Berryman Loop - Ozark Trail Backpacking

Trip Report:

I set off on a 28 mile, 3 day, 2 night hammock backpacking trip with the best of intentions. I arrive late on Friday evening and set off on the first leg of my journey.

This trip took place in early march, in southern Missouri, with expected temps between 21 degrees F and highs in the upper 40's. I Took my typical cold weather setup with Hammock Gear 20 degree quilts, two puffy jackets and more to stay warm.

DAY 1:

I arrived late at the trail, because it seems like no matter how much prep I do the week leading up to a trip, I always seem to have little shit to handle before I leave town. I took the nearly 2 hour drive down starting at around 3:00 on Friday afternoon. I arrived at Berryman Campground just before 5:00pm and after prepping my final load-out, I hit the trail just around 5:00pm.

I anticipated a little bit of night hiking on the first night, but after taking an immediate wrong turn on the trail, I end up hiking about 1.5 miles in the wrong direction, making it a 3 mile screw up by the time I backtracked.

Upon realizing my blunder, I hiked nearly 11 miles in pitch black darkness, literally the blackest night I have ever seen. I arrived at the campsite I was hoping for at about 8:30 pm, set up camp in the dark and fell asleep almost immediately.

DAY 2:

Waking up in a campsite you really couldn’t see the night before was quite a trip. I really didn’t know what to expect from my backcountry surroundings but I was pleasantly surprised. The site had a pipe coming out of the ground, dispersing clean spring water. This was a welcome advantage as dealing with water in the early morning, at 32 degrees isn’t always fun. I had a pro bar for breakfast, along with my coffee of choice Starbucks Pike Place Via Instant Coffee. I do a quick walk around of my setup, get packed up and back on the trail.

I was anticipating a pretty day of walking, with a goal of covering about 13 miles, putting me into campsite #2 at around 3:00pm, with plenty of time to relax and enjoy my setup with some sun still remaining. I’d developed a pretty gnarly blister the day before, an issue caused by not wearing any sock liners, a mistake I won’t make again. I struggled through the 13 miles, feet getting worse with each step to arrive at what I figured would be a campsite to find nothing.

With snow looming, I decided to struggle my way through 5.5 miles of additional hiking for my first true 20 mile day on the trail. I got back to my car and headed home before the proposed 20 degree night and looming snow the next morning.

Hope you enjoy, it’s a pretty good view of what Berryman Loop trail is all about.