Four days by the lake, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri. July 2023

  • R&R by the lake

    Five-day weather forecast from windy.com

    It’s time I took a short break, watched the lake for a while, did some navel-gazing, and maybe some journaling. The trouble is the weather has been beastly hot. It may be my imagination, but it certainly seems to be my experience that exercise combined with high temps triggers my AFIB. So, thoughts of taking a few days by the lake have been put on the back burner.

    Looking ahead, though, if I didn’t mind some rain, the temperatures from Thursday through Monday looked good for a four-night, five-day visit to the lake.

    I hummed and hawed a lot. Did I really fancy several days in what looked to be very humid conditions? The forecast seemed to be changing radically by the hour — for good and bad — In the end, I decided to try it. I could always bail out if I needed to. I packed a second tarp so I could set up a dry area to sit and prepare meals. I sorted out five days of meals and packed a dry change of clothes — I’ve hiked down to the lake in a thunderstorm before, and it took days to dry my clothes out.

    Thursday, I was on the road by eleven and at the trailhead shortly after noon.

  • Ready for the trail

    Ready for the trail. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    judging by the reflection in my sunglasses, a better title might be: “Car, dunny (a.k.a. vault toilet), arm and camera.” I’m planning on spending four nights and five days at my favorite camping spot by Table Rock Lake. It’s going to be wet with rain forecast on three of the days.

    In case you wondered, a recent diagnosis of macular degeneration in my left eye means I’ve been advised to wear shades when I’m out in bright sunlight.

  • On the lake trail at Piney Creek Wilderness

    On the lake trail at Piney Creek Wilderness. It doesn’t look it, but that’s a 60-80 ft. climb. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness

    Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness — I never tire of this view or taking pictures of it. Look closely; you can see that I had neighbors on this visit. Two fishermen camped at the entrance to Piney Creek. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Camped near Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness

    Camped near Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness. The forecast was for two to three days of rain, so I carried in a second tarp to have a dry area to sit and prepare meals. It sprinkled once for about half an hour. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
    Camped near Table Rock Lake at Piney Creek Wilderness. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Sunset at Piney Creek Wilderness

    Sunset at Piney Creek Wilderness. My neighbors are fishing the small bluff opposite their camp. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Campfire

    Photograph of Gary Allman sitting at a campfire, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri, USA. July 2023.
    Campfire — It is very rare for me to have a campfire nowadays. But I’d collected the wood, so I might as well use it and keep the fire ring clean. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Just sitting and watching

    Just sitting and watching — That’s pretty much how I spent four days. The cup of tea was optional. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
  • Trip over

    Photograph of Gary Allman at the Pineview Trailhead, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri, USA. July 2023.
    Trip over — Three nights and four days by the lake. I left a day early as I didn’t fancy hiking out in the 90°F+ temps forecast for Monday. Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

    Bonus picture!

    Gary + the Pineview fire tower — Rubbish picture, but I’m keeping it because I managed to fit all of the tower in! Copyright © 2023 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.

More posts on Breakfast in America

Scroll to Top