Loren had enjoyed a couple of short backpacking trips prior to meeting Becky. We had been considering planning a trip to one of the big western parks. But first, we needed a shakedown trip.
This was the early days of the internet and not much was available online for planning. Loren acquired a book describing a variety of wilderness areas across the United States. Missouri is easy driving distance and the Irish Wilderness in the Mark Twain National Forest sounded like a fairly easy backpacking experience to use as a learning trip.
Hike Day 1
The Whites Creek Trail is around 18 miles and is a nice loop hike. We figured we’d be able to easily cover that distance with just one overnight in the Wilderness.
The trail generally is through hardwood forest with very tall trees and only a few open views over the forest. The first day of hiking followed the Eleven Point River, with a climb to a ridge providing some campsite opportunities with a breeze and flat ground.
We set up the tent and successfully made our dinner with our MSR Whisperlite camp stove (keep in mind this was our shakedown trip and we had little experience here, so this was a key accomplishment). Thinking of food reminds me of our favorite travel snack, the discontinued Chili Cheese Munch ‘Ems that were a staple on this trip and most of trips of this era. We have yet to find an adequate replacement.
Campsite Stories
After dinner, we were not planning a campfire in this heavily wooded area. We stowed our food and kitchen gear and began scouting for a relatively low-hanging branch from which to hang our packs. This was bear country. It was beginning to get a little dark as we set about this task and we began to hear what sounded like the barking of dogs off in the distance. Since this was a grove of tall trees, we were struggling to find a reachable, sturdy branch near our campsite. As our search continued, the barking kept getting closer to our knoll, eventually seeming like they were coming straight toward us. These didn’t sound like coyotes, I’ve heard those many times at my grandfather’s farm.
Eventually we hung the bags and we considered our plan if these creatures came into our camp. Our best weapons were a couple of pocketknives and the trees did not have low-hanging branches to climb. Loren suggested maybe the tent would provide some level of “protection”? So, we huddled together in our three-person tent, which we would later conclude was way-to-heavy for backpacking, and waited. The dogs ended up going around our ridge area and continued through the wilderness. We never knew if these were feral dogs or if someone maybe was using them for hunting; they seemed to be moving too fast for a human to be keeping up.
Hike Day 2
In the morning, we continued on the trail to complete the loop. At the time of our hike, the trail was not always well-defined and we lost it at some point. A short backtrack got us headed the right way again and we realized we needed to pay better attention to our path. Sometime late morning, we saw some movement ahead on the trail. As we approached, a couple of human creatures faded into the surrounding tree cover, leaving their ATV by the side of the trail. Motorized vehicles are not legally allowed in this designated wilderness area. We quickly decided the middle of the wilderness was not a place for a confrontation, so we simply continued on past the ATV without trying to look around too much.
Some good views and small waterfalls along the way
We finished the hike, then drove into Doniphan, Missouri for a hotel stay. It was here were Loren discovered that his diligence on scanning for ticks was severely lacking. There were five of six of them attached along his beltline. Since they were on the backside, Becky had to perform the unenviable task of tick removal. This was before marriage, so apparently the task was not so nasty as to end the relationship; but, it was another lesson learned on the shakedown trip.
Hannibal, Missouri
From Doniphan, the next leg of the trip was to visit Hannibal, Missouri, of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn fame. We visited the famous tourist sites and enjoyed the small town visit before the final push home.
“Painting” the Tom Sawyer Fence & Becky Thatcher House
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Statue & Old Hannibal Jail
Mississippi River Bridge from Cardiff Hill & Cardiff Hill Lighthouse
