Ozark Trail: Middle Fork Section | Day 12
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through them at no extra cost to you! -michael
My Ozark Trail Backpacking Gear List
It’s Day 12 of my Ozark Trail Thru-Hike and I complete the Middle Fork Section and head back south on the Trace Creek Section to make my way to the Taum Sauk Section. Along the way I pass Wolf Pen Hollow, a beautiful waterfall, and twice cross the surprisingly small Middle Fork. Turning south onto the Trace Creek Section is tough knowing that the end of the thru-hike is a mere three days hike further north.
Middle Fork to Trace Creek Section
Day 12 - October 25, 2024
Henderson Creek to Trace Creek Mile 22
Rate: Moderate | Traffic: Low
Distance: 16.4mi | Elevation Gain: 1,969ft
Join AllTrails+ to get the most out of your hiking.
The Middle Fork Section & Trace Creek Section connection on the Ozark Trail.
Leaving Henderson Creek
It rained! Not a lot, but the world is wet. A very welcome event having had no rain the first 11 days on the trail. My night spent camping at Henderson Creek was very enjoyable. I’m grateful to my trail friends, Tom and Nick, for the recommendation. The spot features plentiful water from the creek, a large flat camping area, and fire ring. A good backcountry camping spot on the Ozark Trail.
Wolf Pen Hollow
Three miles north of Henderson Creek at Middle Fork Mile 7 resides Wolf Pen Hollow which features a charming roughly 10-foot tiered waterfall. The falls wasn’t much more than what a hose puts out at full blast, but I was grateful for even that relatively small flow of water. The night’s rain I’m sure helped. There’s a campsite next to the waterfall as well, this morning it was my breakfast spot and it was a good spot indeed!
The Final 7 Miles of the Middle Fork Section
From Wolf Pen Hollow it’s seven miles of woods-walking to the Trace Creek Connection. The trail crosses the Middle Fork twice along this stretch between Miles 2-4. I was expecting these crossing to be more significant that they turned out to be, which was simple rock hopping. But, these are the headwaters of the Middle Fork, making easy crossings and reliable water sources.
At Mile 1 the trail passes another John Roth Memorial Kiosk. There’s also an offshoot to a parking lot off Hwy-DD, the northern Middle Fork Trailhead. There’s still one more mile of hiking to the Trace Creek connection beside the headwaters of Big River.
The Trace Creek Connection
The Middle Fork Section and Trace Creek Section of the Ozark Trail converge along the banks of the upper source of Big River. Again, not as majestic as it sounds. For me Big River was actually small pools of water along a creek bed. Certainly enough to fill up, which I did, but not what comes to mind when imagining crossing a river.
The connection of the Middle Fork Section and Trace Creek Section are marked with a wooden sign with an Ozark Trail blaze nailed to it. This is actually Trace Creek Mile 17, more than halfway into the 26-mile section. From here I head back south to complete the lower 9-mile of the Trace Creek Section where it connect with the Taum Sauk Section.
Hiking the Wrong Direction
To be honest, turning south onto Trace Creek was hard to comprehend. Standing at the Middle Fork / Trace Creek connection I knew that Onondaga State Park (Ozark Trail Mile 0) was a mere 4-days hike away… going north. This is the standard route of the Ozark Trail Backbone thru-hike, the 230-mile route. I was heading south, south and then east for an additional 44-miles of hiking through the Taum Sauk Section.
I’m not a back-tracking type of person. I’d much rather hike an loop than an out-and-back trail. On some level this felt like back-tracking to me, but I had faith that the Taum Sauk Section was worth the miles. By all accounts it is the best section of the Ozark Trail. I just needed to get there.
Panther Branch & Beyond
My plan was to hike 3.5-miles south on the Trace Creek Section to Panther Branch, a reliable water source, that I imagined would have a backcountry campsite. I was correct, but I wasn’t expecting to find someone who had beat me to it. Another solo backpacker was there lounging in a camp chair. It was only 3:15p and he hadn’t unpacked his gear yet, but clearly he’d made himself cozy in this spot. We chatted for a bit, he having completed the Taum Sauk Section and was heading on to the Upper Current Section. The conversation was pleasant, but I got the vibe he wanted to keep his experience solo, which I respect. Because it was early for me too, I said goodbye and pushed on for another two miles before I found a nice little spot just past Trace Creek Mile 22 to set up camp for the night.
Missouri’s Ozark Trail
The Ozark Trail contains over 430 miles of trail divided into 14 mostly connected sections throughout southeast Missouri. The established thru-hike covers eight of the connected sections and runs from Onondaga Cave State Park in Leasburg, roughly 84 miles southwest of St. Louis, to the Eleven Point Terminus near Thomasville, 23 miles north of the Arkansas border. Throw in the off-shoot Taum Sauk Section and you have nearly 300 miles of thru-hikeable trail.