The Ozark Trail section hike is coming up soon and I think we’re all set.  Just need to finish gathering up the food.  We’ll be covering the trail highlighted in yellow on the maps below.  Roughly 21 miles.  If the weather is in our favor we’ll take it nice and slow so Loonie can try to get some good pics.  The blue highlighted trail is what I covered back in May and the red highlighted parts are those that I’ll need to do to finish the Taum Sauk section of the OT…about 8-1/2 miles.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do those over a weekend later in the year.  The white highlighted sections are other trails we’ve done in the area.

I think we’ll tackle the 24-mile Middle Fork section either in the Fall of this year or, more likely, in the Spring of 2018, before Deep Woods and I head off to do our annual section hike on the AT.  The OT Middle Fork section picks up where we’ll have hopefully left off this Fall at the Highway DD/32 trail head in the east and make it’s way west before turning south and ending at the Highway J trail head at Brushy Creek.

All reservations, including the shuttle, have been made for the October trip in Virginia.  The AT section hike will consist of a shuttle from Simmons Gap to US 211/Thornton Gap.  We’ll make our way south from there, stopping at Skyland, Big Meadows and Lewis Mountain cabins along the way with some hut or tent camping here and there.  Once again, a SLOW pace so Loonie can concentrate on taking pics and do some exploring.  The pace may accelerate if the weather doesn’t cooperate, though.  Then it will be off to Gordonsville for some rest and relaxation!  Here’s what the Shenandoah’s AT section hike looks like:

Thornton Gap to Skyland

Skyland to Big Meadows

Big Meadows to Lewis Mountain

Lewis Mountain to Simmons Gap

More to come…