Outdoor Adventures in the Ozarks

       The last three days have seen temps in the high nineties, up until a week ago I was always waiting for the warmest days to go hiking, now I’m hoping for ‘cooler’ days.  Today is only supposed to reach the high sixties, so probably the only day this week with ‘hiking’ as an option.  I’ve decided to go back to Carver Cemetery, and see if I can hike down river, crossing Big Creek then east through 'pieces' of Gene Rush and Buffalo National River. Blue Hole #5      My planned route is a little vague: head from the cemetery over to Big Creek, cross to the other side, then look for trails or ‘firelanes’ or old roads that head generally in a east direction, hopefully close to the Buffalo.  I start out through a big field, then down through some woods to a lower and smaller field.  On the east side of this field is a high bank above Big Creek, but I don’t see an easy way down. hay field between Carver Cemetery and Big Cree...

       Last week it rained four days, not all day, but I think we got just over four inches total.  We’re still way below where we should be for average rainfall, but I have my hopes up that it’s enough to get some waterfalls flowing.  I head up Cave Mountain Road, arriving at Whitaker Point Trailhead parking lot around 10:30, there are 10-12 vehicles here.  I’m about 99% certain that all these hikers are somewhere between here and Hawksbill Crag. Grace Falls      Ten or twelve cars is nothing for this big expanded parking area, it can probably hold close to fifty.  Two years ago when I was last here (see: 161 Whitaker Point ) , I had recently read about ‘Theresa’ who had come up here in August 2021, to do some hiking possibly to the famous crag, but in the thick early morning fog, she became disoriented, and wound up lost down near Edgemon Creek over two miles west of Hawksbill Crag. terrain gets steep and rocky farther down ...