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52 Pounds in 52 Weeks The Great Outdoors

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I finally got to take that First Day Hike – three weeks late, but able to take my son with me. We stopped first at Round Spring. Despite getting more familiar with the area over the last couple of years during day trips to Rocky Falls, Alley Spring, and further on to Devil’s Well, I really thought I had overshot or gone the wrong way getting to Echo Bluff. 

I needed to get my bearings a bit, and cell phone service for the map apps I have come to rely on is spotty in those hills and hollers. 

It’s a beautiful spot, but the trail there seemed to be just a path to the spring, and wasn’t much use for exercise. We went on up the hill a bit, but the trail didn’t seem to go much of anywhere, just the hill above a campground and pavilion area. 

The trail does connect to Echo Bluff, it turns out; I just wasn’t familiar with it. We drove back out onto Highway 19 going north, and sure enough the Echo Bluff turnoff was just a couple of miles down the road on the same side. 

The lookout from the top of the hill at the head of the trail was awesome, probably more so because the leaves were off of the trees. The parking lot is open to the sky, rare among the heavy forests in the area, and a star map posted among the other informational signage points out what there is to see during that particular time of year. 

The property is one of the newer ones developed and managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), acquired in 2015. From a massive pavilion with picnic tables and a fire pit, there is a view of Sinking Creek valley and Echo Bluff.

A second smaller overlook provided a distant view of a herd of several white horses and one brown one, grazing on a patch of grass among the paths that wind through the property, which includes campgrounds and a lodge. I noticed both spots are wheelchair accessible. 

We started along the south loop of the trail, and continued where it connected to the south loop, then made our way back again. 

It was a pretty vigorous hike and, of course, the way down was easier than the way back up. Stands to reason. In those situations, huffing and puffing because of the neglected shape I’m in, I always debate stopping to take a rest to catch my breath or keep forging on to get it over with. I decided to slow down rather than stop. Once momentum is lost, I’ve found, it’s hard to get it back again.

The downhill portion gave us time to reflect, though, and time to talk about some of the serious worries we have in an environment that is calm, quiet, and lends itself to seeing the “bigger picture.” The return was mainly focused on just getting back to the car. 

We got off the trail a bit while exploring some mountain bike ramps and had to clamber up the hill underneath the pavilion, and thankfully there was a spot to squeeze between a fence rail and some stairs or we would have been turning back and adding steps to our journey. I think we were both relieved when it was over, nice as it was. The length of the trail is about two miles, and according to MDC about two hours to traverse. 

And, though I am not sure when I will be fit enough to tackle it, there is the Current River Challenge. It is sponsored by the MDC and consists of two four-mile hikes, one from Round Spring to Echo Bluff, another from Echo Bluff State Park to Current River State Park, and a four mile float from Current River State Park back to Round Spring. 

Details on the challenge, which can be completed at any time, may be found at https://www.nps.gov/ozar/current-river-challenge.htm.



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