Below is a map of our route (in red) along with a hand-drawn route (yellow) obtained from the Willow Springs office of the US Forest Service. Significant points are marked on the map and explained in the text below.
These notes are from the check-out trip taken by Kale Horton and John Roth on
May 22, 2003 along the North Fork section of the Ozark Trail from Highway AP
near Blue Hole to a trailhead one mile west of Pomona.
POINT 1: There is a gravel road just south of the bridge over Dry Creek, on the
east side of Highway AP. This was our entry point to the trail. The road is not
signed with a number nor access restrictions.
POINT 2: About 100 yards down the gravel road we reached to trail. To the
southwest, the trail continues to AP through dense brush. To the immediate west,
the gravel road serves as the trail. There are no impediments to stop vehicular
traffic, and the road appears to have frequent and recent ORV usage. We began
placing OT markers 50 yards from this point.
POINT 3: The trail veers sharply off the main gravel road and up a hillside on a
double-track trail.
POINT 4: The trail leaves the double-track and heads toward Dry Creek. From here
to Point 8 someone has signed the trail with plastic orange washers nailed to
trees. These markers are spaced 30-60 feet apart. There is no apparent tread; it
is a marked route through untreated woody hillside and brushy bottomland.
POINT 5: First of two switchbacks heading up the hill from the bottomland. The
soil is rocky and there is a discernable 12-inch path, which is either from
light foot/horse traffic or rudimentary pulaski work. The trail climbs the hill
and then descends back down to the bottom along the peak of a narrow ridge. At
the bottom the trail makes an abrupt turn through untreated bottomland before
connecting to the double-track at Point 6.
POINT 6: The trail connects with a double-track trail that extends from Lovers
Leap to (county/forest?) road 703. There is considerable ATV traffic to Lovers
Leap.
POINT 7: Lovers Leap is a series of rock overhangs which extend 10-30 feet from
a bluff and 40-50 feet from the steep hillside. Just short of the bluff the
trail makes a sharp north-northeast turn, leaving the ATV trail. We stopped
posting OT markers at this point. The path has no apparent tread work and is
overgrown, but with the help of the orange ‘washers,’ we were able to continue
with few problems for the next half-mile to Point 8.
POINT 8: The trail crosses a gravel road next to a cattle-crossing that is the
entrance to a field towards to the south. The next quarter-mile reflects the
only obvious tread work we witnessed on our hike. This is a good section of
side-slope trail and is easy to follow.
POINT 9: Another gravel road crossing.
POINT 10: This general area goes through a timber sale and snakes back and forth
with the help of grey diamonds and blue ribbons. The trail is overgrown without
apparent tread. The trail crosses a red-ribboned path along what might be a fire
line.
POINT 11: From here to Point 12 there is no trail. The area shows signs of a
significant wildfire, with burn marks 10-20 feet up some pines. The ground is
littered with burnt timber. We saw no markers nor tread, and made our way
through this area by following the GPS receiver’s downloaded copy of a
hand-drawn map obtained from the Willow Springs office.
POINT 12: The trail follows a double-track road through stand of
intermittently-spaced tall pines lined with thick pine saplings. We found
occasional OT markers and grey diamonds from here to Point 13.
POINT 13: For the next mile we followed occasional markers first down
established double-track and feint trail. The trail became less obvious the
further we walked.
POINT 14: T he trail disappears. We found a ribbon tied around a tree just as
the trail reached an overgrown double-track path made by either logging
operations or ATV usage. We could not find any markers, ribbons or a path east
of this point, so followed the double-track to a gravel road and made our way to
Dry Creek. We observed no place along the gravel road with markers or obvious
trail crossing. From this point until Point 15, our route reflects where we
walked and not the trail itself.
POINT 15: After bushwhacking along Dry Creek, we found a series of blue ribbons
that matched the hand-drawn route from our Willow Springs map. This area is
severely overgrown and shows no signs of tread work. Ribbons and grey markers
were found in small bunches with nothing in-between.
POINT 16: The route goes through a clear-cut, perhaps 10 years-old. The area is
dense with saplings and we followed the GPS route and found 2-3 blue ribbons;
again, no tread.
POINT 17: We found double-track with grey diamonds.
POINT 18: Markers lead us through an open area with fire rings, then down a
short ORV road to the gravel road crossing.
POINT 19: A few markers through thick slash. No real trail. Difficult to
traverse.
POINT 20: We reached a small wet area which might be an old stock pond or a
damned fen. We found no markers in this area. We had been on the trail for over
eight hours and were not sure if we could make it back to the Pomona trailhead
through the forest by nightfall, so we took a detour and walked along the
roadside to Highway P and on the trailhead.
POINT 21: The Pomona trailhead, located 1 mile west of Pomona. There is a gravel
road on the south side of Highway P, and the trailhead is located 50-100 yards
on the right. There is a circle drive for parking, which is overgrown and
bordered by old tires, appliances and trash.
Notes by John Roth. Contact via email at
john.roth@gmail.com for additional information.
Link: hand-drawn map of the trail from
the USFS Willow Springs office.
