’t checked how far I was going to be hiking to reach my campsite and because I wasn’t sure exactly what time sunset was. Inadequate preparation, pure and simple. I didn’t fancy hiking an unknown trail in the dark so I was making as much haste as I could, so I could get through the short cut between the South Loop and the North Loop before sunset.
Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
On the ridge overlooking Little Paddy Creek – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Getting started
At the start of a three day hike – At the Roby Lake Parking Lot. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Despite the sunshine, the wind was cutting and it was cold. I wrapped myself up in my ‘puffy,’ put on the hunter orange bib on my backpack (today is the start of the youth deer hunting season, which lasts just three days). It was good to be back on the trail. I was late leaving home, so I needed to ‘pour on the coal’ and get moving if I was going to make camp in daylight.
At the Big Piney trail, Roby Lake trailhead – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Roby Lake parking lot
Roby Lake parking lot – seems these small SUVs are all the rage. Just as well I didn’t know that when we bought ours. Paddy Creek Wilderness, Day One. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The Annual Diocesan Convention (the work project that has been keeping me busy for the past three months) and Thanksgiving are over. There’s a break in the weather, and I can spend two-and-a-half days backpacking. The forecast is for two good (but maybe cold) days before rain sets in. That sounds a lot like how my last visit here back in February played out. Only this time the ground won’t be frozen.
Despite getting everything ready Thursday night, I still managed to leave home an hour later than I planned. Some unfinished work items kept me busy for a couple of hours. It was almost one o’clock when I finally hit the trail. Three guys, hiking the loop counter clockwise — the same direction I was going — had just set off. I gave them a few minutes headstart so I could have the trail to myself.
I didn’t notice when I was taking this picture, but it seems these small SUVs are very popular. We knew they were being snapped up when we bought ours, but I didn’t realize I’d be coming across entire trailhead parking lots full of them. It’s probably just as well I didn’t know that, or I might have held out for something a little different. I don’t like being cast as a member of the herd.
The plan
The plan for the next few days was simple, but this trip was a bit of a last minute idea, so I had not researched my routes and mileages, relying instead on my memory from my last visit. The overall plan was to do a figure of eight loop, hiking the ‘short cut’ between the north and south loops twice.
Paddy Creek November 2020. Day One (Green)
Hike the South Trail to the ‘Short Cut’ and switch to the North Trail and Camp near the three creeks confluence, where I camped last time I was here.
Day Two (Blue)
Hike the North Loop to the Big Piney Trail Camp, and then take the (gravel) road and find the Slabtown Overlook. Then return to the Big Piney Trail Camp, and hike the South Loop to the junction with the short cut, and take the short cut and camp near Little Piney Creek (hopefully I’d scout out a camping spot on Day One). If that was too far, or I was delayed I’d stop near Big Paddy Creek.
Day Three (Red)
The weather is due to break, with rain in the forecast, so assuming my main plan worked out, and I camped on the short cut, I had a five mile hike on the North Loop back to the Roby Lake Trailhead. On my first visit I hiked this section in the rain. One day I’ll get to hike it in better weather.
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Journal: two-and-a-half days backpacking at Paddy Creek Wilderness
View from the Slabtown Overlook – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Two. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The Annual Diocesan Convention (the work project that has been keeping me busy for the past three months) and Thanksgiving are over. There’s a break in the weather, and I can spend two-and-a-half days backpacking. The forecast is for two good (but maybe cold) days before rain sets in. That sounds a lot like how my last visit here back in February played out. Only this time the ground won’t be frozen.
For details of my trip
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At my desk – November 2020
At my desk. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I wondered if I could still get a decent picture SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera). I’m sure I can, but this isn’t going to be it.
What we have here is what I saw on the camera screen after I took the shot, Not the picture Lightroom imported, and to be honest not the SOOC jpg image either (below). It took me a while to realize that I had the camera’s screen turned up too bright, making the image look brighter than it was. An easy fix in Lightroom, but that wasn’t in the original plan. I should have checked the picture’s histogram, which would have given the under-exposure away.
At My Desk, Straight Out Of Camera. -
Decay
Decay. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s been a wonderful fall this year. Unfortunately, I’ve not had much of a chance to get out and enjoy it. Yesterday the light was just right, but uncharacteristically I’d left the camera at home. Today the light was not as nice, but with a bit of post-processing magic, I quite like this picture.
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The Fallen
The Fallen. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Fall 2020
Sunlit tree tops. In the backyard. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Red on blue. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Last of the light. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Journal: Fall backpacking at Hercules Glades Wilderness, October 2020
Gary, beanie, puffy, and hammock. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Two. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s Friday, it’s two-thirty in the afternoon, and I’m giving myself a well-earned break out in nature. The weather is damp, cold, windy, overcast, and that is the outlook for the entire weekend.
For details of my trip
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Empty Parking Lot
Empty Parking Lot. That probably says more about the weather than I can. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. The empty parking lot probably says more about the weather than I can.
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Gary, back at the trailhead
Gary, back at the trailhead. 21 miles and 2,000 ft. of elevation. I did better than I thought. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Trip total, twenty-one miles and 2,000 ft. of elevation. I hiked a lot further this weekend than I expected.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
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Follow the trail
Follow the trail – Nearly finished, just one last climb up to the trailhead left. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
The trail is there. Somewhere. Copyright © 2018 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Nearly finished, just one last climb up to the trailhead left. I must like this spot, because I discovered I’ve taken a picture here before — in 2018.
Ozarks woodland in the fall – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Another Gray Day
Another gray day – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Isolated
Isolated – this picture didn’t turn out at all as I wanted it to. Back to the drawing board. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Walking along in the low area that runs alongside ‘Cab Creek’ I spotted these brilliantly colored grasses. I really like the contrast between the grasses and the trees, but both pictures ended up being a bit ‘meh.’
When I got to Brushy Creek I left the trail for a few minutes to check the spring there. And it was good news, despite the drought there was a good flow of water out of the pipe leading from the old concrete spring box. It looks like this is another reliable water source. That’s always good to know.
Lowland on the Pees Hollow Trail – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Gary by the cab on the Pees Hollow Trail (October 2020)
Another selfie by the cab on ‘Cab Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It’s a 3.5 mile, two-and-a-half-ish hour hike from ‘Twin Falls Hollow’ back to the Hercules Glades Tower Trailhead. After yesterday’s hike, my weekend mileage was currently around 12 miles. Adding on the 5-plus miles of the Pees Hollow Trail to my return trip would get me to my goal of 20 backpacking miles for the month. I’d make up my mind when I got to the Pees Hollow Trail branch off of the Pilot Trail.
I was all packed up and back on the trail shortly after 11:30 a.m. Hiking back didn’t take long, and by 1:15 p.m. I was at the western junction of the Pees Hollow Trail, and about ten minutes from the trailhead. The trailhead was calling me, but I decided to go and check the water situation on the Pees Hollow Trail. I stopped a short way off the trail for lunch by ‘Cab Creek’. I had a cup of tea, some tuna, and nuts and raisins. The spring there had run dry, and the creek appeared to be dry with just a few unsavory looking pools. So no drinking water here then.
Getting to the Cab (after which I’ve named ‘Cab Creek’) I couldn’t resist the inevitable selfie.
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Camped in ‘Twin Falls Hollow’
Camped overlooking ‘Twin Falls Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’ve not camped in this spot for a while. Recently I’ve been bushwhacking further down the hollow where the sides are not quite so steep. But the views here are much nicer, and I like the little rock-shelf tables I can use as mini kitchen tables. One is next to my hammock and is great for my morning tea and breakfast.
Today though I opted to fire up my wood stove to heat water for breakfast. To minimize the smokey smells on my gear I used another rock shelf a little way away from my hammock.
Camped overlooking ‘Twin Falls Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Camped overlooking ‘Twin Falls Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camped overlooking ‘Twin Falls Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Cooking Breakfast
Heating Water for Breakfast – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Using my Firebox Nano wood stove to heat water for my breakfast and morning cuppa.
Perched on the side of the hollow, it was quite a challenge to find somewhere level enough for me to be able to sit in my chair.
Camped overlooking ‘Twin Falls Creek’ – Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Three. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
When is a trail not a trail?
Fall in the woods – A couple of huffing and puffing deer ran past just before I took this picture. Not that I knew it at the time, but I was slightly ‘misplaced.’ When the trail started going downhill, I knew I wasn’t where I thought I was. Hercules Glades Wilderness – Day Two. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Bushwhacking my way back from Beaver Creek to the top of the ridge–some three-hundred feet of climbing–wasn’t the easiest of tasks. As per my plan once I got to the top of the hollow I located myself on the map using the GPS and then worked out a compass bearing to take me back to where I’d started. With a couple of minor blips it went well, though one of those minor blips did include crossing over the trail without my noticing it. It’s not the first time I’ve done that. It’s a problem with little used, leaf covered trails.
Back on the trail I headed back the way I’d come, and it wasn’t long before I was at the point where I needed to start bushwhacking again to find the northern hollow that leads down to Beaver Creek. I decided to skirt the top of the hollow, and instead of using the compass relied on pulling out the GPS every now and then. Unexpectedly, I found myself back on the main trail (or so I thought). WTF? A very quick glance at the GPS, told me I was back on the trail, and that made up my mind. It was getting late, I didn’t fancy getting all the way down to Beaver Creek and finding it was a fools errand again, so I decided to gird my loins and hike the three plus miles back to ‘Twin Falls Creek.’ The trail was really easy going, and I started making good time. I should be back in time to set up camp in daylight.
Some huffing and puffing deer, brought me to a halt to admire the scenery (and take the picture at the top of the page). Then off I set again. In a short distance the trail started to head downhill.
Hold on.
The trail should go uphill to the glades. This was not the trail I was looking for. A closer inspection of the GPS showed that I hadn’t been on the main trail at all. This must be some old unmarked forest road. The solution was simply to turn 90 degrees right and climb up the slope until I crossed the real trail. And that’s what I did. Once back on the trail I continued making good time. I arrived back at ‘Twin Falls Creek’ around five-thirty, with plenty of time before it got dark. I decided to revisit another of my preferred campsites, This one perched high on the side of the hollow overlooking the creek. Collecting water and hanging the food bag line before it got dark were my priorities. It didn’t take long to get everything set up and ready for the night.
Altogether I hiked over nine miles including a fair bit of off-trail bushwhacking. That’s not too shabby for me.
