Journies Outside

Category: Trail

  • Hemmed Hollow Trail

    Buffalo National River

    Compton AR

    October 26, 2024

    When I arrived, which was just after sunrise, there were only two other cars in the parking lot. When I finished, and got back to the car, the lot was pretty much full. I never did see anyone on the way down, and only started seeing people when I was starting back up.

    It is rated a hard trail and but it was pretty easy to navigate. It wasn’t well marked but the trail to the waterfall was well used so I had no trouble finding it. There are a couple of signs along the way to help with direction.

    On the way down, it will be narrow in spots, rocky, and tree root covered but there are also stone “steps” that will help with some of the gravity as you will be descending about 1400 feet. It is so hard to describe the magnitude of the waterfall. Even though it was only a trickle the day I was there, the sheer size of it and the beauty is so nice and because I was there alone, so very peaceful.

    On the way back, I decided to follow the trail down to the river. It only added another 1.4 miles or so to the original 5 miles. The river trail is relatively easy. The river was mostly dry the day I was there so I was able to walk out into the center and across it. It too was very pretty.

    The fall colors added to the beauty of the entire hike. The hike back to the top did get me out of breathe a couple of times. The steps did help with the ascent. I did have to crawl over a few downed trees and over a few rocks but overall a very nice hike and well worth the drive.

    You can see a few more photos on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Center Point to Goat Trail

    Near Huntsville AR

    October 10, 2024

    To find the parking lot, which is very small, you will see a sign that says No Parking, look just to the right of this sign and you will see a small driveway. This will lead you to the parking lot. It isn’t very big but this seems to be a popular trail so I would arrive early if possible.

    This is rated a hard hike but until you reach the Goat Trail it really is pretty easy. You will be going down and walking on rocks and tree roots. There are a few times when you will crawl over or until a downed tree but this was a great fall hike and the colors were so pretty.

    When I reached the intersection of the Center Point Trail and the Goat Trail I did use the AllTrails App to see where I was. There really isn’t any markings along the way but the Goat Trail is very popular and the path is well worn. Just stay to the right to find the path. Once on it, the trail will become a little more difficult, steep, narrow, but beautiful.

    I was able to see the river below once I reached the rock cliffs. The height of just how far up you are and the distance you can see is just remarkable.

    The walk back to the car really wasn’t very difficult but this is when I started to encounter more visitors. While at the rocks, I only saw one other person.

    Overall, it was a great hike and a beautiful day.

    I have a few more photos on my Facebook page that you can check out as well. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Rough Rider – Homestead Loop

    Rough Rider – Homestead Loop

    January 1, 2025

    It was a beautiful day to be out hiking in the woods. January 1st is “First Day Hike” and I decided to visit Neosho, Missouri. Although the High Ground Bike Preserve is a designated bike trail, hiking is allowed. I was the only one on the trail today until I was leaving and then others were getting on the trail.

    I started at the main trailhead in the park area. I hiked counterclockwise and therefore did the Homestead Loop first. The trails were mostly dirt and smaller rocks. Once in a while, there would be a tree root to watch out for. The trail isn’t really marked but it is well worn and easily followed. I kept coming across, “DO NOT ENTER DOWNHILL AREA” signs and couldn’t figure out where they started so I could travel down. About half way around, I came to a second parking area and that is the trailhead for the Rough Rider Ridge Trail.

    I did see many gray squirrels and a couple of deer while on the trail. If you start and go right, not to far down the trail you will see the ruins of a couple of buildings. Keep following the Homestead Trail and eventually you will come upon the ruins and be able to get a closeup view of them. If this was a house at one time, I would have loved to live there. You are up on the top of the ridge and can see a great distance. It would have been a beautiful view each day.

    Beginning at the ruins, I started to see candy canes placed along the trail. That was a nice addition to the scenery. At times you will travel through the woods, then you may come to a clearing, or the area may become more bush than tree. It appears that there may have been a fire in the area as many of the trees had burn marks. You can also tell that at some point, there had been wind damage because there were several trees that had fallen and the trail had been cleared. I also found a lawn chair at the bottom of a ravine; in one area there were several tires just randomly placed, which was odd; and then a can just off by itself. Seeing these items in what seemed like random places makes you wonder how they got there because it would not have been an easy task to get them there. There were also old concrete chunks in odd places and a “junk/trash” pile.

    After I completed the intended loop and because I was the only one on the trail, I decided to go up one of the DO NOT ENTER areas to see if I could find out there the downhill begins. I went up the La-Z-Boy Downhill and came to the area where it and the Gone Rogue and Wildcat Chase trails begin. I still couldn’t figure out how I missed seeing this area so I followed a trail that led up to them and ended back up on the Homestead Trail. (At the intersection where you can go right and stay on the Homestead Trail or go left on an unmarked trail, follow the unmarked trail and it will take you to the beginning of the downhill trails.)

    This wasn’t the most exciting trail but I enjoyed every minute because it is a moderately hard trail and you will get a workout with all the ups and downs.

    The Morse Park is rather large and it does seem to have lots of paved trails to walk as I saw several people walking their dogs. There are play areas, a fishing area, a skateboarding area, and several ball parks. I have a feeling that in the summer this park is very busy. I did see restrooms but I do not know if they were open.

    Overall, a very nice trail and I will be returning when the ground is too wet to walk the dirt trails and see where the paved trails lead. This was a great way to start the new year.

    I have additional photos posted on Journies Outside Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Pike Hollow – Pinwoods Trails

    Pike Hollow – Pinwoods Trails

    June 22, 2024

    Today I hiked the Pike Hollow Trail which is rated a moderate trail but I really didn’t find it to be very difficult. It started out in mowed grass, then dirt and some rocks, with very few inclines. The spider webs were HORRIBLE and I felt like a mummy wrapped in webs. It wasn’t the most exciting trail but it was nice to get out and explore another area. I did manage to scare up a wild turkey, racoon, turtle, squirrel, and a deer. There was a small creek crossing a couple of times but it was easy to cross without getting wet. For the most part it was a completely shaded trail. It did have a few outcroppings and an overlook area.

    Soon after the trail starts you will see the Pinwoods Trail but keep to the left and follow the Pike Hollow Trail. A little later you will come to a white trail. This is the connector trail and is a very easy dirt trail. I followed the Pike Hollow Trail and about half way around you will come to the white connector trail again. When I reached this point, I did follow the white trail down and back up just to say I had covered it too. Then I continued on the Pike Hollow Trail. Toward the end of it you will connect with the Pinwoods Trail. I kept to the left and followed it to the end. Then I was back at the beginning and walking the gravel Pinwoods Trail.

    It was a somewhat eerie feeling when the first sign you see is to be bear aware. Luckily I didn’t see any. The Pike Hollow Trail is about 4.5 miles and the Pinwood Trail is about .6 miles. It took me 3 hours to hike the Pike Hollow Trail and that was mostly due to the fact that quite often I had to stop and remove the cobwebs and spiders from me. The Pinwoods Trail only took about 11 minutes.

    On the drive down and back, I did see a couple of deer, a rabbit, racoon, fox, and squirrel.

    At the start of the trail there are a couple of picnic tables and a primitive restroom.

    I have a few more photos from these trails on the Facebook page

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Acorn – Devil’s Kitchen – Turkey Penn Hollow

    Acorn – Devil’s Kitchen – Turkey Penn Hollow

    November 22, 2024

    The plan for today was to hike the Turkey Pen Trail, but when I arrived I discovered that there was a little nature trail at the parking lot and the Acorn Trail and the Devin’s Kitchen Trail all were within the circle of the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail so I decided to hike them all. In total that put me at about 10 miles for the day.

    It was a beautiful day. The temperature was 30 – 40 while I was out. There was a little breeze once in awhile that was cool but overall, very pleasant temperatures for hiking.

    I saw two people at about the 3.5 mile marker and then at about the 6 miles marker I came across a single person on the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail. Other than these encounters, I had the trails to myself. At times you will be far enough away that you won’t hear any traffic. Because of the time of year, I heard very few birds. I did come across a deer on the Acorn Trail and a doe and fawn on the Devin’s Kitchen Trail. A few squirrels were here and there on the trails.

    The Turkey Pen Hollow Trail does have controlled burning at times so this was my second time to try and hike it. If it is closed, the parking lot will be marked off so parking is not allowed. If this parking lot is full, there is another parking lot to the right and one to the left that you may be able to use.

    There is a visitor’s center at the entrance of the park that has a bathroom. Or at the end of the Devin’s Kitchen Trail there is a primitive bathroom and picnic shelters.

    This park is very popular so planning ahead for crowds is advised.

    I have a few more photos from today on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Kessler Mountain – First Trip

    Kessler Mountain – First Trip

    November 29, 2024

    The original plan was to hike the Mount Kessler Loop that the AllTrails app had but I lost GPS and signal early on so I wondered around and still managed to do about 10 miles. I really enjoyed my hike. The trail isn’t really marked well. You will find trail markers where the trail intersects but that is about all. If you hike when the leaves have fallen and cover the trail, like the conditions were for me today, you will need to watch for the path. It is still visible but in some places you will need to look hard. I would recommend downloading a map before you go or have a paper map with you. On the way back to the parking lot, I did come across a trail map which was helpful but at about the same time, I also had cell service again.

    The trailhead isn’t really marked. When you pull into the parking lot where the AllTrails app takes you, you will see a “gravel” road and a path to the left with a wooden bridge. Take the path with the bridge. Soon you will come to a marker the has Last Call and Saddle Up, this is where I started. When you reach the edge of the woods, the Last Call trail is to the right and Saddle Up is to the left. They will intersect shortly on down the trail.

    When I reached the intersection of Terrapin Station, Crazy Mary, and Fayetteville Traverse, I lost reception. I ended up following the Fayetteville Traverse Trail all the way to the road where it ends/begins with the parking lot. I was very glad I followed this trail as I came across an abandoned cabin, and because I started out on a 25 degree morning at sunrise, I came across some frost flowers at the top of the mountain in the clearing. After the flowers, you will come to an intersection of Rock City, Flight Training, and Fayetteville Traverse. Here I followed the Flight Training/Fayetteville Traverse trail all the way to the road. I turned back and because I had only seen one other person on the trail so far, I followed the trail that says One Way Do No Enter. This is a hard trail and if it is a busy time, I would definitely not recommend doing this as it is very steep but a great work out. You will need to back track the way you came, back to the intersection of Rock City, Flight Training, and Fayetteville Traverse. Once reaching this intersection again, I followed the Rock City trail and it lives up to its name. It is a very rocky trail but has lots of rock formations and very pretty today.

    I took the Egg Beater trail to the Western Myth and then on to Spell Bound. This was also a challenging route to take. After Spell Bound, I took the Western Myth back to the intersection of the Goat Trail. I made my way back to the Serpentine, Trent Trail, and Fayetteville Traverse trails. Following the Trent Trail will put you back on the Terrapin Station trail and back to the intersection that will lead back to the parking lot.

    If you want to follow this route, this is the best I can do for a description as I was just wondering around trying to find my way back but loving every minute of the hike. I was doing mostly moderate to hard trails. I do hope to go back one day and try to the Loop which was the original plan. I believe the Terrapin Station and Crazy Mary trails will take you passed some really neat rock formations.

    It was a beautiful day today and by the time I ended it was about 44 degrees and I had taken my gloves and hat off. There was barely any wind. You couldn’t have asked for a better day to hike. At the end I did meet two bikers that were just started out so all in all I had the trails to myself today.

    I did see a couple of deer near the parking lot at the first, but along the trail for about the first hour or so I saw many others here and there. The gray squirrels were in abundance.

    I have a few more photos on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Bashore Ridge Loop – Dutton Hollow Loop – Historic Van Winkle Trail – Sinking Stream Trail

    Bashore Ridge Loop – Dutton Hollow Loop – Historic Van Winkle Trail – Sinking Stream Trail

    December 21, 2024

    It was a beautiful day for a hike today. I traveled over four different trails beginning with the Bashore Ridge Loop at sunrise (about 7:30 am) today when the gates were opened to the parking lot. There is quite a bit of parking at the Bashore Ridge Loop Trailhead and there is also a parking lot across the road. Based on the size of the parking lots, I’m pretty sure the Bashore Ridge Loop, Dutton Hollow Loop and the Little Clifty Creek Loop are very popular. There is a vault bathroom in the parking lot. I wasn’t able to travel the Little Clifty Creek Loop today as it was still closed from the tornado damage to the trail earlier this year. The park crew and/or volunteers have worked a lot of hours to get the Bashore Ridge Loop and Dutton Hollow Loop cleared for visitors. You could see the destruction all along the trail. I can only imagine how beautiful these trails were but they were still very pretty today.

    I traveled on the Bashore Ridge Loop first and went counter clockwise. This is rated a moderate trail but I found it very easy to travel. It is a rocky and tree root trail. I did walk down to the Beaver Lake Overlook and was able to get pretty close to the water. It was very pretty at the water and it was early enough in the day that the fog was gliding over the water. I did meet two other people at this area. Other than that encounter, I had the Bashore Ridge Loop and Dutton Hollow Loop all to myself.

    When I got back to the Bashore Ridge Loop and Dutton Hollow Loop intersection, I followed the Dutton Hollow Loop in a counter clockwise direction as well. This trail is rated as easy but I really found it about the same as the Bashore Ridge Loop trail. When I was at the bottom of the hollow, I did come across a couple of deer and a chipmunk. These were the only wildlife I saw all day.

    There is a shooting range close by and because of the noise, this may be the reason there is very little wildlife to see. I did hear a couple of birds but even they weren’t singing. This may also be because it is winter right now. Overall, I found these two trails very nice to travel over.

    From here I went about a mile away and visited the Historic Van Winkle Trail and Sinking Stream Trail. These also must be very popular trails as I did encounter three different families here. The parking lot is large, there is a vaulted bathroom and a picnic table here.

    The Historic Van Winkle Trail will be paved for the first little bit and then it will become small gravel. There are signs along the short easy trail that tell the history of the area. There isn’t a lot to see but there is a small stream that runs through the area.

    The Sinking Stream Trail is also an easy trail and is gravel, small rocks, and dirt surfaces. This time was loaded with so many frost flowers. (I did find frost flowers on all four trails today.) The trail follows and crosses the stream but you will have bridges to use to cross over the water. This trail was probably the quietest one for the day. It appears that during the spring/summer months, you will be able to find lots of flowering plants.

    The day may have started out about 24 degrees but it was sunny with very little wind and ended about 35 degrees.

    The Bashore and Dutton Hollows Loops are about 4 miles each. The Van Winkle and Sinking Stream Trails are about ½ mile each. On each of the trails, there are a few benches scattered along the trail but they are few and far between.

    There are a few other photos from this adventure on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Kessler Mountain – Second Trip

    Kessler Mountain – Second Trip

    December 6, 2024

    This was my second visit to this area and I had planned to follow the original trails that I didn’t follow on my first visit. Well, this did not happen again and I made my own trail.

    I started on the Saddle Up trail which is just to the left of the entrance into the wooded area. When I came to the first intersection, I turned to the right and followed it to The Last Call Trail. When I reached the intersection of Terrapin Station, turned to the left and followed it. This trail will lead you passed several large rock formations. Where Terrapin Station and Chinkapin Oak trails join, I followed Chinkapin Oak. I really enjoyed this trail. It was very diverse and had different terrains to travel through. It follows along the edge of the mountain. (There is a place where it meets Bewitched. I hope one day to go back and do this trail.)

    Chinkapin Oak will intersect with Crazy Mary. I took the Crazy Mary trail to the left to the intersection of Trent Trail and Spellbound. There were workers working on the Spellbound Trail so I turned back to the intersection of Chinkapin Oak and Crazy Mary and followed Crazy Mary. Not far after starting Crazy Mary, I came across a “pond” on the top of the mountain. Crazy Mary will take you along the edge of the mountain at times and you can see quite a ways. I enjoyed this trail very much.

    When it intersected with Fayetteville Traverse, I followed the Fayetteville trail to Trent Trail. I knew the Trent Trail would take me back to the intersection of it, Spellbound, and Crazy Mary but I hadn’t walked this area before so I walked to the intersection and back to Serpentine and then followed it to Fayetteville Traverse.

    This path had me hiking almost 9 miles. It was a work out as most of the trails are difficult and moderate. The Last Call and Trent Trail are the easiest in that they are a little wider and smoother in several areas but there are still roots and rocks.

    It was a very enjoyable hike.

    When I arrived, two runners were leaving and as I reached the parking lot one person was starting out so I had the trails to myself.

    People have marked this area as having bathrooms but I still have not been able to find any.

    I have a few photos of the day on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836

  • Cedar Niles Park

    Cedar Niles Park

    December 24, 2024

    Today’s hike was a last-minute outing and am I so very glad that I went. The original plan was to do the 5 mile Cedar Niles Columbine Loop but as usual when I start following the trails, I get a little side-tracked and want to cover more than planned. (I’m already there, might as well. Right?)

    At the “B” marker, you can go to the right and follow the Billy Goat Trail but today I chose to go to the left and follow the Columbine trail clockwise. The trail is nice larger and flatter rocks with a little dirt sometimes. You will travel through the trees and then you may come to a little clearing. There is an overlook just passed the intersection where the Scapegoat trail/trailhead sign is. You can see quite a distance from the ledge.

    When I came to the Columbine Bypass and Columbine Trail intersection, “F”, I chose to stay on the Columbine Trail at this time. When I reached the “J”, I took the Tech Loop. The Tech Loop is a harder trail than the Columbine, which is rated as a moderate trail. The Tech Loop trail is narrow and has lots of ups and downs but it also has some nice rock ledges. When I finished the Tech Loop, I did walk back to the “J” intersection so I didn’t miss anything.

    Between “L” and “M” I encountered several deer in the area. When I reached the car, I followed the Columbine ByPass trail to where it meets the Columbine Trail and turned back around and at the car, once again, continued along the Columbine Trail. When I once again came to the Columbine Trail and Billy Goat intersection, I followed the Billy Goat trail to the open ledge area near the Scapegoat trail/trailhead sign. The Billy Goat trail is also a harder and narrower trail. At the ledge, I turned back around and went back to the parking lot.

    Following my route today I did about 9 miles. You can download a map of the park and see where all the letters are and it will kind of give you an idea of the trail I traveled. My trail had me seeing the letters in this order: B, C, E, F, J, L, M, N, H, I. I think it might be fun to go back another day and try to follow the letters in order and see that route.

    The parking lot for the trailhead is a nice size and has a port-a-potty and water station. This is a very popular trail area for hikers and bikers. I was the first one there today but when I left, the parking lot was completely full. I had the trail mostly to myself and about half way through I started encountering others on the trail. Also, because I started out early, about sunrise, the trail was pretty solid but as the temperatures began to warm and the trails became busier, the trails became wet and muddy. The wet conditions were due to the snow, ice, and rain that had been in the area previously. I did check with the Johnson County Parks website and made sure that the trail was going to be open. The Urban Trails of Kansas City also shows trails that are open and closed.

    There is also a paved trail that starts at the parking lot. I’m not exactly sure how far it goes but I was able to see it when walking on the Columbine Loop and the Billy Goat Trails. A nice alternative if the trail happens to be closed.

    Overall, a very nice hike and I would recommend.

    There are a few more photos of the things I came across along the trail on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571357578836