This morning we decided to drive the short distance up to the Drury
Mincy Conservation Area just across the border in Missouri and hike along one
of the many ridgelines. Later this
afternoon a big storm is supposed to move in, so we get an early start. We drive up the gravel Mincy Road all the way
to the end at the locked gate and park at the north side of the road where
there is room for 4-5 vehicles. For more on the Drury Mincy CA see: (112 Bear Mountain Loop) and (111 Bee Creek and Cornell Rd.)
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roadside boulders
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Past the gate we head south still on the road that I’m going to call
‘Mincy Ridge Road’ since this isn’t a trail
but an actual road though it doesn’t appear to be an ‘old road’. Immediately we pass the tightly spaced
rounded boulders I saw on my hike here last winter and continue south up the
hill. This is easy hiking on the nice
wide and clean road, with just some gentle hills to go up and down. We soon pass another gate, this one open and
continue uphill to a food plot numbered ‘26’.
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wide, easy to follow road
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Around the ridgetop clearing that is
the food plot, coming down the other side is a stock pond just off the
road. This scene repeats three more
times: food plot clearings with small stock ponds, two of the plots are
equipped with tree stands for deer hunters.
Although this ridge doesn’t have any spectacular vistas, there are many nice
views into the valleys off both sides of the ridge. The views should open up becoming even nicer once the trees finish dropping their
leaves. Incidentally, part of the reason
we choose to hike this road instead of one of the nearby trails is the thick
blanket of fallen leaves that has hidden the trails, making this nice wide
roadway much easier to follow.
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tree-stand
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At a fork in the road, we first follow the right branch all the way to
its end at another food plot, then head back and up the other fork also to the
end and yet another clearing. Although
we found nothing much to get excited about along this ridge, it was still an
enjoyable, easy hike on a beautiful fall day. Our total distance hiked today was just 2.7 miles with only 213 feet of
elevation gain, a very relaxing hike and since there are quite a few similar
routes here in the Drury Mincy Conservation Area, I plan to return many more
times.
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| big clearing (food plot) |
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