Hike #25 - Ozark Highlands Trail

We have a couple of through hikes in our area.  We haven't attempted any yet, but one of the favorites is the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT).  We occasionally head down the affectionately named Highway 23 Pigtrail, such as when we camped at Redding Recreation Area a few weeks ago.  One of the OHT trailheads is on Hwy 23.  We have wanted to do this part of the trail for a while, but have never made it.  Today we finally did.

This trailhead is called Cherry Bend.  Cherry Bend is around mile 36 (moving from south to north) on this 260+ mile trail.  From Cherry Bend you can go in either direction.  We headed south because I knew there was a short spur close to the trailhead that went what is known as Rockhouse.  Rockhouse is natural overhanging rock that at some time in the past someone closed in with rock walls.  We spent a few minutes checking it out.  It was a neat spot, but sadly there was quite a pile of beer cans
left behind.

From the outset, this trail started uphill.  It became clear pretty quickly that this wasn't going to stop anytime soon.  There are some great views along the way of the Ozarks, but this trail is very rugged and climbed steadily uphill for the first 1.75 miles.  This is not a beginner hike.  Along the way, we were accompanied by the steady drone of motorcycles on 23, because there must be some state law that says a motorcycle must travel on 23 approximately every 3.8 seconds.  We began to the see the top of a ridge and with it the hope of a downhill stretch.  There is an ATV trail that runs along this ridge that gets about as much traffic as 23.  This would probably be a good source of emergency help if it was ever needed on the trail.

We have been trying to get our three-year-old to do more walking on his own, and today he was a champ.  He did the whole uphill stretch.  He began to ask to be carried around 2.2 miles, and we finally did begin carrying him around 2.5.  He really did a great job, but between this and the uphill terrain, our standard pace of a 36 minute mile became a 56 minute mile!  This was pretty torturous, but the rest of the way went much faster.  We got back to the car with 3.96 miles completed.  That was unacceptable.  There was another unidentified trail that left the parking area, so we decided to get to 4.0 this way.  Very quickly this trail came to a cliff with a pretty trecherous rocky trail to go down and around it.  The kids were excited about this, but we decided we were at the end.  Back to the van it was.

Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 4.0
Remaining miles: 10.41