On our way from Tulsa and northern Arkansas (and several weeks of visits with family and friends) toward Kentucky and the east coast, we found ourselves passing through the Ozarks. The Ozarks are old… really old. They were formed nearly 1.5 billion years ago and represent (according to Wiki) the oldest exposure of igneous rock in North America. They are about a billion years older than the Appalachian Mountains, and the gentler, rolling hills demonstrate the power of wind and rain to erode even the mightiest of mountains.

We also would be crossing the Ozark Trail, which is a 350-mile scenic trail that runs north-south from the middle of Missouri to nearly the Arkansas border. We decided to hike the Karkaghne Section of the Ozark Trail, a 29-mile bit from the Hwy J Trailhead (at mile-mark 88) south to Hwy P/72 Trailhead (at mile-mark 119). There was a decent National Forest campground and a trailhead in the middle of this section at the Black River and Sutton Bluff, which made for a nice base for us to stage two multi-day in-and-out hikes.

After one sunny day and one rainy day of relaxing at the campground, we relocated to the trailhead for an 11-mile hike north past Brushy Creek to the Hwy J Trailhead. It was a very gentle, rolling hike and easy to follow with lots of trail markers and few blow-downs. This section is used a lot by equestrians, evidenced by the copious amount of horse shit all along the trail. In fact, we encountered one large and one small group on horseback during our hike. We also passed a few day-hikers, but nobody else was backpacking for overnights.

Interestingly, there was a hiking tragedy on this part of the trail on January 12, 2013 when a father (36) and his two sons (10 and 8) were caught by winter storm that moved through the area sooner than forecasted. They had left from the Brushy Creek Lodge for a day-hike hike to Sutton Bluff and back. They were seen at the Bluff but never made it back when the storm hit early, trapping them behind rising water and falling temps. Without tents and cold-weather gear, they perished from hypothermia. Mistakes on the trail can be deadly.

After our return hike the next day, we repacked for a 4-day, 3-night outing and rested the night in our van at the trailhead.

The next day we headed out under cloudy skies south toward Hwy72/P. This would be 18-miles each way, so we settled on making this an easy 4-day hike. The nights were forecast to be cold, with lows of 38-41, so we planned on later-than usual starts to wait for sun to warm things a bit. This 18 miles was just constructed in the 1980s and follows along Sutton Bluff for some lovely views and several flowers species we didn’t find elsewhere in the Ozarks.

After hugging the side of the Bluff for a mile or so, the trail turned to traverse several creeks and branches along with lots of ups and downs in between. There were no bridges at the creeks, since they seem to be prone to flash floods that would tear down any such effort every year. Most of the hollers and bottoms we hiked through showed ample evidence such flooding earlier this spring with lots of small trees and other debris scattered about. This ample water also meant that sections of the trail were significantly overgrown with lots of downed trees to climb over or under too. On the up side, there seemed to be no horse traffic (or poop) on this more difficult bit.

While wildlife seemed scarce here, we heard several deer run off into the trees before our approach, seeing only one for sure. Otherwise, we saw only one snake (a black racer), a turtle, a few frogs and tadpoles, an owl, vultures, chipmunks and squirrels along our hike. We did, though, hear some coyotes at night, barred owls, wood thrushes… and lots and lots of whip-poor-wills, more than we’ve ever heard at one time and in one place.

On the second day of our hike south, we passed Grasshopper Hollow Fen, largest known unglaciated fen complex North America. Basically, it’s a wetland in the middle of the Ozarks created by the unique geology found here. Rain water flowing down the hills and groundwater moving down through the dolomite formations get trapped here above a sandstone layer and feeds these fens and the muck (15-40 inches deep), along with the plants and animals that survive only here. The Park Service calls these rare species “glacial relicts” that were common in Missouri 10,000 years.

We finished our hike south at the Hwy P/72 trailhead before backtracking a 2.4 miles to a tentsite we found next to a creek and fell asleep to the sounds of running water, swaying trees and relentless whip-poor-wills.

The middle of the Spring months, after the rains and while the dogwoods are in bloom, definitely seems to be the best time to hike the Ozark Trail. The next 2 days were splendid, sunny and nearly bug-free. Back at Sutton Bluff, our van (Aspen) waited for us with cold sodas in the fridge and a hot meal of pasta in marinara sauce bubbling on the stove. We love our van and our vanlife.