(Day
800 JO) 61°F. 6:01 am
Big Springs CG, #311, CGR: 8.0
The rain began during the early predawn hours and continue into the daylight. I drive into Van Buren for coffee and breakfast, then drive to the visitors center to find it closed today, so drive to the river to sit and work on the computer for a short while.
From Van Buren, I take state highway D north over a ridgeline of the Ozark mountains with many views despite it still raining, turn north on state highway 21 and then west on highway CC into the Ketcherside Mountain Conservation Area and Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, the highest point in Missouri.
Preparing For the Climb
Arriving at the high point trailhead parking, I ready myself for the climb, putting on my socks, hiking shoes, jeans and loading my day pack with water, band aids, tea tree oil, GPS, camera, tp, and when I determine that I am ready, I begin the climb.
The Climb to the Summit
The trail starts with a flat walk on concrete and I ask some other hikers "How long is the trail?" to which the answer is about three miles if you walk the complete loop. I stop at the first bench and the group that I was talking with veers off the concrete onto a crushed gravel trail which directly goes past a sign upon which is inscribed "Mina Sauk Falls: 1.2 miles"
Sitting down on the bench, I look at the map that I took from the kiosk at the trail head trying to find out where the high point is when another person walks up and I ask "Where is the high point?" The man points at a large rock fifty feet from where we are and says "Right there where that big rock is." I walk to the rock and find a plaque which is inscribed: Highest Elevation 1772.68 MSL MISSOURI."
This is completely not what I was expecting, the entire area from the parking lot to the summit is flat. There is not a high point, just a large rock that is higher than every thing else around it.
I take a few photos and then begin the return walk back to the jammer.
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