Time spent in the great outdoors hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, paddling, and shooting. Anything well away from the madding crowd.
Kudos to the Ozark Trail Association – 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.
Crossing Floyd Tower Rd. (again). On the western loop this time.
“Blazes? We don’t need no stinking blazes.” I have no idea. They are everywhere.
Cedars – make for a nice soft trail
Gary (without Ginger) on the Berryman Trail – The caption refers to a picture I took in March 2011, about three-quarters of a mile from where this picture was taken. +1
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. +1
It’s a bit brushy in places. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020.
Fire damage or prescribed burn? 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.
Ozark Trail – Trail Blaze. I can attest to the effectiveness of the reflective strips when night hiking. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020.
Little Brazil Creek.
My 2020-2021 Winter Backpacking Gear. 6 2
Camped near Little Brazil Creek – Hot water for breakfast is heating up on the Fancee Feest stove, and my Garmin InReach (satellite texting/locator beacon) is hanging up in a tree trying to get a clear bit of sky to obtain a GPS lock and send my morning ‘All Okay’ message to Ginger.
Dawn by Little Brazil Creek – Day three. It was a spectacular sky and darned cold. There had been a frost overnight, and I had set my tarp up low to the ground to keep the cold hollow winds at bay.
Twelve miles left to go – But I’ve arrived at my destination for the day (almost). With an hour to go before sunset I need to buck-up and go find somewhere to stop for the night.
Hollow – Just a typical Ozarks hollow. But, not just a typical picture. I decided to take a stereo pair. If you can manage to get your eyes to merge the two pictures, you can see it in glorious 3D. +1
Going up – When Ginger and I hiked this trail in 2011, we had to walk along the road from Brazil Creek Campground to where the eastern loop hits the road. Not this time. Either we missed the trail I used to get here, or it’s a new addition. One-minute read
Stopped for lunch – This little creek was less than a hundred yards north of the crossing of the blacktop road that runs past the Brazil Creek Campground. I stopped here because I was not looking forward to the delay involved in diverting to the campground to fill up with water and eat lunch.
Trail Erosion – Not the worst I’ve seen, the trail erosion at Hercules Glades is much worse, but it shows what years of use can do.
Thong Tree (Trail Marker Tree)? Ginger’s opinion is that it is not old enough, and I’d have to agree. But, it is on the line of an obvious old trail that crosses the Berryman trail. One-minute read
Floyd Tower Rd. – This is the point where the Berryman Trail crosses Floyd Tower Rd. I didn’t see or hear any traffic. +1
Spring – 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.
Watching the sunrise on the trees. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020.
Morning Tea. Berryman Trail – Day Two, December 2020.
Camped for the night – Berryman Trail – Day One, December 2020. One-minute read