I was able to turn Thanksgiving into a 4-day solo road trip this year so I planned to backpack a trail that’s been on my list for a while: the Berryman Trail between Steelville and Potosi. It’s a 24-mile loop that was originally built by the CCC in the 30’s. I figured on spending 3 days there and then stopping for a short day hike and reconnaissance at Lake of the Ozarks on the way home.
I got back to Arkansas – this time to hike section 6 of the Ozark Highlands Trail with 5 others on a local Sierra Club outing. Our 4-day journey started at the Big Piney trail head (mile 105.5) and went east through the Hurricane Creek Wilderness to the Fairview Campground (mile 125).
Went for a balloon ride this evening with a friend, courtesy of Becky Petrehn with Balloon AD-Ventures. We took off from the Jo Co Executive airport at 151st & Pflumm. Once aloft there was very little breeze so we moved pretty slowly to the ESE. Maximum height was about 2300 feet, I think. We came down very gently about an hour later near 159th & Metcalf – only 5 miles away.
I signed-up in February for a couple Volunteer Vacations organized by the American Hiking Society. I completed the first one in May and have now completed the other – a week of trail maintenance and hiking in the upper Buffalo River area. It was my first time on the Buffalo and it didn’t take long to see why so many people fall in love with the area. The autumn color was near the peak so that certainly helped. Continue reading
The local Sierra Club group had a weekend outing in the Richland Creek Wilderness. Rugged landscape, autumn colors, waterfalls – it was all there. 7 other people and 2 dogs participated. One of the notable features of this 11800 acre site is that there are no official trails. In practice, there have been enough people hiking to some of the well-known features over the years to leave some pretty visible trails. I thought the remoteness of this area would deter visitors but I saw more here than I’ve seen on any other trip – 10 or 12 groups of 2 to 6 people.
My first visit to Piney Creek Wilderness was a 2.5 hour day hike that further piqued my interest in seeing more. I finally got back for a second visit and made it an over-nighter with 6 others from the Adventure Club.
It was time for the local Sierra Club’s annual trip to the Hercules Glades Wilderness to celebrate the autumnal equinox, and my second visit there. Only 6 of us went this time.
We started Friday at the Coy Bald trail head – my first time there – and hiked in on the Rock Springs trail and camped near Long’s Creek east of the falls. The creek was mostly dry with only a trickle in some scattered areas and some nice large pools near the falls.
The Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness is about 250 square miles of the Anaconda Range straddling the Beaverhead, Deerlodge, and Bitterroot National Forests in southwest Montana. It features countless trout-filled lakes, many peaks over 9000′ with a few over 10000′, and about 280 miles of trail (including 45 miles of the Continental Divide Trail). It’s also the site of my latest adventure – the longest and most remote backpacking trip yet.
My second trip to Colorado in the last month, and my first backpacking trip in the Rocky Mountains. The destination was the Comanche and Venable peaks of the Sangre De Cristo range southwest of Westcliffe. I went with a friend who has made many trips to Colorado (including climbing quite a few 14ers) over 20+ years and who also did the Ouachita New Year’s trip with me.
A popular day hike in the area is to go up the Venable Trail, across the Phantom Terrace and the west face of Spring Mountain, then down the Comanche Trail. We weren’t doing exactly that but would see much of the same scenery.
Saturday was the main event – our attempt to climb the 14,003′ Mt Huron. This is considered to be about the easiest of all the 14er climbs, but that doesn’t mean that it’s actually easy, and especially not for a bunch of low-landers like us.
Michael R - The Compulsive Hiker
The Compulsive Hiker 