Karkaghne 10-15 to 10-17

[Mike Baxter]

What a trip. Ill try to make this short but informative. Started on Sat the 15th about 1:30 PM. Gunnis Creek was our first neat spot nice slow flowing water. The climb out was steep. Water felt good and cold. Came across several roads that werent on our topo map. Lots of rocky walking. Just before dark we climbed the hill atop Sutton Bluff campground. Never been so happy to see RVs and smell camp fire rough ten miles. Stayed at Sutton Bluff on Sat night. It was nice to have running water. Nice little campground if you dint mind the sound of ATVs which we heard almost all day. Broke camp talked to a few ATV people and headed out. The climb out of there to the bluffs was rough but rewarding. Probably the best views we saw on this section. I was kind of worried about the narrow section as described in the guidebook. It wasnt as bad as it sounded. The bench was a nice resting spot and GREAT view. After that it felt like we climbed FOREVER. Reaching Bee Fork for lunch was worth it. NICE place for a break. The water was nice and welcoming. Probably my favorite part of this section. Not long after then we came to a forest road and met 3 guys from St Louis. They were going from 72/PP to J trailhead. They warned us about some briars and overgrown parts ahead. They were right not a horrible 3 or 4 miles but no picnic either. Had we been in shorts it wouldve been worse. A few nice views from here but a lot more root balls and washouts the rocks were really rough on our feet. After a few breaks and map reviewing we kept walking. With 1 liter of water between us we FINALLY got to Grasshopper Hollow at sunset. Found filtered and treated water made dinner set up camp and hit the sack. We camped a little closer to the road leading into Grasshopper Hollow than we wanted but didnt see or hear any cars on the road. Got up around 7 AM to the sound of cars on the highway. Broke camp and headed out soon after breakfast. This was the best part of the trail a little climb but nothing like day 2. The walk through Vest Hollow was very nice on our sore feet. Reached the trailhead at 72/PP around 11:30 AM. Called Brushy Creek and got a ride back there. Overall it was a good trip. Parts around the 12 to 15 mile markers were VERY rough and slightly overgrown. Then again from Grasshopper Hollow to the end were very nice. I hope I didnt leave anything out have questions ask away. THANK YOU to the OTA and all volunteers for all the work you do. MB

[Mike Baxter]

I forgot about the group of 8 horseback riders we met. It was different for sure. We got off the trail and they passed. The horses and riders were as spooked as we were. We also dogged horse dung for about the first ten miles and a few miles more past Suttton Bluff.

[mike]

Nice report Mike! This section is next on my agenda after I get back from the Grand Canyon next month. One thing that is for sure is there is no shortage of rocks in the Ozarks. Folks that have not hiked these trails don't realize how tough they can be.

Another Mike.

[Mike Baxter]

Thanks Mike. It was hard to recall everything we encountered. You are right you dont know until you hike the OT. The only way people are going to see these things is to get out and go. MB

[Groundpounder]

That about sums up the trip! One thing to keep in mind...the topo maps that I printed from the OT website were out of date (2001 to be exact). The maps from the trip planner were more accurate as they were from 2008. All of the downed trees required a reroute and added mileage. It is also a little disorienting...the trail doesn't match the map and I am one that likes to know exactly where I am.

[ToddH]

The OT Maps section was updated in May to use the same maps as the planner. If you can tell me where you went to and got to the old maps, I will get it corrected.

Thanks,
Todd