Ozark Trail: Courtois Section Shakedown Hike
Read as I face a gnarly water crossing and freeze my butt off in the process (literally)
Hello everyone! Last week before the holidays, I managed to pull myself from retail hell and go on a quick shakedown hike for my upcoming Foothills Trail thru-hike. In previous posts, I’ve talked about the Ozark Trail; how the OT and I sometimes have a love/hate relationship (mostly love). I couldn’t think of a better trail for this shakedown, so the OT and I became reacquainted once again since the summer. As I mentioned in previous posts, the OT is split into mostly linked sections. For this trip, I chose the upper chunk of the Courtois section which is conveniently the closest part of the OT to St. Louis and has the southern terminus for the trail.
Goals and Gear
The goals for this trip were simple: test out my new sleep system, practice hiking 15 miles in a day with a heavy pack, and don’t freeze to death. Even though things didn’t exactly pan out as I would have liked them to, I feel like I managed to accomplish what I set out to do. My original plan was to be in the backcountry for 3 days and 2 nights, but as I’ll go over, that unfortunately didn’t happen. As for my sleep system, to remain as cozy as possible in frigid temperatures, I decided to invest in a quilt. I had never slept with a quilt before and honestly didn’t really know how it worked. However, I figured that if I bought a decently degree rated quilt and paired it with my awesome Western Mountaineering 10-degree sleeping bag, then I would be better equipped to face the horrors of winter.
I ended up going with an Enlighted Equipment 40-degree synthetic quilt, which was almost the same color as my Western Mountaineering bag. So naturally with the two put together, I looked even more identical to Heimlich the caterpillar from the movie A Bug’s Life. The setup was not too complicated. I would wrap and secure the quilt around my sleeping pad, then stuff my sleeping bag inside, and voila! I would be toasty throughout the night.
Another piece of gear that I was excited to test out was my new Garmin inReach Explorer +. With me going out on these backpacking trips alone and being without reliable cell service, I decided that I would feel much more at ease with a satellite communicator. I am still figuring out all of its functions, but so far, I was really impressed with its performance in the backcountry. I was able to access weather reports, send check-in messages with loved ones, and have access to search and rescue teams 24/7 in case of a life-threatening emergency. Overall, very important stuff and I’m glad to finally include this in my backpacking gear setup.
Day One
I got to the Ozark Trail Onondaga trailhead and started hiking around 11 am that day. It wasn’t super cold outside with the sun shining high in the sky, which I was extremely grateful for. For the past several weeks in Missouri, the weather has hovered in the low 20s and plummeted into single digits at night, so for the temperature to be above freezing at the start of the hike, I was just stoked to not be shivering and miserably cold. I have hiked this section of the Courtois many times before this shakedown, so I felt really comfortable getting into a good groove and ended up cruising through the first five miles relatively quickly.
After a glamorous lunch of a tuna tortilla wrap with Spicy Sweet Doritos, things started to get a little hairy. I knew that I would have to cross the Courtois creek early on in the day, but wasn’t too concerned because the times that I have forged it before weren’t bad with the water only coming up to my knees. However, I was sorely mistaken. When I arrived at the crossing, I knew before I even started to make my way across that the water would come up to my chest.
Getting wet was a major concern considering how cold I knew it would get throughout the hike. I knew that there was literally no way I could make it to the other side with dry gear without taking my clothes off. Thankfully I had decided to bring rain gear, so I made the quick decision to strip completely and put my rain pants on to have at least some protection from the freezing cold water. I also kept my bra on just in case someone was around to witness this ridiculously embarrassing ordeal.
On my first trip across I had to hold my pack above my head to keep it from getting wet. The first several seconds in the water were a shock to my system, but the longer I stayed in the creek the more my body went numb from the cold, so it actually wasn’t too unbearable. The sharp rocks at the bottom of the creek were the worst part. I didn’t have sandals or water shoes with me, so my only option was to cut up and bruise my feet as I went across.
Once on the other side with my pack, I had to go back to the other bank for my clothes because I couldn’t carry everything all in one trip. Finally, with all my gear in one place, I dried off with an ultralight towel and got dressed. After taking a moment to process the entire experience, I was slinging my pack onto my back when I noticed my water bottle was gone. The realization that my water bottle had fallen into the creek made me stop in my tracks.
For my water system, I typically have a plastic bottle with me (preferably a Smartwater bottle), a flimsy squeeze bag, and my Sawyer filter. The standard operating procedure for me has always been to gather dirty water in my squeeze bag, attach my filter to it, then filter clean water into my water bottle. So in theory, it wasn’t the biggest deal in the world that I no longer had my water bottle because I could just drink straight from the squeeze bag with the filter. However, it was definitely a bummer.
The next ten miles were mechanical. Because the water crossing took me a little longer than I thought it would, I knew I would be getting to my campsite in the dark. Therefore, the majority of the day was spent with me listening to podcasts to crank out the miles as fast as I could. When I finally got to my stopping point, I had some issues finding the actual campsite in the dark. I had to trample my way through thorn bushes and thick leaves until I finally found it. I had camped there previously a few years ago and knew where it was vaguely, but it was a little frustrating having to bushwhack for ten minutes after having hiked 15 miles already on tired legs.
Setting up camp and cooking dinner took a while with my fingers feeling cold and tingly from the plummeting temperatures. Crawling into my tent with a steaming bowl of Black Bean soup and a cup of hot chocolate was the best feeling on earth as I settled in for the day. With the weather being below 20 degrees, I surprisingly felt super warm in my quilt/sleeping bag combo throughout the night. My only complaint was that my sleeping pad, unfortunately, kept deflating every two hours, so it definitely has a hole in it somewhere that I need to patch up.
Day Two
Upon daybreak, I took my time making my hearty oatmeal breakfast and taking down my tent. At this point in the trip, I found out that a snowstorm/cold front was supposed to hit Missouri the next day with temperatures dropping into the negatives. The original plan that day was to continue hiking for about seven or so miles, then turn back around, and sleep at the same campsite for a total of 15 miles. Then the next day, I would head back to my truck. However, with the weather getting worse and knowing that I would have to do the Courtois creek water crossing again, I decided to just head back home instead of staying out there another night. The snow wasn’t the problem; I can hike in the snow. But doing a water crossing in below 0 conditions just did not seem safe.
I knew it was the right call, but it still didn’t feel great as I headed back up the trail, the same way as the day before. The hike back to my truck was uneventful as I retraced my steps. Some of the highlights were craving Dr. Pepper for a few miles, getting to see a herd of cows up close, and having lunch on a bluff with an incredible view of rural Missouri farmhouses. The water crossing loomed in the back of my mind the entire time. I dreaded getting back into that ridiculously freezing water, but this time didn’t seem nearly as bad as the first. The water was a little lower and only came up to my stomach, so I made the three trips across and marched onward. I ended up getting to my truck just as the sun was setting and finishing my large bag of Spicy Sweet Doritos during the entire one hour drive back to St. Louis.
Final Thoughts
While this shakedown hike didn’t totally go as planned, I am really proud of myself for doing it and testing out my gear before the Foothills Trail thru-hike. This trip taught me a lot and helped me formulate a laundry list of things I need to take care of before I head to South Carolina. For one, I need to backflush my sawyer squeeze, and patch up the hole in my sleeping pad. I also need to prioritize stretching my legs over the next few weeks because both of my IT bands were trashed after this hike.
However, something unexpected occurred as well that needs to be taken care of. Upon returning home, I stupidly left my pack out where my dogs could get to it one day and forgot that a few snacks were left in the hip belt pockets. So naturally, they ended up ripping the pockets to shreds and chowing down on Chocolate Brownie Clifbars (my dogs are perfectly fine, the pack is not). So, I need to add repairing my pack to the list as well. Does anyone know how to sew?
I hope you enjoyed this trip report and stay tuned for more posts as I prepare for the Foothills Trail!
I also created a video of this shakedown hike so if you would like to watch that the link is here. LINK
See you out on the trail!
Courtois Creek is no joke! It was chest high when I crossed last spring, but not nearly as cold. Props to you for being brave enough to forge ahead, and smart enough to quit when the weather turned unsafe.