End of trip selfie – Day Four – In total I’d hiked 27.5 miles and climbed over 2,600ft. I’m still not particularly fit, but my averages are rising.
December 12, 2020
Backpacking 12-09-2020
December 12, 2020
Splashes – As anticipated, the hike out was cold and damp. So I ‘poured on the coal’ again and got moving. I wanted to get to the warmth and heated seat in the car as soon as possible.
December 12, 2020
Packing up after the rain – Everything including the hammock has been packed away leaving just the tarp which I kept up so that the occasional rain shower and drips from the trees didn’t get me and the gear wet.
December 11, 2020
Beecher Spring and site of the abandoned Edward Beecher Recreation Area – my destination for the day. One-minute read, +2
December 11, 2020
Berryman Trail sign – Anyone know what the logo at the bottom is? Ginger reckons it’s a bong. I think it means potable water. Again Google has let me down.
December 11, 2020
Poor flag etiquette – Not content with letting the flag touch the ground, it’s also in an appalling state. +1
December 11, 2020
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.
December 11, 2020
Crossing Floyd Tower Rd. (again). On the western loop this time.
December 11, 2020
“Blazes? We don’t need no stinking blazes.” I have no idea. They are everywhere.
December 11, 2020
Cedars – make for a nice soft trail
December 11, 2020
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
December 11, 2020
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
December 11, 2020
It’s a bit brushy in places. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020.
December 11, 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.
December 11, 2020
Ozark Trail – Trail Blaze. I can attest to the effectiveness of the reflective strips when night hiking. Berryman Trail – Day Three, December 2020.
December 11, 2020
Little Brazil Creek.
December 11, 2020
My 2020-2021 Winter Backpacking Gear. Five-minute read
December 11, 2020
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.
December 11, 2020
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.
December 10, 2020
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.
December 10, 2020
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
December 10, 2020
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
December 10, 2020
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.
December 10, 2020
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.
December 10, 2020
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