I have always found Hawn State Park to be the jewel in Missouri's State Parks. It has the most diverse terrain and offers a good section of different eco systems to walk through. It has some Peaks, Pine Woodlands, Wetlands, Savanah and a great flowing creek, Pickle Springs Creek. I have hiked these trails for decades. Since starting RV "glamping" many years ago, we have only stayed in Hawn once before, the demand for the very few RV sites with water is intense and the Park is booked 6-12 months in advance. When we were at Echo Bluff RV campsite in March and were talking with the campground hosts there, they actually looked up Hawn and found a weekend (4th of July) so we booked it.
As usually happens when you make plans some 4 months in advance, things change and more activities get added to our calendars. In this case Vicky had to work late on the Friday and had to spend some time with her mom. My mom got sick and of course there is our dog Sam, who is afraid of both storms and fireworks, so someone needed be able to be home with him!
Not wanting to miss a great 3 nights in the RV we decided I would take it, set it up on Friday and Vicky would join for a much time as she could over the weekend. Hawn is only 90 minutes from our house so it is easier to get too.
Day 1- Friday
Pickle Springs Creek is feed by Pickle Springs just down the road about 4 miles and usually always has nice water that is fun to play in once it gets really hot. There are many granite cascades and plenty of places for kids to play in the water.
Several larger pools make for a great place to soak your feet or just sit down in the water to cool off
The creek is alive with lots of wildlife. Small fish, tad poles, frogs, and of course snakes. I spotted this water snake (not a venomous cotton mouth, notice the round eyes and head that is not a triangular shape) just hugging the shore. I got pretty close and when he moved I was taken aback as he was about 4.5 feet long!
The granite outcroppings around the park are another reason this park is so interesting
The connector trails could have used a bit of lopping and pruning
I tried to use the camera in more manual ways to get some "artsy" shots. Not all that successful
Just a touch over 6 miles at a leisurely pace, Pickle Spring Creek is very rocky so you have to watch your footing.
Back to the RV for dinner and a beer or two and to sit outside and listen to the cicadas, music and relax. Not many RV's have showed up yet, being Friday, but I image it will be full by tomorrow.
Day 2- Saturday
Vicky is coming today, after she gets her chores done, but that won't be till around noon. I have the morning to walk the trails again.
I was going to walk both loops of Whispering Pines (North and South) so I headed off just after breakfast.
Breakfast in the RV is usually a time to breakout all the treats, so today was no expection. I was up early to grind and make pour over coffee and then eggs, bacon and biscuits.
I am ready
It was a start at the main entrance to the trails today, across the two bridges and into the woods.
I had come back yesterday on the W.P. trail along the bluff overlooking the creek, so I didn't want to do that again, so I headed up connector #3, which I think is probably the prettiest stretch of trail (1.3 miles) currently in the Park.
to the top of the connector you stay up high for most of this loop. You climb up to about 950 feet a couple of times. The canopy is full, but you can get views at various spots. It was a really nice morning, temps around 68-70 degrees with no one out on the trail this early yet. Later in the day the Rangers would actually close the park due to too many people and the parking lots full.
My plan was to break off and do the south loop of the Whispering Pines trail but when reached the split and started down the trail, I couldn't really penetrate the foliage to go much beyond about 500 yards. There have been confirmed a case of the Lyme disease that inhibits the metabolizing of red meat from this park last year, so I decided that it wasn't worth bashing around in the weeds even though I was wearing pants and long sleeves that had been soaked in permethrin!
I backtracked and continued on just the North Loop
The best view was just under 1000 feet
It also had a very nice clearing I didn't remember but it would be a nice place to hang the hammock if I wanted to carry some extra water to the top for night and stealth camp
The trail has been rerouted at the end to climb back up on the bluff above the RV park to allow the older trail to recover. There are several large rock outcroppings that make a great view down, down!
My morning route is below. the added yellow circle is the South Loop that was too overgrown
This loop took me till about 10 am, Vicky wasn't due till around noon, so I decided to hit the full White Oak trail loop which is another 4.4 miles
The loop was not in great shape either and this one is very popular so lots of people on the trail with almost all of them not dressed to go wading through the high grass and overgrowth.
I did manage to spot some gems in the growth. Blackberries coming into season. Most were still red and very sour,
but just a few were perfect!
Violets or Periwinkle, I can never remember but they were all over the section with the blackberry bushes
White Oak Trail Loop
Back to the RV and a shower, just before Vicky arrived
RV time is about relaxing We watched a movie, sat outside, watched the RV's come in and talked to people as they walked or biked by, especially if they had dogs. We enjoyed the company that came around to say hello
Later we got the grille out and I began to prepare our favorite "camping" meal
Yum
very relaxing.
Day 3- Sunday
Sunday sleep in and and another big breakfast. After breakfast we went for a short walk on the Pickle Creek trail again.
The Pickle Creek trail is a rocky one.
After the walk and another shower. We watched more movies and then around 1 pm, Vicky had to go back home to finish with some other errands that needed to be done this weekend. Plus our dog Sam couldn't be left alone with the fireworks coming up tonight.
Being alone again meant going for another walk. I wanted to do the connector 3 again and then double back along the creek and and up the ridge again.
more overgrowth through the pine forest section.
A well known landmark on this section is "picnic table" rock.
Crossing Pickle Creek the first time going counter clockwise.
Crossing the second time
Getting back to the RV and one more shower (I wanted to know how long my water tank would last, since Hawn does not have water hookups at each site, I know the answer, just about 3 full days.) We had 5 showers and washed dishes each night. The RV holds about 50 gallons of fresh water.
Tonight's menu was for bratwursts from the meat market and I also made some home made onion rings... they were delicious.
More local beer and some home made blackberry pie from the same meat market and I was one satisfied camper.
One more fire
and I watched the campground settle down for the night. No fireworks just peace and quiet.
good night.
Day 4- Monday
No hiking today! LOL. Slept in, coffee and started cleaning up the RV to head home. I got everything done around 11 am and I was off to home. I watched most of other RV go before me. This RV campground doesn't have sites with water or sewer connections, but does have a nice bathhouse with all that. I recommend this park highly. It was a really great weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Because of spammers, I moderate all messages. Your comments should be posted shortly- Thank you