• Floyd Tower Rd.

    Floyd Tower Rd. – Where the Berryman Trail crosses Floyd Tower Road (County Road 2265). Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    This is the point where the Berryman Trail crosses Floyd Tower Rd. I didn’t see or hear any traffic.

    This location is obviously being used by hikers as a caching point for food and water. If I were caching though, I’d try and be a bit more discrete about it, this looks a bit more like littering than caching. But that’s just me.

    Cached supplies on Floyd Tower Road – Not exactly how I would do it, but whatever works. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Spring

    Photograph of a small spring on the eastern loop of the Berryman Trail, MIssouri.
    Spring – Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The eastern half of the trail is considered ‘dry’ so this was a good discovery. None of the creeks had water in them, but this looks to be a reliable water source. It’s not producing gallons of water per minute, but a reasonable trickle, enough for me to be able to water-up for the next segment of my hike from here (Smith Mill Hollow) to Brazil Creek.

    I was camped on the ridge above the spring, so I could get water before heading off on my day’s hike. Today is going to be my longest hike at around 8-9 miles. Once I’ve had lunch at Brazil Creek (well that’s the plan), I plan on hiking over to Little Brazil Creek and stopping there for the night. My original plan was to stop at Brazil Creek, but that just made for a very short hike of only 4-5 miles, and that’s why I’ve decided to put in a longer day. I may have to set up camp in the dark though.

  • Watching the sunrise on the trees

    Watching the sunrise on the trees. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Morning Tea

    Photograph of Gary Allman with his morning tea in a hammock on the Berryman Trail, Missouri.
    Morning Tea. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Camped for the night

    Camped for the night. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Four-thirty, and the sun has already gone down in my little part of the forest. And I am camped on a ridge so that I can catch the last and first of the light.

    This section of the trail is considered ‘dry,’ so people sometimes cache water for this part of the hike. Because of the lack of water, I opted to hike this section first, carrying several pounds of extra weight in water. However, I found a small spring, whose output crossed the trail. It wasn’t a big spring, but it was running well enough that I didn’t have to be careful with my water overnight to save some for the next day’s hike.

    I crossed the spring and hiked further to check for good spots to camp. I did not find anything I fancied, so I returned to the spring and decided to camp on the ridge directly above it. Backtracking a bit more, I noticed an old disused road running up the side of the ridge. It wasn’t marked on the latest USGS Topo, but I found it marked on a 1930s map when I got home. The road/trail made it easy to get up the ridge. Then, I just had to pick a couple of trees (there’s always that Goldilocks challenge of looking for a pair of trees that are ‘Just right’).

  • On the Berryman Trail

    On the Berryman Trail. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Late Fall in the Ozarks, Berryman Trail

    Late Fall in the Ozarks. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • 26 miles to go

    Photograph of Gary Allman at the 26 Mile milemarker on the Berryman Trail Missouri. December 2020.
    26 miles to go – The Ozark Trail Association keep this trail well maintained. There are regular blazes and distance markers every half-mile. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The Ozark Trail Association keep this trail well maintained. There are regular blazes and distance markers every half-mile. However, I’m not sure that I really appreciated the mile-markers, I was constantly counting them down, looking for the next one (way too soon), and when they were occasionally missing (or more likely I missed them), I was left wondering why I was progressing so slowly.

  • Remains

    Remains – I didn’t check, but I suspect this is an old decommissioned vault latrine. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • The Berryman Trail (Counter Clockwise)

    Photograph of the start of the eastern (counter-clockwise) loop of the Berryman Trail in Missouri.
    The Berryman Trail (Counter Clockwise). Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Arrived

    Arrived – Parked at the Berryman Campground/Trailhead, ready to start a leisurely four-day 27-mile hike of the Berryman Trail. Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Looking for a different trail to hike, I decided to re-hike the Berryman Trail, which we hiked during Spring Break 2011. Then we went around clockwise. This time I’m going counter-clockwise.

    There’s a break in the weather, so I’ve taken three days off from work for the hike. Studying the map, it looks like the trail has been moved a lot in the past nine years, it should be interesting to compare the two trips. Just like in 2011, I’ll be taking four days to hike the 27-mile trail (the fastest time is under five hours!). I’m starting late (12:40 p.m.) as it is a 165-mile drive from Springfield, and I had a couple of things to deal with before I left. As with all my recent hikes, according to the forecast, the weather will break on my final day, becoming cold and wet.

  • Journal: Four days on the Berryman Trail, December 2020

    Photograph of Gary Allman with his morning tea in a hammock on the Berryman Trail, Missouri.
    Morning Tea. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Looking for a different trail to hike, I decided to re-hike the Berryman Trail, which we hiked during Spring Break 2011. Then we went around clockwise. This time I’m going counter-clockwise on a leisurely four-day 27-mile hike.

    Journal & photos
    Photos

  • Open Wide

    Open Wide – Attempting to resurrect my ailing PC with one of Ginger’s dental tools (she uses them for sculpting and texturing). Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved

    Here I am attempting to resurrect my ailing PC with one of Ginger’s dental tools (she uses them for sculpting and texturing). I thought the machine’s problem was with the CPU or GPU overheating, and the dental tools are great for removing fluff from the heat sinks. I managed to get it going for about half an hour, and then it died again. Short of replacing the Graphics card or motherboard (I suspect it’s the graphics card that’s failed), I don’t think there’s much hope for it.

    “It’s dead, Jim!”

    The machine is around nine years old, and apart from an additional hard drive, it hasn’t had any upgrades in that time. So, I am now a lot lighter in the bank account. As my monitor, which is also around nine years old, has been playing up recently, I bought a replacement monitor too. Mucho $$$. I managed to get $300 off the monitor’s price, which makes me feel a little better about all the expenses.

    Needless to say, without my computer, I’m a bit stuck on processing my outstanding pictures until the hard drive caddy I just ordered arrives (more $$$). Then I’ll be able to extract the 2TB data drive from the dead machine, and hook it up to a laptop. Not exactly what I had planned for the day.

  • Gary – Hike finished and a tad damp

    Photograph of Gary Allman at the end of his November 2020 hike of the Big Piney Trail, Paddy Creek Wilderness, Missouri.
    Gary – Hike finished and a tad damp. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    For the second time, my hike of the Big Piney Trail ends with rain, but that’s tested my new waterproofs and my waterproof phone holder. Anyway, I don’t mind. With two nights out in the woods, over twenty-three miles hiked, 2,116 ft of elevation under my belt, and the last of the Paddy Creek Wilderness trails hiked, it’s been a good weekend.

    Now for the 85-mile drive home and a nice hot shower.

  • Stopped for lunch

    My lunch spot – It rained the last time I was here too. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Lunch Break on the Big Piney Trail

    Photograph of Gary Allman drinking a cup of tea by some small falls on the Big Piney Trail, Paddy Creek Wilderness. November 2020.
    Lunch Break – sheltering from the rain by some small falls while I heat up and eat my lunch. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Lunch fixings – Nuts and raisins, noodles, and a cup of tea. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Who Lives in a house like this?

    Who lives in a house like this? Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    The last time I came by this refuse/swill collector, I didn’t take a picture of the occupant as I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. This time around, though, I didn’t have any such concerns. I will say that someone has taken the time to clean this little den out, and it’s looking quite neat inside.

    And the occupant? Well, you can scroll down to find out.

    Surprise! Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • The light at the end of the tunnel

    The light at the end of the tunnel – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Hiking along the ridge away from Little Paddy Creek, nearly back on the Big Piney Trail, and the four-mile hike back to the car.

  • Ready to go

    Ready to go – all packed up and ready for the five-mile hike back to the parking lot. Once again there is rain in the forecast on the final day of my hike. Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

  • Hot chocolate and enjoying the view

    Hot Chocolate – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Hot chocolate, toe socks and enjoying the view – Paddy Creek Wilderness Day Three. November 2020. Copyright © 2020 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
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