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Salt Lick Trail: A Short and Sweet Experience
The Perseid meteor shower of 2018 was unlike any other for Mollie and I. We had only just started to really get to know each other, and for some reason, she trusted this guy with an idea to hike the 3-mile Salt Lick Trail at night, lay on top of a cliff, and listen to some tunes commingle with the annual light show. At the time I was serving tables, and after badgering the manager for a while I managed to get my shift cut short so I could pick up Mollie and see some stars. The Perseids are spectacular and something worth being so excited about, but they weren't…
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Ozark Trail Between the Rivers Section: A Private Excursion
Slightly over a year ago, I embarked on my first-ever backpacking trip with Eric as my guide. We had carefully selected a section of the Ozark Trail: part of the Between the Rivers section plus a loop that ran along the Eleven Point River. We also had heard there was a climbable lookout tower in the area. With the whole weekend free, we had our hearts set on covering 19 miles over 2.5 days.
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How to Safely Forage for Mushrooms
Mushrooms are mysterious lifeforms. Many are edible. Many contain dangerous, or even deadly, toxins. There is much we don't know about a lot of these toxins. The Destroying Angel (below) is a prime example of why it is crucial to educate yourself and be certain of what you have harvested before deciding whether or not to consume any mushroom.
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4 Things You Need to Start Mushroom Hunting
Interested in mushroom hunting but not quite sure how to get started? The Trails for Two Mushroom Hunting Starter Guide will walk you through how to become a successful mushroom hunter and stay safe while enjoying the nutritious bounty of the earth. This section will cover what you need in order to start mushroom hunting. The good news is that you need very little!
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Brushy Creek Loop: (Probably) the Most Remote Trail in Missouri
The end-of-the-week forecast advised us to head to the woods. This particular middle-of-nowhere patch of forest is one of, if not the, largest contiguous areas of forest in Missouri. It just might be the most remote area Missouri has to offer. Mollie and I cut our Friday workdays a bit short, arriving at the Himont Campground in the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry by 7 PM. Our sights were set on the Brushy Creek Trail, an ambitious, 16-mile loop (AllTrails says 14 miles) that starts at the Himont Campground. Little did we know, due to the pandemic, we had entered a closed county and all state campgrounds had been temporarily closed.…
