Ozarks Walkabout

Self portrait of Gary Allman at the junction of the Pilots and Pole Hollow trails, Hercules Glades Wilderness. November 2018.

Hercules Glades Backpacking, November 2018 – Van problems forced me to select a nearby trail for a late fall break. Another visit to Hercules Glades was on the cards. Trip write-up: 10-minute read, +52

Photograph of the Piney Creek Arm of Table Rock Lake, Piney Creek Wilderness, Mark Twain National Forest

Three Days Summer Backpacking at Piney Creek Wilderness. I decided to take on my aversion to summer backpacking, face the heat, and see if I could get some wilderness rest and recuperation. Trip write-up: Eight-minute read. 49 pictures

Gary and the Truck Cab on the Pees Hollow Trail – Photo by Ginger. +2

That’s One Way to Get Ginger to Laugh.

Solo Backpacking at Piney Creek Wilderness — After a busy week, I made a snap decision to go backpacking. Ten-minute read, +35

Pees Hollow Backpacking Trip – My new Hammock arrived last week and I couldn’t wait any longer to try it out. Eight-minutes read, +54

Brushy Creek

Brushy Creek – The name is very well deserved, it is brushy almost to the point of being impassable. 6 pictures

Black and White image of the Pees Hollow Trail , Hercules Glades, running through a wooded area.

A Clear Path – The trail through the woods was very clear here. 2 pictures

View From The Ridge at the Start of the Pees Hollow Trail. One reason why I prefer fall, winter, and spring to summer is that you can see the views and the ‘bones’ of the land…

Three Days Backpacking with a Hammock at Hercules Glades Wilderness – My first backpacking trip with a hammock. Ten-minute read, +55

The Unknown Joys of Cartography. Several years ago we made a map … One-minute read

A warm break in the weather sent us scurrying out to get some miles on the trail, this time we opted for Busiek’s Orange Trail. [18 pictures + Map]

Photograph of Ginger and Gary Allman on the Coy Bald Trail

How did we get here, and where are we headed? – In 2010 we went from car camping to hiking and backpacking in six months. I reflect on what instigated that change, and how we are going to keep on getting out. Five-minute read, 8 pictures

Photograph of the 2017 total solar eclipse seen through the trees of the Mark Twain National Forest near the Berryman / Ozark trail in MIssouri

2017 Total Solar Eclipse Backpacking Trip – Our plans for viewing the eclipse were to go backpacking and watch the eclipse from the Mark Twain National Forest Trip write-up: 10-minute read, +17

Lanie spotted this on the trail, and a fair bit of Googling hasn’t come up with a formal name for this, or an explanation of how it forms. Pretty cool though.

A day hike on the Busiek Orange and White trails. +19

July 21 I took Luke for an afternoon kayaking on the James River at Springfield, Missouri +11.

Day Hike at Busiek – The weather this weekend has been wonderful (especially considering it is still February). However, we’ve not had a chance to get away backpacking as we had commitments in town on Saturday. Today we went on a short hike at Busiek. 3 pictures

Branch of Brushy Creek off of the Pees Hollow Trail, Hercules Glades – This creek was mainly dry, but near where we camped there was some water. 3 pictures

Camped for the Night at the Hercules Glades Wilderness. 4 pictures

This truck cab is a bit of a landmark on the trail – it’s just to the south of a spring – so there is water nearby. There is also a fire ring close by.

Short Hike at Busiek. 14 pictures

An Afternoon Hike at Compton Hollow Conservation Area – Our first hike in a long time. 18 pictures

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