Hello! Welcome back to Callie Hikes. I apologize for skipping a post last week. My professors decided to be rude and assign a bunch of papers, so I ended up writing a lot more than my fingers could handle. I love to write, but the more classes I take as I continue sprinting toward my degree the more I realize how school is destined to suck the creative juices out of my soul. “Write 1,500 words about this book and analyze what the author meant by adding a semicolon in this one sentence instead of a period…blah blah blah” It’s exhausting. All in all, I’m really grateful for the privilege to go to college, but it just gets to be too much sometimes. I’m not here to sob about the academic experience though. I’m here to talk about my recent trip to the Council Bluff Recreational Area!
Amid discussion boards, timed tests, and painstaking peer reviews, I managed to carve out some time for an overnight camping trip to Council Bluff Lake. This time, I decided not to backpack and instead booked a site at a campground near the lake. I ended up using my truck tent for the first time and I was really proud of myself for setting it up without any help. The next morning, I woke up early and ran on the loop that goes around the lake. It was a very brief trip and this post will probably not be super long because of that, but I figured I’d share my experiences nonetheless.
For those unfamiliar with Missouri’s geography, Council Bluff Lake is located within the Mark Twain National Forest just south of St. Louis. It is conveniently placed right beside the Trace Creek section of the Ozark Trail. Those backpacking or thru-hiking that part of the OT have the option to add the 11ish mile loop to their itinerary if they want as it’s easy to access with the help of a short side trail. It is definitely worth it! I have hiked this trail once before and had decided to have another go at it because it has been a while since the last time I completed it.
I woke up that morning and started hiking the side trail that connects the campground with the lake loop shortly after daybreak. By this time of year, Missouri is getting the cool, crisp attributes of fall, so the weather was absolutely perfect for this trip. I ended up running the first half of the loop pretty quickly, so I decided to slow down and hike the rest of it to take in more of the moment. It was just so amazing to be out there in the woods instead of stuck behind a computer screen. The last few miles were a little tough as the sun started to get high in the sky. Because of school, I also haven’t been able to hike or run long distances as often as I like, so going that far was kind of a shock to the system. I was definitely feeling more tired than usual! I did end up getting to swim in the lake for a few minutes to cool off which is always a great way to end a hike. No complaints there.
By the time I finished the loop, I was pretty wiped out and still had a 2 hour drive back home to make, so I got going relatively quickly. Overall, the trip wasn’t as long as I wanted, but I’m glad I could squeeze it in. I’m trying to make an effort to do some sort of fun trip each month while in school just to keep from going insane. My advice: it's always helpful to have something to look forward to when stuck in a revolving door of assignments and brain-throbbing obligations.
Therefore, the lesson of the year is that self-care is so important. Whether you’re burnt out from an endless stream of work or your homework is always demanding something from you or you’re just stressed out from life in general, try to make some time for yourself to do something that will fill your cup up. Amid hustle culture and perfectionistic standards, we humans need to find little things to make us happy and fulfilled. For me, that was playing at Council Bluff for several hours and slashing in the lake.
That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading and be on the lookout for more posts soon. I am trying to keep up with one every week, but that’s not always possible so bare with me.
Also! I made a video of the Council Bluff trip so if you would like to watch it for more of an in-depth experience, the link is below.
See you out on the trail!