Ozark Trail Progress Update #5
Finishing the Trace Creek Section!
Buckle in for a very discombobulated post!
Ever since getting back from my trip out West to all of Utah’s National Parks, I’ve been itching to start chipping away at some Ozark Trail sections again. Finally, during the last weekend of May, I was able to carve out some time to do just that with my dog Honey. For this trip, our goal was to finish the Trace Creek section. Back at the beginning of 2020 (before things got really bad with the pandemic), we had hiked the southern half that connects to the Taum Sauk section together. I remember it being very cold and frigid. We had hammered out 20 miles in less than 24 hours during that trip since we completed half of Trace Creek as an out-and-back.
To help explain, we parked at the Hwy DD/32 Trailhead and hiked east on the Middle Fork section to the Trace Creek intersection. During the 2020 Trace Creek trip, we went south toward Taum Sauk. For the 2025 trip, we hiked north and ended at Hazel Creek campground. All maps are courtesy of the Ozark Trail Association website.
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This time, we would most definitely be going much slower (we are not as speedy as we once were). In three days and two nights, we traversed the remaining 18 or so miles to complete the entire section. For this post, each of the days I write about (with the exception of Day Three) are current trip reports. Meaning, I wrote everything while actually on the trail in the backcountry. Therefore, things will sound less formal and more “all over the place.” Also, I included some therapy journaling homework that I did out on the trail as well. Enjoy the discombobulation!
Day One
It’s warm, I’m sweaty, and there are ticks everywhere. That is not an understatement. The ticks are literally crawling everywhere out here.
After getting a late start, Honey and I managed to hike about four miles into the section. I figured that with the long, two-hour car drive to the trailhead plus a bit of hiking probably had Honey worn out. I was correct. By the time I put my pack down and started setting my tent up, Honey had made herself a napping spot in the leaves. Fast asleep, snoring to high heavens. I got everything ready for the night. Then I eventually woke Honey up long enough to move her into the sleeping bag where she once again curled up and passed out.
The hike so far is overgrown as expected. Waist-high weeds brushed against our bodies as we made our way across the land. We were forced to stop every few feet as ticks jumped on us. I was wearing shorts, and because I haven’t shaved my legs in some time, I could easily feel them crawling all over me. It was amazing how many there were. Hundreds, I bet. Walking up my bare skin and digging into Honey’s fur. The trail itself was easy to hike. Typical Ozark Trail with creeks, rocks, and gentle inclines. After passing by a flowing creek, I ended up picking a spot several paces into the thick underbrush to set up camp.
Dinner was three black bean soft tacos with Taco Bell avocado verde salsa packets and lime salt. At home, I had cooked a pound of black beans in my Instant Pot earlier in the week. To go through it quickly enough, I dehydrated a cup of them in my Ninja Foodie air fryer to take with me on this trip. The beans took three minutes to cook in my pot and soon I was chowing down. For Honey, I had a scoop of her normal dog food in a collapsible bowl with a dollop of peanut butter on top. Once everything was finished, we quickly nestled into our bags for the night.
Therapy Homework: write about anger
*If you read my last post, you know that my therapist and I had a conversation about anger. As homework, she asked me to word vomit what makes me angry today. No thinking required, no trying to make it sound nice, just a stream of consciousness. While on the Ozark Trail, I wrote about my anger during an afternoon break as Honey napped in the sun. I’m sharing it here as well. In all honesty, I don’t know if I should be so open about processing this trauma. What happened was so horrific, I don’t want to scare anyone. But I also respect vulnerability and believe that not writing about it would be disingenuous. I write what I feel. I hope it isn’t too much.*
I’m in the middle of the freaking Missouri wilderness and I still can’t escape it
I’m angry at so many things related to what happened back home at the beginning of April
I’m angry that it even happened in the first place
I’m angry that the driver was so heartless and oblivious to how precious life is
I’m angry that Bernie, our old family dog, didn’t die peacefully like he deserved
I pictured him falling asleep in the sun and softly passing away
But that’s not what happened
He died violently
The worst of humanity, a brutality that was so careless and evil
I’m angry that I had to carry his limp body up the driveway
I’m angry that I wasn’t strong enough to hold him, that I had to set him down at the top while I waited for my parents to get the car ready to rush to the vet
I’m angry that I was alone in this
I’m angry, so fucking angry that the driver just stood there and did nothing
Did not help
Did not help
Did not help
Everything that happened should not have happened
I’m angry that these images are burned into my retinas as I fall asleep, as I go about my day, as I live my life trying to hold it together
I’m angry at the guy who tailgated me for a few miles while I was driving on backroads to get to the trailhead for this backpacking trip
Fuck him
Why are people like this
Why are people so cruel and mean for no reason at all
I don’t get it
I can’t understand it
And that’s what makes me angry most of all
Day two
I used to be afraid to go out into the woods on a backpacking trip without service. Not from a safety standpoint, but because how else would I preoccupy myself by endlessly scrolling on Instagram? I always had to camp at a site that had enough cell signal, at least two bars, so that I could easily explore the contents of social media in my tent to unwind from the day.
Now, I’m pretty sure I could stare straight into the trees for hours once I’m done hiking. Today, Honey and I did our miles (almost 10), and with it still being daylight out, I’ve been lying awake on my sleeping pad while she snoozes at my head. I don’t have service. I can’t go on Instagram or easily text someone to pass the time. I have Netflix shows, music, and podcast episodes downloaded for distractions. But instead, I stare up at the trees and their leaves. Feeling. Absolutely. Numb.
The whole day, my body hiked but my mind was frozen in place. I’m pretty sure I dissociated most of the miles because I can’t remember much about it. Gentle rolling hills, tons of deep creek crossings for Honey to splash in. That’s it. Green is everywhere. Ticks are everywhere. Bugs fly in front of my face as I walk. And still, I feel nothing. This has been happening lately. I am either flooded with emotions, so much so that I’m overwhelmed and mentally withdrawn. Then some days, I feel nothing at all. Like nerve endings being severed in surgery, I can’t feel a thing.
I’m trying on this trip to enjoy my time. Love my time with Honey, the Ozark Trail, and nature. Next month, I’m flat out booked with pet sits and dog walks. There’s no way I’ll be back out here in June, so I need to enjoy it now while I have it. I am having fun, I think? I’m glad to be on the trail. But I still don’t feel “happy” if that makes sense. I haven’t felt okay in a while. Since what happened. For now, I stare at the leaves on the trees and look at all the green colors swirling together. I rub Honey’s ears as she snores softly beside me. I breathe and breathe and breathe. Trying to be here. Trying to be here.
Another dinner, black bean tacos. Honey gobbled hers up before I even had a chance to dig into mine. The birds are wildly chirping around us and the bubbles from the creek nearby are a nice background lullaby. The sun probably won’t set for another hour or so, but my eyelids are already starting to get heavy. I’m excited for the stars to come out and for the whippoorwills to sing their songs as I try to drift asleep. There is good in the world. And right now, I’m living in it. The wilderness and her rugged beauty. I’m here.
Day Three (writing from home)
With only five miles left, we slept in until 9 am. Dozens of country dogs were barking most of the night in the distance, which kept me up. Honey also couldn’t get comfortable and was scratching at her fur instead of sleeping soundly. The ticks were eating her alive and I felt horrible about it. I had tried to get most of them off, but they were literally everywhere on her skin. She’s on a flea/tick preventative. However, I guess that doesn’t necessarily “repel” the tiny, blood sucking arachnids away.
Either way, neither of us got much sleep in the middle of the night, so we didn’t feel conscious enough to crawl out of our tent until the sun was high in the sky. A friend of mine was going to pick us up at the endpoint (Hazel Creek Campground) and then drive us to our start point where my truck was parked. He was supposed to get there around noon, so we needed to get going. Hurrying, I inhaled my breakfast and shoved everything inside my pack. Honey, excited to get moving, whined the entire time with anticipation. Soon, we got on trail and fell into our steady hiking rhythm.
The miles quickly melted away. A highlight was getting to cross Hazel Creek twice along the way. Honey loved that and joyously bounded into the water each time. I couldn’t help but smile as I felt the cold water rush into my boots. It was our last day, who cared if my socks got wet? With a few ups and downs and plenty of lush greenery to wade through, we eventually finished the section. I immediately plopped my pack down and took Honey’s off her back as well. Soon, my friend arrived and we did our car swap. Then, all we had to do was truck the two hours back home!
Before getting to the house, I pulled into Burger King for an Impossible Whopper and fries. With Honey eagerly panting in the backseat, I also got her a small cheeseburger and fries too. She deserved it for sure. With both of our stomachs satisfied and me having showered away the filth from this weekend, I begrudgingly rolled Honey on her side to see how bad the tick situation was.
It was really bad.
While softly whispering in her ear, I plucked hundreds of them from her body. All of them were dead and deflated, which means her prevention worked, I guess? I am definitely going to do some research to see if there’s any other measure I can take for our next trip into the sweltering Missouri, tick-infested wilderness. There has to be something else. Maybe a spray? I’m not totally sure yet, but I will figure it out!
Sections Fully Completed
Victory: check
Marble Creek: check
Middle Fork: check
Taum Sauk: check
Trace Creek: check
We have several more to go!
Thanks for following along on our journey.
See you out on the trail!