Ozark Trail
In October 2024 I set out on an 18-day solo through hike of Missouri’s Ozark Trail.
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In October 2024 I set out on an 18-day solo through hike of Missouri’s Ozark Trail.
Possibly the most beautiful day on the Ozark Trail, and the most physically demanding. It’s Day 14 of my Ozark Trail Thru-Hike and I cover 13.4 rocky and rugged miles on the Taum Sauk Section from Goggins Mountain to Proffit Mountain (1,703ft) straight through the heart of Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.
It’s still Day 13 on the Ozark Trail. I’ve just finished breakfast at Ottery Creek and I’m about to set out on the Taum Sauk Section from the Hwy A trailhead. The next 10 miles will take me through the Bell Mountain wilderness, past several Missouri glades, and up Goggins Mountain for a beautiful night camping with a view.
Day 13 on the Ozark Trail started on the Trace Creek Section hiking 5.6 miles from Panther Branch to Ottery Creek on Highway A, which happens to be Mile 0 of the Taum Sauk Section. I figured it was a good idea to split the day into two posts to give the Taum Sauk Section two dedicated posts. But that doesn’t mean this stretch of Trace Creek doesn’t have anything to offer!
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.
It’s Day 11 of my Ozark Trail Thru Hike and I’m embarking on the Middle Fork Section, heading 14.1 miles from the Highway J Trailhead to Henderson Creek. Along the way I’ll pass by the John C. Roth Memorial kiosk (founder of the Ozark Trail Association), Strother Creek, Little Creek, Gunstock Hollow, and Barton Fen, habitat of the endangered Hines Emerald Dragonfly.
It’s Day 10 and it’s a short day of hiking for me on the Ozark Trail. I’m only going 7.2 miles from just north of Sutton Bluff to Brushy Creek Lodge & Resort on the Karkaghne Section where I’ll meet my wife Abby for my second resupply. I’ll also learn what happened with the abandoned puppy we found on the Ozark Trail.
Day 9 of my Ozark Trail Thru Hike and I'm hiking 13.4 miles on the Karkaghne Section from Grasshopper Hollow to just past Sutton Bluff Recreation Area. The highlights of this section of the Ozark Trail are definitely the Bee Fork creek crossing and Sutton Bluff Campgrounds.
My first real water scare on my Ozark Trail Thru Hike. It’s still Day 8 and set out on the Karkaghne Section from Hwy 72 to Grasshopper Hollow. Water was scarce along the way and it wasn’t where it was supposed to be at Grasshopper Hollow. I had to walk deep into the fen to find it.
It’s the morning of Day 8 of my Ozark Trail Thru Hike. I have 11 miles left of the Blair Creek Section before reaching Highway 72 Trailhead, where I originally planned to camp for the night. Do I stay or push onto the Karkaghne Section?
It’s Day 7 of my Ozark Trail Thru Hike and I embark on the Blair Creek Section which starts with a climb to an amazing bluff view of the Current River just above Powder Mill Campground.
If you’ve been following along my Ozark Trail Thru Hike in Missouri, you remember in the Day 6 video that my wife Abby and I found a puppy at the OT Trailhead in Peck Ranch Conservation Area. The sweet trail puppy crawled out from under a car and into our hearts. She was cold, shaking, and covered with ticks and burs.
A puppy on the Ozark Trail?!! It’s Day 6 of my Ozark Trail Thru-Hike and Abby has just dropped me off at the trailhead in Peck Ranch Conservation Area. The plan for the day is to hike roughly 16 miles from Peck Ranch to Powder Mill Campground on the Current River Section of the Ozark Trail. But what do we do about this sweet puppy on the trail?
Planning on thru-hiking Missouri’s Ozark Trail but don’t know where to start? Here’s the planning, packing and resupply system I used on my Ozark Trail Thru Hike. Everything I packed and carried in my backpack, and the resupply strategy I used while backpacking the Ozark Trail.
It’s Day 5 of my thru-hike of Missouri’s Ozark Trail and I’m on the Current River Section just north of the Hwy 60 trailhead. The plan is to hike 15 miles to Peck Ranch where my wife Abby will meet me for my first resupply. By all accounts the Current River Section is one of the most beautiful sections of the entire OT, but as I’ll soon find out, it also harbors one of the most sparse, overgrown, and thorny sections of trail… Hunter Camp.
Day 4 of my thru-hike of Missouri’s Ozark Trail and I’ve arrived at my first big question… Do I hike to Big Spring Campground, which is 5 miles off the trail, or do I pass by it, shaving a day off my total hike?
Hiking the Between the Rivers Section of the Ozark Trail is all about water planning. It’s Day 3 and I set out on the Between the Rivers Section hiking 15.4 miles from the 3152 Trailhead to Milligan Spring.
Day 2 of 18 of my Ozark Trail through hike in Missouri. I finish out the Eleven Point Section with a 14.5 mile hike from McCormack Lake to 3152 Trailhead. How much of the Eleven Point River did I actually see?
Day 1 of 18 of my Ozark Trail through hike in Missouri. My wife Abby dropped me off at the Eleven Point Terminus, or Western Trailhead of the Eleven Point Section, and I hike 19.5 miles to McCormack Lake Campground.
I hike passed Missouri’s tallest waterfall, Mina Sauk Falls (132ft), and summited Missouri’s tallest peak, Taum Sauk Mountain (1,772ft), all with in a 6.2 mile hike on the Taum Sauk Section of the Ozark Trail.