The Compulsive Hiker

The Brushy Creek Trail is a 13-17 mile loop through a small part of the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry, a part of the Pioneer Forest – the largest chunk of private property in Missouri at about 160,000 acres.  The trail heads west from the Himont trail head.  If you go east two miles through Laxton Hollow instead, you’ll hit the Blair Creek section of the Ozark Trail.

I spent the weekend there with a group from the Adventure Club.  It’s by far the most wild-feeling place I’ve been to so far.  There is so little use of this area that in most places there isn’t even a visible trail – you just follow the blazes on the trees from point to point.  That made things more interesting but also slowed our pace as we worked through the underbrush and over (or around) downed trees.  Complicating matters was unseasonable heat – around 80 Friday & Saturday and 85 Sunday.

Further complicating things was the lack of a decent trail map.  The trail has apparently undergone a few reroutes since the brochure was published.  It takes a very different path along the north and west than hinted-at in the brochure.  It may also be closer to 17 miles than the claimed 13 miles.  There is a map posted at the Himont trail head but you can’t exactly take that with you and you can’t even get a good photo of it because of all the dirt and scratches on the plastic covering it.  Okay, whining finished.

The trail head

That pile of rocks in the center supported one end of a bridge for a railroad that used to run through the area.

This part of the trail follows the old railroad bed. Unlike the rest of the trail, this had a gentle slope with a well-defined tread.

A tiny walking stick apparently got tired of walking and hitched a ride.

The dogwoods were plentiful and in full bloom.

Wake Robin (aka Trillium) were abundant. I only saw one of these all of last spring - I was apparently looking in the wrong place!

Pawpaws were blooming too. Such a cool flower.

I don't know what this is yet. This specimen is about 8" in diameter.

I will definitely be back, though in cooler temperatures.  There is a camping area at the trail head so I would probably drive down in the evening and camp there to get an earlier start in the morning.  I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t see Bee Bluff or the Current River so those are on the itinerary next time.  It would also be interesting to add a couple days to the trip to explore further west on the Big Creek Trail into the “Ed Woods area”.

The Irish Wilderness – sounds like the perfect place to spend St Patrick’s Day weekend doesn’t it?  It’s an annual outing tradition for the local Sierra Club and this year there was a group of 7 participating.

We did a 17 mile part of White’s Creek Trail from the Brawley Pond trail head counter-clockwise to Camp Five, with overnight stays near Bliss Spring and Fiddler Spring.  Temperatures were amazing – from low 60’s to upper 70’s.  Such a big change from last weekend at Paddy Creek where it was below freezing one morning.  We had fog Saturday morning and a couple sprinkles and some thunder that afternoon.  I didn’t need the fleece or down jackets and didn’t even have much need for a sleeping bag!  The wildflowers were starting to bloom, along with the red buds, dogwoods, and nine barks.  Oh yeah, the ticks made an appearance as well.

The camping area at Bliss Spring (down the spur, not right at the spring) had several big trees down, covering some of the prime tent sites.  I ended-up in a place that was pretty level with soft ground but hemmed-in by underbrush.  The camping area at Fiddler Spring was bigger and I found a much better site.

To get to the Brawley Pond trail head, Google Maps had me go south on Mo-J and turn right on County road 164 to go 3.8 miles WNW into the town of Wilderness.  Don’t do it!  About 5 miles before you hit County 164 bear right on Mo-K going SSW into Wilderness.  This is the quicker and shorter route and a much better road.  Country 164 is rough, to put it mildly.  This is one of the better sections – and I had to get out to move logs off the road:

Goatweed Leafwing

A newly-emerged Pipevine Swallowtail? The wings have not yet fully unfolded.

Wake Robin, aka Trillium

May Apple, aka Mandrake

Spring Beauty

Common Violet

Yellow Violet

Bloodroot

Pale Corydalis?

Rose Verbena

Hoary Puccoon?

So many little white flowers, as if popcorn had been dropped from the air.

The chimney is about all that's left of the old homestead at the Bliss Spring camp.

This is where Bliss Spring flows from the hillside.

Looking downstream from the source. Another part of the spring flows in from the right.

Me on "the overlook" with the Eleven Point River below.

A bluff above White's Creek pockmarked with small holes.

The gated entrance of White's Creek Cave.

Fiddler Spring flowing from the hillside

Walking across the dam at Camp Five. The hike is almost done and the long drive home is about to begin.

White’s Creek Trail basically only covers the northern half of the area so there’s still much to see there.  I’m looking forward to the return trip next spring.

For the traditional post trip feast, I found a homey-sounding place in Winona – apparently the town’s only restaurant – but it was closed.  We drove on to Mountain View but the only places open were fast food chains.  No thanks, and on to Willow Springs where we found the Open Range Steakhouse 30 minutes before they closed.  They’ve got steaks, burgers, BBQ, even a bit of Italian cuisine, and some awesome desserts.  The service was good and portions were large so I wasn’t the only one that felt like I was going to burst.

I was back in the Paddy Creek Wilderness this weekend, this time for the Backpacking 101 spring class.  Only 8 people that took the classes were able to participate in the trip.  Several others encountered last minute work-related issues.  With 4 crew and 2 others along for the ride we had 14 people in all.  We split into two groups and did the short loop – one group going clockwise, the other counter-clockwise.  I assisted with the CCW group.

We spent Friday night on “the overlook” – a narrow ridge that looks south over Little Paddy Creek. We had clear skies with lots of stars and then a nearly-full moon.

Looking south from the overlook area, along Little Paddy Creek.

Looking east from the overlook area, along the bluff.

Looking west from the overlook area, along the bluff.

The next morning we made our way down below the bluff to the creek for a little sightseeing.

After climbing back up the bluff we donned our packs and headed down the trail.  The plan was to meet the other group for lunch where the connector trail crosses the creek.  Even though we never discussed any particular time, they arrived less than 5 minutes after we did.  Heck of a coincidence.

The area was rather picturesque but for some reason I didn’t take any photos of it.  I did shoot some of the wildflowers starting to bloom.  False Rue Anemone and Dogtooth Violets were a couple I recognized.  Many others should be coming up soon.

I think this might have been pretty cool if it were focused properly.

Saturday night found us camped on a ridge above “the waterfall” (I didn’t get a picture of it this time).  Clear skies again and no moon until late.  As expected, it started to rain Sunday morning.  We skipped breakfast, packed quickly and hiked out, then stopped for breakfast at a Shoney’s in Lebanon MO.  They have a pretty good buffet.

Now I’m cleaning and drying everything in preparation for the next trip.