Missouri

Words and pictures featuring Missouri

All of this was flooded a couple of days ago. Whites Creek, Whites Creek Trail South Loop.

Photograph of Gary Allman camping near Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

Day Four — Contemplating life and the view — The view was a bit tangled as the floods had made a huge mess of everything. +1

On the South Loop of the Whites Creek Trail — despite the whole area being flooded yesterday, the trail was not washed out (here, anyway).

Photograph of a large pool on Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

Pool on Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness — Oh the joys of the Golden Hour (and being in the right place).

Photograph of Whites Creek Cave, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. Taken from the entrance (The cave is currently closed and the entrance barred). March 2023.

Whites Creek Cave — It’s a slightly better picture than last time. I used my headlamp to light the place up. I’ve tried to find out some more information about the cave, like how big it is and how far it goes back. Thus far I’ve drawn a blank. Let’s just say it’s big-ish.

Gratuitous Selfie — taken just because I took a picture of this sign the last time I hiked this trail. +1

Photograph of Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness. March 2023.

Whites Creek — close to its confluence with the Eleven Point River — I stopped here to have lunch and enjoy the view.

Later today I’ll be hiking along that ridge line. It is a rubbish picture, but it does give a slight impression of what is in store. I’ve got to go all the way down and then back up again. Two-minute read

Photograph of a hammock and backpacking gear hung out to dry in Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

Drying out — That will teach me. I didn’t set the tarp and the dew point must have been just perfect for everything to get soaked, including my hammock and my down top and under quilts. I decided to delay the start of my day’s hike (any excuse) and get everything dry before packing it away.

Photograph of a Galaxy S21 Ultra Cellphone, and Garmin InReach Mini satellite Communicator being charged by an Anker 20000mAh 525 Power Bank (PowerCore Essential 20K PD) while backpacking.

Charging — Giving my InReach Mini and my GPS (phone) a boost. My power brick will keep all my electronics going for about a week. I’m impressed.

Garmin InReach Mini satellite Communications device showing a notification of a received message. Holstered Sig Sauer P938 handgun in the background.

Morning messages — on my InReach Mini, All the condensation on the Sig and the holster shows just how wet everything got. I dried off the InReach Mini before I took the picture.

Photograph of Gary Allman in his Dutchware Chameleon hammock, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

Time to get up — Yes, I sleep in my clothes, not all the time, but it is part of my layering plan when it gets cooler, and as I only had a 40F top quilt, this was one of those times.

It got a bit damp overnight — This is my down puffy jacket, my quilts faired slighlty better as my body heat was drying them as they got wet.

Day Three — Morning view from my hammock — look closely and you’ll see all the water drops on everything. Not setting my tarp was a big mistake. all my gear got wet.

Camped at the end of Day Two — I prefer camping on ridges to being down in the hollows. The downside is having to carry a lot of extra water up the ridge. Note my big mistake of the night. I didn’t set my tarp.

Photograph of the Eleven Point River taken from the Whists Creek Trail, Southern Loop, Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

The only scenic view on the Whites Creek Trail, Irish Wilderness — The Eleven Point River was very high, muddy and noisy after all the recent rain. At least I got a reasonable view of it on this trip. Last time it was hidden by all the leaves on the trees.

Bliss Spring (& a late lunch!) — just a quick snapshot. I took pictures and some video the last time I was here.

Old blaze — I’ve no idea where it leads, I’m not going in that direction.

Bliss Spring (and lunch) 3.9 miles — On my first visit to Irish Wilderness I made it to Bliss Spring in the first afternoon. Just as well I have an extra day for this trip.

Sinkhole — It was impressive because of how wide it was. I’ve seen a lot bigger and deeper, but it was impressive none-the-less.

Whites Creek Crossing. Apparently, this is where I should have crossed. (Stereo image). +2

Creek? What creek? Someone stole the creek overnight. +1

Spring water, Whites Creek. And in a few minutes I’ll be climbing the hill on the other side of the creek. +2

Camped near Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness.

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