I recently had the opportunity to go backpackign with some friends. After a lot of really nice weather, the temps dropped down into the 30s for our camping trip, but we managed to stay somewhat warm most of the time and have a great weekend. I’ve day hiked in this area before and was very excited to spend some time exploring it more in depth.
Here are a few photos of this remarkably beautiful area:
We setup camp after a fairly short hike into the area. It was a nice spot up on a small bluff overlooking a crystal clear stream. From my hammock I could see waterfalls in both directions. It was a beautiful spot indeed!
Upstream from our camp was this waterfall, the largest. It’s actually quite a bit larger than it looks in the photo, I would guess around 10, maybe 12 feet tall. Not tall by any means, but a beautiful spot nonetheless!
The clear streams are one of my favorite features of the Ozarks so anytime I have the opportunity to hang out around them is a good day!
A lot of rocks and boulders were covered with bright green moss in the early spring. Reminded me a little bit of Ireland!
I went exploring down the stream from our camp and found this nice little area with some rapids and more moss covered boulders.
More crystal clear water in Long Creek. I’ve never visited this area in any season except spring, but I am told that the creek is mostly dry during summer and fall.
We took a longer hike up through the northern part of the wilderness area and found this unmarked waterfall in a narrow hollow just a little ways off the trail. Here is one of my fellow backpackers checking out the waterfall up close. I would really love to go back and photograph this waterfall sometime after all the leaves come out and everything turns green and full of life!
The wilderness area is centered around Long Creek, which we encountered many times while hiking. It’s a really beautiful clear stream with the sounds of rushing water cascading through the rocky stream bed. Just walking along this stream is reason enough to visit this wilderness area!
