I was delighted to be asked to tag along with Jenny and Gwenda when they said they were going to hike the Blair Creek Section of the Ozark Trail in early December. I only then realized that I had not been on this section since 1999! As it turned out, Jenny needed to postpone and they rescheduled for this past weekend, making a perfect First Day 2026 hiking weekend. I have hiked with both over the past few years, because of the common hiking group we belong too. They are knocking off the entire Ozark Trail a section at a time and are wonderful hiking companions.
The Blair Creek Section is officially 26.5 miles long located right about half way along the 245 mile continuous section of the Ozark Trail. It is circled in black below.
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| Ozark Trail Map |
This section, along with the Current River section to the South, are relatively flatter than most other sections of the Ozark Trail and offer some great walking with very diverse scenery. You have woods, river views, Fens, and lots of Missouri's history is located in this region. It also has lots of logging and ATV activity in this section of the Mark Twain National Forest and the area is dominated by the operation of the Doe Run Company, who have mined Lead, Copper and Zinc for more than 160 years. They have provided employment for the area for decades, but their presence is noticed every day.
The plan was to meet on Thursday (New Year's Day) in the afternoon at the southern terminus of this section at Powder Mill, A trail head, parking area for hikers and boaters/floaters using the Current River. The Current River is nationally known for the quality of its floating and is recognized as a National Scenic Riverway with around 130 miles of floatable river.
I arrived in the mid afternoon and just having driven 3 hours from my house, I walked down to Blue Spring. The 6th largest spring in Missouri, producing about 87 million gallons of water per day and recognized as having the purest blue water color of any spring in Missouri.
Everything is pretty quiet here on New Year's Day 😄
Current River, low but flowing well.
Water coming up from under the base of the cliff
There are some good size fish swimming in the water as well.
View from on top of the spring
Back at the parking lot, Jenny and Gwenda arrived just before 5 pm. We made a big fire for a few hours and caught up since the last time we had hiked together
Everyone car camped (literally) sleeping in their cars, which for me was not a very comfortable night, being a bit too long to fit across the back seat of the truck... 😦
In the morning was breakfast before packing up. We would take one car to the northern trailhead and walk back to here.
Arriving around 9:30 at the Hwy 72/P Trailhead and signing in to the trailhead register.
All set and ready to go
The day was cold and dreary to start. The weather this weekend was going to be a mix of the sunny days and warmer temperatures and some much colder air that had been dominating the area off and on the past week. Starting temps today were in the mid 30's F and might reach the low 40's F.
The first 5 miles follows an old cog railway line that was used to move cut lumber along this section. It makes for flat and easy walking, a perfect way to start the day
You can see just how long and straight the old railway line was
More nice walking
There were some "tricky" creek crossing in this area, but we managed to keep our feet dry all day.
A cave large enough for a bear?
It is getting later in the day and this intersection is where we had planned to finish. We had planned to camp near Laxton spring However it is deep in a hollow along Blair Creek. We decided to grab water and head off trail to find a much higher campsite were it will be slightly warmer, less condensation and a chance at the last of any sunshine.
Very nice rock outcroppings and formation in the area of the Fen
Crossing a power line section we start to dive down into Laxton Hollow toward the junction where the new Upper Current Section starts, a spur section going west from the main North/South "spine" of the main continuous Ozark Trail.
A nice waterfall toward the bottom
We did climb up an old abandoned forest road from the creek at around 650' to just shy of 1200' and find very nice flat camp spots at the top of the hill.
Dinner was a bit chilly as the sun was going down just as we finished setting up. One of the distractions of this section, we noticed today and especially now, is the constant drone of the various Doe Run facilities in this area. Like far off highway noise, it is constant. The mining facilities run 24 hours per day, so the woods, especially if you are up high is never quiet.
The only sun we got the whole day was this "tease" as it was setting. I was glad we had decided to climb this high, it would be wet and cold lower down tonight
My tent
Gwenda
Day 2
I slept like the dead! It might have been the cool air and the exercise or might have been the 2-3 ounces of Irish Creme I put in my coffee at dinner, but either way I don't remember much after crawling into my sleeping bag, at the late our of around 6:30 pm 😆
We were however rudely awakened at around 6:00 am with the sound of rain. Not much but enough that everyone stayed in their tents and made breakfast in their vestibules and we didn't really get up and moving till around 8:30 to 9 am when the drizzle stopped.
I had a rather rude shock as I was packing up, I had a major tear in the fabric of my pack. The seam didn't rip, it was an actual fabric tear.
Pack crisis averted, we head out and back down the hill to join the trail. We have about the same mileage to do today as yesterday. There is no hurry this weekend, we are just trying to get within 6-7 miles of the end for an easier day Sunday.
And certainly more interesting water crossings, several today. We helped ourselves here by throwing a downed log across the creek to keep our feet dry.
By late morning the day is starting to look brighter, The clouds have blown out and the sun has returned with blue skies
Ice stalactites show that, in the shade, it is still chilly today
The sunshine has arrive as we continue down the side of Blair Creek
While at lunch we have a "yard sale" and get everything out that was wet from the rain this morning to dry while we have lunch. At the same time we are interrupted by 6 ATV side by sides coming down this road. This will be just the first of about a dozen more side by sides we would see and have to step out of the way for today.
I didn't take any pictures but they stopped directly in front of us so they could all get out and see the spring.
They were all super friendly and very nice people. They said they come down to this area every year at this time.
More turkey tail and caves in the rocks
Just a bit up the road is the Blair's Creek Cemetery. Some of the stones dating back to the late 1800's and some very recent.
We took a bit to explore the cemetery
Day 3
We got water in the creek of Holmes Hollow and followed the trail up hill. We arrived were we wanted to be after a couple of very steep climbs. The trail is routed straight up drainages in this section. Once we reached the top, it was just a short walk off trail at around mile 20.5.
Camp set up and dinner was a more civilized affair tonight. However the night promised to be cold as the sky would be clear. The last of the sunset was beautiful.
Looking out my tent, I was startled to see what could have looked like the sun setting but it was the full moon rising (Full Wolf Moon) appropriate for our setting.
The full moon was accompanied by the very bright planet Jupiter (you can see it just to the upper right of the moon, through the trees.
Day 3
We were not wrong about the temperatures last night. For me it was right at my tolerance level, maybe a bit too cold for what I brought. I slept, but not well. I got to around 25F (-4c). I had on everything I brought. Getting up and moving around was not fun, except the sunrise was beautiful
no one really wanted to get out of their tents!
Especially me!
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| Taken by Jenny |
Jenny
All bundled up, we did manage to get out and on the trail by 8:30
By the time we reached the cliffs a few miles from the end, the skies were blue and the walking was easy. The views made the day.
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| taken by Jenny |
If you look closely, in the field, you will see the wild horses which live along this section of the trail. They can be allusive, so it is great to spot them.
Crossing over Hwy 106
Signing out at Powder Mill
The last miles had been made up of talk about where will be have a traditional celebration lunch.
Fortunately the town of Ellington is close by and before I take Gwenda back to her car, we stop at Chico's Mexican Grill for lunch.
Thank you so much to Gwenda and Jenny for thinking to invite me on their adventure. This section, long forgotten by me, was a great weekend. The Blair Creek section is one of the top sections of the Ozark Trail.
It was everything I had hoped for an MUCH more!
