Ozark Trail - Courtios 2016

Ozark Trail - Hazel Creek to Onondaga 

About 20 months ago my good friend Patrick let me borrow his copy of A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson.  This book is a first hand account of 2 men who backpack parts of the Appalachian Trail.   After reading that I fell in love with the idea of backpacking long distances and more importantly being outdoors. I quickly searched for hiking and backpacking podcasts and found The Sounds of the Trail podcast and it quickly became one of my favorites.  After a year of listening to hikers on the Appalachian, Continental Divide, and Pac
ific Crest Trails tell their stories I knew that one day I will thru hike at least one of those trails.  I can't do that right now due to family and work commitments but I can still get out for shorter excursions on the weekends and I am fortunate to be living in Missouri which has a large number of great trails close by.  So for my first foray into overnight backpacking I chose to do the first 47.6 miles of the Ozark Trail.

On a cold Friday morning I parked my truck at an outfitter at Onondaga State Park and they drove me down to Hazel Creek trailhead.  The temperature at 9:30am was about 18 degrees and I was ready to be off and warm up.  I had set 3 distance goals for that day.  Goal 1 was the Berryman Campground 13 miles away, Goal 2 was a small campsite 17 miles away, and goal 3 was a campsite 19 miles away.   I was not sure how fast I was going to be able to go with 30-35lbs of supplies and equipment on my back so I would have to adjust as I went.

The day started well, it was sunny and brisk, but with no breeze it made for great hiking conditions.  I felt good and was covering 2.5 to 3 miles an hour.  I stopped for lunch around 11am and took a few minutes to rest.  Early in the afternoon I came across my first water crossing.  Thanks to some good advice from a friend and experienced hiker on the OT I had sandals to change into for the water crossing.  I waded across the water quickly dried off, filtered some drinking watering got moving again.  Thoughout the first day I kept seeing what i first thought was white plastic bags sticking out of the leaves, but upon closer inspection it was "ice ribbons" coming out of the ground and wrapping around small trees and plants.  After getting home and doing some looking these are apparently called Frost Flowers, and they are indeed very beautiful.

I had my phone with me but was unsuccessful at getting any texts or calls out to my family.  I was not expecting much out there but I had hoped to be able to give periodic updates but I had no such luck thus far.

By 2:30 I reached the spur that would take me to my first campsite option.  I had to make a decision, go setup camp early and relax or try to make it 5 more miles with only 2 hours of daylight left.  If I would have stayed at Berryman campground then I would have a 22 mile day ahead off me the next day, so I made the choice to go for the campsite a few more miles in.

I made the campsite at dusk and was able to get my tent setup and a fire in the fire pit. I had my first dehydrated freeze dried meal of beef stew, it tasted great and left me feeling good about the day.  I got into my sleeping

bag feeling relieved that I had made it thus far, but at the same time I was already ,missing my wife and kids and I was disappointed that I couldn't contact them to let them know I was okay.  I knew the next day was going to be rough but I had already cut 5 miles into it so I was confident I would reach my next campsite, only 18 miles away.

I tossed and turned most of the night, there was no breeze and the forest was silent as I went to bed.  I heard nothing but my own breathing.  I awoke around 4am to relieve myself and got back into my tent to find that all my water bottles had frozen solid.  The temperature must have gotten back down into the teens and I had trouble warming up again in those early morning hours.  I heard some owls and coyotes nearby and I laid there waiting for the sun to rise.

Day 2

I finally got up around 6AM, resurrected the fire from the hot coals and started the process of thawing out my water bottles and getting breakfast ready.  By 8AM I was fed, packed up, and had collected enough firewood and kindling so the next hiker that comes in would have an easy time getting a fire going.

My goal today was going to be 18 miles and to find someplace that had some cell coverage so I could contact my family and let them know I had survived the evening as doing well.  Around 9 in the morning I was able to get cell coverage and talk with the wife and kids so that put in a much better mood.  Around 1PM I stopped for an 15 minutes to grab some food, assess my situation and put a plan together.  I thought I was at mile 20 which was labeled Creek Bed which was supposed to have "a trickle of water" but it had none.  I continued to move forward and before I knew it I could see the Courtois (Pronounced Cor-ta-way) Creek which meant I was not at mile 20 but at mile 16!  By 2:45 I was at mile 13 and was very close to my last camping stop.

Soon after crossing the Courtois I was at the Bass Resort Trailhead and they had WIFI!  I was able to FaceTime with the wife and kids while I filtered and refilled my water from the creek.  It was great to see them and I show them where I was.  I made an executive decision to pay $10 dollars and put up my tent at the Bass Resort RV park and enjoy a picnic table, running water, and a bathroom!  I was able to wash my hands and feet with warm water and grab a bag of chips and a few beers from the general store.  I chatted with the only people staying at the RV park for a bit and then made dinner and went to bed feeling confident that tomorrow was my last day and I had only 12 miles to go.

That evening the wind had picked up considerably and I awoke to find a kitten had crawled underneath my rain-fly and was sleeping on top of my tent. I had half a mind just to leave him there, but the thought of him peeing thru the mesh onto me and my equipment  made my decision to move him an easy one.

Day 3

I slept well and woke up at 6:30, and had a quick breakfast, broke camp and started moving.  The previous evening I had  discovered multiple blisters on my feet, but I felt that they wouldn't slow me down too much and I would deal with them when I got home in the afternoon.

Up to this point I still hadn't run across a single person hiking, biking, or running on the trail.  Around 11AM I came to the Lower Narrows Trailhead, I just waded through the Courtois Creek and was in my sandals and I decided this was a good place to sit down, grab some food, wash off my feet and put my shoes back on.  There was another camper at this trailhead and some day hikers car parked. Shortly have getting on the trail a runner came up from behind and we had a nice conversation as we climbed what would be the last long climb of the day.  After we reached the top he moved along and I started the gradual descent to the Onondaga Trailhead.  Those last 4 miles were rough and my legs were screaming at me.  My pace had slowed considerably and I shuffled into the parking lot, found my truck, tossed my pack into the back and let out a huge sigh of relief.

I was exhausted, dehydrated, but I felt proud that I had taken on the challenge and completed it.  I should have trained more, but I didn't.  Because of that 3 days later, I am still sore and find it difficult to walk without a "hitch in my giddyup".  I know that I will continue to come back out and hike more sections of the Ozark Trail and one day complete them all, but hopefully I will be able to do that with my friends and family.  I enjoyed the solitude of the trip, but relationships are what this life is all about.

If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read this.  If you have comments or questions please feel free to comment below.

I'm Done!