Whites Creek Trail

Haven’t I been here before? Whites Creek Trail Loop Completed.

Trees, trees, and more trees — And hidden in this picture is an old forest road.

Lunch time snooze in the sun — albeit a very watery sun. Can you see my glasses? No? Neither could I. It took me a lot of searching to find them.

The geology seems a bit different on the south loop. Note the rocks in this picture. Also note the blue blaze. You are not supposed to have blazes in a wilderness, but to save money rescuing lost people, there appear to be some exceptions. But the quality and positioning of the blazes is so poor and erratic, it is just annoying. Well, it annoys me!

Pool on Whites Creek, Irish Wilderness.

Cat briar’s revenge — I got myself into a huge patch of them on the third day, and this is the result. It is also why I am resisting being put on aggressive anticoagulants.

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. One-minute read

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 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

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