Powder Mill Campground - Car Camping & Backpacking Weekend

I started Outdoors Podcast for two reasons; to prove to my marketing clients that youtube, podcasts, and blog posts were great ways to garner attention for any business, and to build a network of incredible outdoor enthusiasts to call my friends.

Nearly five years into my creator journey, I connected with a Youtube “Subscriber” on Instagram Direct Messages named Jake. Jake was super complimentary of the videos I’d done and let me know he’d recently purchased a Patagonia Stormsurge 20L Sling Bag based on my recommendation of the line. Jake and I started talking about our shared interests in camping and backpacking and I could tell he was a gear head like me.

I stalked Jake for a couple of months online and it was pretty easy to see his interest in the outdoors and his hobbies were not only genuine but extensive. When Jake suggested a camping trip to the Van Buren Area of Central Missouri, about halfway between he and I in Springfield and St. Louis, I jumped at the idea.

Jake planned the entire trip (which he crushed) and even provided all of the food for our weekend excursion. His generosity was incredible and I am really grateful we got to hang out.

We met on a Friday afternoon in mid January with the plan to camp at the cars Friday night, explore the area and blue spring during the day on Saturday, then depart for a dispersed campsite along the Ozark Trail section accessible from the campground.

We had a blast in camp on Friday night and we were in our tents before 10:00pm.

Saturday was great, with a pleasant 3.0 mile roundtrip hike to blue spring, earning its namesake from the nearly 300 foot deep spring, producing an incredibly beautiful blue color in the water.

The hike to our dispersed campsite was just under 1.0 miles and we made camp with hammocks and tarps. Jake and I quickly got to the task of gathering firewood in various sizes.

We had a great night in camp and snuggled into our warm hammocks before 9:00pm.

After a solid night of sleep in my hammock, despite a nearly constant rain starting at around 2:00am, I woke at 4:45am. I needed to make a quick exit that morning and packed up in the rain under the protection of my hammock tarp. In trying to go too quickly back toward the trail, I started a downhill tumble that lasted nearly 250 feet of elevation. Jake thankfully helped me find my way back up the hill using his headlight as a beacon. We had a great time on this trip and I'm grateful to Jake for all of his planning, food and good company.