Crossing the Courtois

Two weeks ago I set out to hike the Ozark Trail from Onondaga Cave State Park to the Narrows Trail Head. This section of the Courtois (pronounced code-a-way) Section of the Ozark Trail is considered mile 0-7.6, and fair warning: it involves a “creek” crossing that’s more like a river expedition. For the full story, you should pick up the April issue of River Hills Traveler, but the short story is this: The Courtois Creek is not just a creek – it’s a large creek. It’s a creek that, on a map, looks roughly the same width as the Meremac River.

I can imagine that crossing the Courtois in the heat of Missouri summer would have felt great…refreshing…awesome. Crossing the creek in early March on a 40-degree day was chilly…bitter…freezing. The first five miles or so of the hike – from Onondaga Cave State Park to the Courtois Creek – wasn’t bad. The highest elevation was approximately 900 feet, and much of the trail was wide and gravel-covered. There were some fun rock formations and cliffs, and even a few small springs and caves. There’s a beautiful pine glade several miles into the hike that would make a lovely picnic spot, but beware that in the late summer months, there are also spiders as big as your head. *** I estimate that I’ve now hiked somewhere around 45 miles of the Ozark Trail’s 350 total miles. Fore more posts about my Ozark Trail adventures, see my Ozark Trail page. For longer, print stories on my Ozark Trail expeditions, pick up the February or April issues of River Hills Traveler.

Starburst - (Not Photoshopped), photo by smalltowngirl

St. Francois State Park was a pleasant surprise. This park sits directly on US Highway 67 north of Bonne Terre, Missouri, and I’ve driven past it countless times through the years without ever visiting it. The park boasts four trails ranging in length from .5-mile (Missouri Trail) to 11-miles (Pike Run Trail).

Frozen, photo by smalltowngirl

The first hike we took was along the Mooner’s Hollow Trail, a 2.7-mile loop that though judged moderate in difficulty on the MO State Parks website, seemed to me to be easy-to-moderate. There weren’t many steep inclines, and there weren’t many roots or larger rocks along the trail.

Rushing Water, photo by smalltowngirl

Much of the trail followed a dry creek bed, so I anticipate that this trail may be best hiked during dryer months. Mooner’s Hollow Trail follows Coonville Creek in the Coonville Creek Natural Area.

Missouri Hills, photo by smalltowngirl

St. Francois State Park is one of 83 State Parks in the state of Missouri. The park boasts more than 2,700 acres of land, and welcomes hikers, horseback riding, fishing, camping, picnicking and swimming. There are shower houses and out buildings in the park. The park currently opens at 8 am and closes at 6 pm.

The

Bee Tree Park 1, photo by smalltowngirl

I spent my Sunday tooling around South County St. Louis in a convertible, taking in the sunshine and enjoying good company. After a great omelet and coffee and First Watch, we headed to Bee Tree Park to get some exercise.

The park sits along the Mississippi River and has concrete and gravel trails for walking, jogging or biking.

Bee Tree Park, photo by smalltowngirl

We stood on the Chubb Memorial Overlook, gazing out at the slow but powerful river, and my mind wandered to my good friend Matt, who’s older brother Mike kayaked the Mississippi River from beginning to end. Mike was killed very recently in Afghanistan. His memorial service was Friday, and his family had been on  my mind all weekend. Standing over the Mississippi put me in awe that Mike had kayaked the entire thing alone.

Mississippi River, photo by smalltowngirl

Mississippi, photo by smalltowngirl

We continued walking down trails through the woods before venturing onto the “fish trail”, which circled a seven-acre lake. The park was filled with families walking dogs, fishing, riding bikes and picnicking.

Bee Tree is the first St. Louis County Park I’ve spent any time in, and I was impressed both by the park itself and by the number of people using the park on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

Lake, photo by smalltowngirl

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For more about Bee Tree Park, visit the St. Louis County Website.

I grew up in the country, which means I grew up around guns. My brother and I played with BB guns, and later with his first .22. Ten years of life outside of rural southeast Missouri has made my gun-totin’ skills a wee bit rusty, but today I had a chance to brush up.

@StLCardsGuy asked me if I was going to shoot at a range or go to the country. “We go into the back yard,” I told him. (I’m a country girl. We don’t need no stinkin’ shootin’ range.)

The New Yorker in me was reacquainted with the rural Missourian as my dad and I trecked to the back of the property with a makeshift target and a handful of guns.

We were both suprised at how well I shot with the .32, especially considering that I’d never before shot a pistol. I hit near bullseye on several shots from 30 feet back. This is the gun I’ll carry hiking. Watch out, Big Foot, you’re not dragging this girl back to your cave…

We also shot a 20-gauge shotgun my dad has had since he was fourteen years old, a Taurus 9mm, and a 22 rifle.

The New Yorker in me wasn’t totally comfortable with guns before this outing, but I had fun shooting. It relieved some stress, and it was cool hanging out with my dad for a few hours.

NYC =0; MO=1

The “guide” from Bass’ River Resort, where I was camping, dropped me off at a trailhead that was supposed to lead me 7.5-8 miles through the woods back to the resort.

Unfortunately, the trail description in my OT guidebook for the first few miles of the hike matched the landscape around me, so I thought all was well with the world. Among the geographic features of this section of trail were caves and 30-50 foot cliff faces.

Several hours and a gazillion spiders later, I realized I was lost. The trail ended at a wide gravel logging road, which I walked approximately two miles down before finding a road sign and realizing that I was easily 5-6 miles from where I started my hike, and another 7-8 from the camp ground.

Unprepared for hiking an extra 7-8 miles that day, I had no choice but to turn around and hike back to my starting trail head in hopes that Bass’ River would be doing a float trip pick up that afternoon along the river near my trail head.

So there I was, looping back down the same trail after hours in the woods, waving my stick in the air to swat away the ginormous Missouri spiders making their webs across my trail. My trail, darn it. I conquered that trail (even if it wasn’t the trail I meant to conquer). In fact, I conquered it so hard that I hiked it TWICE that day. Take that, y’all. Smalltowngirl Hiker Extraordinaire.

When I got back near the trailhead, I saw this cave (again), and couldn’t resist going off the trail to take a look inside (for all the spelunkering readers out there, I didn’t go far inside, and I didn’t disturb anything in or around the cave).

So here I am, thrilled to have found my way back to my trail head, and amused (for reasons only one reader will really understand) at the one-armed, self-portrait cave pic. Nothing makes you appreciate finding your way home more than getting really, really lost along the way.

Home Sweet Home, photo by and of smalltowngirl

Although I’d like to write an entire blog on the section of trail that I hiked, for now I’d like to show you some of the arachinids who were hanging out on their webs across my trail.

Itsy Bitsy Spider, photo by smalltowngirl

I don’t know what I was thinking hiking in August, but my hike was hot, humid, and spider-infested.

A few hundred feet into the trail, the spiderwebs started to become problematic. Over and over again, I felt their sticky threads wrap around my arms, legs, or face, and found myself swatting at the air like a maniac, trying to get the webs off of my skin.

I picked up a long, thin stick, which I carried like a sword in front of my body, trying to knock spiderwebs down.  Along I plodded, slicing my stick-sword through the air, a full-blown war waged between myself and these eight-legged creepy crawlers.

This gigantic spider, with a body well larger than my thumb, was intimidating. I didn’t want to make him mad at me, so I left his web intact and asked him to please not bother me as I deftly snuck beneath his web.

Big spider, photo by smalltowngirl

Spiders were everywhere. To say I saw hundreds of them is not an exaggeration. I saw red ones, black ones and gray ones; big ones little ones and itsy bitsy ones.

For good measure, I took a few shots of some daddy long legs, hanging upside down in a cave.  Daddy long legs are arachnids, although they aren’t techinically spiders. I thought this last shot rounded out my spider photo collection nicely.

long legs, photo by smalltowngirl

The landscape in the St. Louis area is generally flatter than it is even sixty or seventy miles further south, making this Southeast Missouri girl qualify this “hike” as a scenic walk in the woods.

There were a few hills and rocky places, but for the most part, the trail was flat and even. Much of the nine miles of trail is lined with gravel and clear of overgrowth. Other segments of the trail are covered in thick, low-lying weeds, though, so be sure and use tick repellant if you plan to walk this trail.

This would be a great trail for walking dogs, or for exercise if you live in the St. Charles area. Much of the trail would even be nice for trail running. Based on my experience researching the trail and hiking it yesterday, it seems that Lost Valley is geared (haha, I crack myself up) primarily for mountain biking.

Photo credit: Gateway Off-Road Cyclists

The Lost Valley Trail is a 9-mile hiking and mountain biking loop inside Weldon Springs Conservation Area on Route 94, south of US 40/I-64.

The parking lot and trail head are easy to miss. Use the St. Charles County Police Training Area as your point of reference; the Lost Valley Trail is the next turn-off on the right.

For more information on Lost Valley and other St. Louis area mountain biking trails, visit Gateway Off-Road Cyclists.

Madison County Cemetery, photo by smalltowngirl

I wanted to brush up on my own Memorial Day knowledge, so I did a little research online. This story from CNN gives a concise overview of the history of Memorial Day. Take a look. 

Among other things I learned reading was that the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery was identified as a St. Louis, Missouri-born pilot. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier now lays empty, and the soldier is buried somewhere in St. Louis. I learn something new about my hometown and my home state all of the time.

Madison County Cemetery, photo by smalltowngirl

My parents and I visited the cemeteries today where my paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother are buried. One of the cemeteries we visited was in Madison County, Missouri, an area hit especially hard by the May 8th storms. 

We drove through Fredericktown, a town that I spent a good deal of my childhood in, and I was taken aback at the damage remaining even now, more than two weeks after the storm. More on that later.

Memorial Day Cemetery, Madison County, MO, photo by smalltowngirl

For now, I’m thankful to be back in this small town, where I was able to go with my family to honor my grandfather, a WWII veteran, and my grandmothers. I’m thankful that my brother, my grandfather, and so many more like them who have made careers of service. I’m not very patriotic by nature, but I realize that without our military, this would be a very different country to call home.

Waterfall at Pickle Springs, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs is a truly beautiful area. As a hiker, you lose the sounds and thoughts of the rest of the world once you’ve taken a few feet down the trail, which makes a two-mile loop. The forest is dense with plant life, and my walk on Saturday was a fungus-hunter’s delight. For more fungus photos, check out my flickr photostream. Here’s one example of the almost beautiful texture, color, and pattern of the fungi I saw.

Jelly-like Fungus on Tree, photo by smalltowngirl

The trails at Pickle Springs are rocky and have roots growing through them. This isn’t a trail to walk with weak ankles or knees, and be forewarned as we face this spring’s rains; the trails become conduits for rainwater. I was very thankful for my Goretex boots on this particular hike.  Don’t be fooled by this photo. It looks like a creek, but it’s actually the flooded trail.

Flooded Trail, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs has a lot of sandstone formations, most of which I’m sure have proper geological names, none of which I know. What I do know is that there are huge sandstone boulders like the ones in the flooded trail picture that you hiked between; there are even bigger ones that have holes in them the size of small cars that you can climb through; and there are sandstone bluffs that drop down 100 or so feet to the earth below.

Sandstone Boulders, photo by smalltowngirl

The views from the highest bluffs are really nice. Near the end of the loop, there’s a high bluff looking out over the forest, and it’s truly a beautiful Missouri view.

View from high bluff, photo by smalltowngirl

A blog about Pickle Springs wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the waterfalls. We aren’t talking Niagra Falls here, but this two-mile trail boasts countless small waterfalls, ranging from short ones in full blown creeks to 30-foot tall onces with a steady but small stream of water falling down. This weekend was a great time to hike the trail (with waterproof boots) since the surplus of rainwater meant that our hike was constantly made more peaceful by the sounds of dripping or streaming water.

Smaller Waterfall at Pickle Springs, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs State Natural Area is owned and maintained by the Missouri Department of Conservation, and is located in St. Genevieve County, Missouri off of Ste. Genevieve County Highway AA. To reach the park from Farmington or Ste. Gen, take State Hwy 32 to AA and continue two miles or so down AA, where you’ll see a brown Conservation Department Sign for Pickle Springs. Turn onto the gravel road across from the sign and continue 1-2 minutes to the Pickle Springs parking area.

I’d recommend this nature trail for a short day hike, and not for hikers who have problems with uneven or rocky trails.

To see more pictures of fungi, waterfalls, and sandstone boulders at Pickle Springs, check out my flickr photostream.

Pickle Creek, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Creek, which runs through the park, crosses the trails in several places, creating a sense of adventure for the novice hiker, as stepping (or leaping, when the water is higher) across large rocks is a requirement of continuing down the trail. This photo is of the first creek crossing we came to:

Creek Crossing, photo by smalltowngirl

I’ve been coming to Hawn State Park off and on since I started driving, at 16 years old. The trails have changed a bit, as errosion has affected some of the steeper trails. The dogwood tree is the state tree of Missouri. The view from this bluff today was made more beautiful thanks to the white flowers on the dogwood trees:

Flowering Dogwood Trees from Bluff, photo by smalltowngirl

While I can’t verify this, I believe that the first six miles or so of trail would be Class 1. I hiked today in trail running shoes, though boots, particulary water proof ones, would have proven helpful in a few spots. I can’t vouch for the other four miles of trail, though my friend claims that they do get more difficult as the trail goes deeper into the park.

Profile in the side of a rock, photo by smalltowngirl

According to the park map, there is a total 10 miles of hiking along a large figure eight trail. At least one shorter trail exists. My friend and I hiked half of one of the two looped trails that make up the larger figure eight. Trail signs recommend that you allow up to nine hours to hike the full 10 miles, though based on my experience this afternoon, I think that nine hours is a very conservative hike time.

Trail Head, photo by smalltowngirl

Hawn State Park is located 60 miles south of St. Louis between Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in Ste. Genevieve County. The drive from Farmington is roughly 20 minutes, while the drive from the intersection of Hwy 32 and Interstate 55 is slightly shorter. The park is located off of Route 144, which can be reached from Missouri State Highway 32 in Ste. Genevieve County. Find detailed directions here.

This small town girl recommends Hawn State Park for longer, overnight hikes, as well as for family picnics and day trips.