Here it is the middle of September and maybe it has cooled down enough that I can survive and actually enjoy hiking, we’ll see, I’m giving it a shot
anyway. I have picked Sam’s Throne for a
couple reasons: first the route I choose should be on trails the entire hike,
no bushwhacking. Second, this time of
year most waterfalls are dry, and third although we’ve been to Sam’s Throne SIA
many times I haven’t actually been to the
‘Sam’s Throne’ itself.
 |
a Sam's Throne view
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I park half a mile south of the main Sam’s Throne entrance at what I’m
calling Sam’s Throne parking area 4 (S4), the same parking spot used for our
hike to Valley of the Blind and Middle Earth Falls (see: 91 Valley of the Blind). The
parking area is good for maybe five vehicles and a desperation camping spot. I
head north past the gate signed ‘Road Closed’ downhill but easy hiking. |
parking at the trailhead
|
After just under a hundred yards the old road swings to the southwest
and continues downhill, just a little further I leave the road at a clear and steep trail to the right
(west). Steep, but not for long, the
trail levels out at a lovely little grotto/shelter with a nice wet weather fall
and loads of moss. The next 100 yards or
so is almost continuous low shallow shelters before a rocky bluffline break to
reach the trail on top, but I continue west. |
little grotto with wet weather fall
|
Now the trail heads downhill pretty steep into a real nice, big grotto
area with climber's anchor bolts everywhere.
This area contains a couple small shelters, a little spring, lots of
moss and beautiful multi-hued smooth bluffs all around. Also, this is the head of the canyon where the south facing bluffs transition to the east
facing bluffs. |
rock climbing area
|
Soon after making the turn from west to south the trail comes to The
Amphitheater, a gorgeous climbing area in a very tall shelter with a domed
ceiling and smooth walls. Once more
there are rock climbing bolts everywhere. A
hundred yards south of the Amphitheater I come into a nice area that reminds me
of a courtyard, only problem is a large oak has fallen partially blocking the
trail right where it heads up a steep rocky break to the west. |
The Amphitheater
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Not to the top of the bluff though, just about 40 feet higher in
elevation I continue southwest through the next impressive rock-climbing
area. Soon I come to a small cave maybe
40 feet deep, and in another 100 yards another small cave, this one probably 50
feet deep. The next quarter mile or less
sports a few more nice rock climber areas (more bolts everywhere). |
in the Amphitheater
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Although I don’t have good coordinates for a cave called ‘Darkness at
Noon’ I think I must be getting close, then up a short steep rocky hill I
notice what appears to be a crevice or maybe a very steep bear crack. I wonder if this could be it, climbing up
closer I realize it’s exactly what it looks like, nothing more than a crevice
with lots of rock rubble. |
small cave
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Coming back down to the trail I take a tumble in the loose sharp rocks
and land hard on both knees. At first I
fear the worst, but after a quick injury assessment I find only a finger is
ripped open and bleeding pretty good.
Sitting on a nearby rock I break out the first-aid kit (for the first
time), clean and dress the cut and I’m on my way. I now have a new appreciation for all the what if safety gear always carried in
the pack. |
inside Darkness @ Noon
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While sitting on the rock licking
my wounds, I notice another almost identical crevice, I won’t be checking
out this one. I continue on the trail
and soon come to Darkness at Noon, not as big a cave as I was expecting. What makes this cave unique I suppose is its
shape, with a good-sized entrance the cave doesn’t shrink toward the back. Most of these small caves rapidly get smaller
as you get further in, not so with Darkness at Noon. The walls go straight back to a sudden flat
back wall, not real deep though, maybe 75 or 80 feet. |
the back wall in Darkness @ Noon
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I wonder where the name ‘Darkness at Noon’ comes from, although
in the shadows at the back, nowhere in the cave is there ‘darkness at noon’. It’s just a name I guess, I’ve noticed that
rock climbers have a flair for coming
up with some very intriguing nomenclature.
Anyway, not far from Darkness at Noon the bluffline starts to round the
corner over to the west side and Chickenhead Wall (see: 26 Chickenhead Wall). |
notice flat back wall
|
I continue south however, at the trail intersection that I soon arrive at,
and another 100 yards the old road branches back to the northeast. Still going south I’m now on top the short
saddle that separates Sam’s Throne from the main
blufflines behind me. This saddle is only 200
yards long and I’m soon at the base of Sam’s Throne at a trail
intersection. This is the loop that
circumnavigates the ‘Throne’, so it doesn’t really matter which way you go, I go
west (counterclockwise). |
base of Sam's Throne
|
The stone monolith that is Sam’s Throne doesn’t seem to get the same attention from rock climbers as any of
the blufflines just to the north. The
walls of the bluffline aren’t quite as tall here but are still pretty
impressive. Here on the west side after
a ways I come to a small dry shelter with a fire-ring. Then it’s around the south end with some
smooth walls, a nice crevice and some great views to the south and east. |
southside crevice
|
About 100 yards farther along the south side is the steep bear crack
hikers use to reach the top of Sam’s Throne.
It’s a three-part climb to the top, each one steeper than the last. At the top of the first section, I pause for a
couple pictures off to the southeast, then it’s off and up the second
climb. Like I just said, this is steeper
than the first part, this is when that little voice in my head started talking to me. |
bearcrack to the top
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I’ve already fallen down once today, I had better not press my luck. I stop at the bottom of the third and final
ascent to the top, there is a rope here to aid the near vertical last 20 feet
to the top. Slowly and very carefully I
make my way back down to the trail, after all I always have more problems going down, going up’s the easy
part. |
the final ascent
|
Right after continuing down the trail is what appears to be a gravesite
complete with an old wooden cross. There
is some writing carved in the wood, but I can’t make it out as the wood is
pretty rotten. This may be the grave of
someone’s dog, there is an old dog leash wrapped around the cross. Not much farther is a small cave I’ll call
‘Sam’s Cave’ since it is on the side of Sam’s Throne. |
gravesite?
|
And not 100 feet past the small cave is the end of the loop, back on the
trail across the saddle. At the
intersection with the old road, I take the road, it gradually drops down a
little but soon levels out. Just over 100 yards a trail branches off west up
to the bluffline, I stay on the road.
This is real easy going for the next almost half a mile, the only
obstacle a downed tree across the road. |
entrance to Sam's Cave
|
Soon after a little roadside spring that keeps the road pretty muddy is
a creek crossing, actually two dry crossings one right after the other. Then the trail starts up the hill, this is
the longest sustained climb of the day, and I start to work up a sweat. All uphill
the rest of the way back to the parking area, passing the trail intersections
along the way first to our route into Valley of the Blind at a sharp turn in the
road. Then the steep little descent
taken earlier today, and finally at the next curve back to the right the trail
left goes along the top of the bluffline and eventually up to the Sam’s Throne
Campground (see: 26 Chickenhead Wall).
Back at the truck I drop the tailgate and have lunch, I had a great time
today hiking even though I did bite the
dust. Sam's Throne SIA in the Ozark National Forest is a beautiful place no matter what area you hike. The total distance hiked today was
just 2.6 miles with 397 feet of elevation gain.
Not too bad for the first real
hike since back in May, I hope to keep it up, from now through next May.
 |
base map before fair use alterations is property of ArcGIS--licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License
|
Sam's Throne parking area (S4) on FR 92146B is just half a mile south of Sam's Throne's main entrance on the west side of Highway 123. For more detailed direction on how to get to Sam's Throne see: (26 Chicken Head Wall) or (102 The Point).
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