Pictures and posts from the United States.
First glimpse of the lake – but not my first encounter. I checked the lake level before I left, and it was five feet above standard pool. When I was here this time last year, I think it was eleven feet above pool. Anyway, the lake was high enough to have covered the trail in places on the way in. One-minute read
Leave no trace – How NOT to camp in the Wilderness. Got your own land? Go for it, cut down trees, and make as much mess as you like. Public land? Leave no trace, Let’s not trash the wilderness. One-minute read, +3
‘Top-up Creek’ – On my trips to the lake at Piney Creek I almost always stop here to get water. So I’ve decided to name this feeder-creek ‘Top-up Creek.’
Trail journal – don’t knock my writing. It’s not easy to write neat notes while you are hiking. Note the tiny mechanical pencil I bought just for hiking. I included a normal-sized one in the picture for comparison.
Education for Ministry – I needed a stock picture to illustrate an article. I couldn’t find one I liked, so I threw this together.
Photographs, inks, cell phone, and Buck 110 knife on my monitor stand – and no I didn’t arrange them for the picture. Me, OCD much?
Weekend cleaning – To paraphrase the immortal line from ‘Apocalypse Now,’ I love the smell of gun oil in the morning. Many years of backpacking have certainly taken their toll on the finish of my Beretta.
Blue Jay – Pretty, but not popular as they are bossy, noisy, and drive off the other birds. This one happened to arrive as I was sitting on the sofa in the ‘Sparkle Zone’ cup of tea in hand, and my camera within reach.
Unused pencil and old plans – While the pencil remains unused, the plans at least have been implemented with the completion of the storage area in the garage in 2019. +2
How many journals do you need? I’d say three binders holding a total of seven notebooks. That’s what you can see here, and each has a purpose. 4 3
Tree Frog – it was tiny! Not much over an inch long, laying on one of the wooden boards of the screen on the deck.
Storm clouds over Ozark – checking on the radar, the storm was nine miles away over Ozark.
View to the southeast from the Pilot Trail, and the hike out.
Fire ring and campsite – I showed Ginger a little scenic overlook on a hidden trail. It looks like someone has been making themselves at home on the short trail leading to the overlook.
Journal: Gary & Ginger, a couple of nights at Hercules Glades, June 2021. Journal: 5 18
Ginger disappearing around a corner on the Pilot (Tower) Trail
Small spring and creek near ‘Ant Hill’ – The spring we found can be seen right at the bottom of the frame. The water was pouring out of a small one to one-and-a-half-inch hole in the bank. +3
Sunday Morning at ‘Ant Hill’ – We put most of our gear away after breakfast, leaving the tarp up in case it rained — it did, but only a few sprinkles. We sat around chatting and looking at the trees until noon, when we packed away the last of our gear and headed back to the trailhead. +3
Saturday evening, camped on ‘Ant Hill’ – We called this place ‘Ant Hill’ because of the huge number of carpenter ants. We couldn’t decide if the ants killed the trees or they moved in because the trees died.
Ginger’s new tent – we splurged a lot of cash on an ultralight (24oz) Dyneema tent. Now Ginger or the kids can come out with me. +1
Flowering Prickly Pear Cactus. +1
Gary and Ginger at the Pole Hollow Cairn — Ginger is never one to miss the chance to ham things up. There are several outtakes.
Gary and Ginger at the Pole Hollow Cairn – I know how to treat Ginger to a good time, I made sure she had plenty of exercise, time to relax, and her own room with a forest view. 2 2
Back to the start and some notes – From here there is just a short thirty-minute hike, south, down the Ozark Trail to get back to the trailhead. That’s it, trip over, though there’s still the two-hour drive home to complete.