#sinking creek

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All of my favorite pictures from this year.

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20 seconds of calm, starring Soup.

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Hey, I’m only a week late finishing up my vacation photos. That’s not so bad, right?

Here’s all the little friends I found this year, mostly moths and other insects this time. I didn’t try to get a picture of the skunk.

I’m surprised I only caught one crawdad this year. Maybe the floods washed them all away.

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Back at Echo Bluff! It always feels kinda surreal to be down here for the reunion. I have so many dreams about being down at the river that I always think I'll wake up soon.

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Finally, all my favorite pictures of the year, from least fav to most. Thanks for being patient with me sharing all these photos this week. I hope everyone can get an opportunity to visit the Ozark parks and rivers themselves. This place is truly magical, and the pictures can’t do it justice.

[at-adventurer-blog]

June 19, 2016     Day 54    Sinking Creek Mtn. to Dragon’s Tooth

9:40 – 7:45

47,790 steps    Total Steps  1,706,476 17.6 miles    Mile  699.3

I won a staring contest with a bear!  But more on that in a bit, let’s write this chronologically.  We tried waking up at 6 a.m. but failed miserably due to a chilly morning.  When we did finally leave, we found ourselves at the Eastern Continental Divide.  We were now walking near and drinking water that was heading to the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Gulf of Mexico.  A few miles later, a sign was posted stating the campground we were going to stay at was closed due to bear activity.  This was an issue because that is smack dab in the middle of a shelter/campground only stretch of the AT.  This means that from where we are now we either have to walk 13 miles to a campground or 28 miles to town…we’re trying for the latter! If we wake up early and maintain a steady pace, we should be able to do it.  That may not be so easy because the last 3 miles have been some of the most difficult we’ve encountered so hopefully that doesn’t continue. 

 A few more miles later up an ass-kicker of a hill we took a side trail to the Audie Murphy monument.  This seemed like a strange place to honor the most decorated soldier in American history, but apparently this was the site of his fatal plane crash 45 years ago.  The monument has taken on a character of it’s own from people leaving their own personal military memorabilia.  From dog tags to coins to Lieutenant stripes to patriotic beer, this monument has it all. It was a pretty cool place to stumble upon today.  

Another few miles later, we were nearing the road and Trout Creek.  Almost to the bottom I hear some rustling to the left and see my 4th bear!  It hadn’t noticed us yet so I whispered to Ziploc to stop talking so we wouldn’t scare it away.  I got out my phone and started recording.  The whole time, it was just sauntering along at a slow pace, clearly in no hurry to get anywhere.  This full grown black bear eventually made it’s way onto the AT with us keeping a comfortable 30 yard distance.  We talked about blowing our whistles to try and scare it away from the trail so we could pass, but we decided to wait a bit longer.  He or she eventually continued to the right side of the trail but disappeared behind some trees.  I slowly moved forward on the trail until I saw it sitting right next to the trail. It was right about now that the bear noticed me and turned it’s head to look.  The bear and I made eye contact for about 5 seconds before I won the staring contest and it started running up the hill.  It would stop every 50 feet or so and look back at us, trying to determine if we’re a threat or not.  I kept looking back at it as we walked away to make sure it wasn’t coming after us. The whole time filming, I was constantly checking left and right to make sure it didn’t have a friend.  

We eventually made it to Trout Creek where we had to do our last fill-up for 10 miles.  Almost as soon as we got there, the 4 Pines Hostel owner shows up with some pop and candy trail magic.  We happily took advantage of that.  It’s interesting how a social no-no in civilization becomes a social norm out here. Usually when a stranger pulls up offering candy and treats, you would get out of there as fast as possible. But out here, those stranger danger treats become a small slice of heaven.  

Now, the whole day offered some pretty good views, but nothing compared to the views at the top of the next mountain.  About ½ mile before Dragon’s Tooth, some of the best views of the adjacent mountain ranges I’ve seen were worth the painful, slow climb up steep, sharp rocks.  Dragon’s Tooth itself was a cooler sight to see than I imagined it to be.  It is a giant 53 foot tall monolith overlooking the valley below.  Hopefully my pictures will do it justice.  The climb down from Dragon’s Tooth was easily the most difficult and dangerous we’ve done so far.  I had to use my rock climbing skills to navigate the layered sandstone vertical handholds down the face of the rock with a cliff less than 6 feet away at times. It took us close to 17 minutes to climb down 1/10 of a mile of trail.  It was fun for sure, but we decided to set up camp shortly after to give our weary bodies a break.