Only a few hangers were able to make it to this year's 5th annual Missouri Frozen Butt Hang. Unfortunately, a winter storm had pushed through the region on New Year's weekend and forced several who planned to attend to cancel. The three of us who did make it all live near the Missouri-Arkansas border, and the snow accumulation down here was much lighter than points farther north. I drove through several snow squalls along the 275-mile route, but fortunately nothing was sticking to the roads and there were no traffic delays.
We met near the Devil's Den State Park visitor's center, got our "permits", and after waiting until 4pm for any late arrivals, hiked a quarter-mile or so to the "walk-in campsites". We pitched our hammocks and settled in for the night. Even though everything was soaking wet, we were able to coax a campfire to life and enjoy some conversation around it while making dinner. Bedtime came early, and with a low temperature overnight of 31 degrees, nobody had a problem keeping warm.
Saturday morning we began the 16-mile Butterfield loop trail heading in a clockwise direction. The trail crosses Hwy 74 between the 2 and 3 mile markers, and it was here that Br@nch received a message from work which ultimately led to him needing to leave the trail and head home early. Runners_low and I continued on through intermittent snow showers that persisted all day, which periodically turned the woods into a winter wonderland depending on our elevation at the moment. We reached our destination for the day, Junction Camp, shortly after the 10 mile-marker. A steep descent on a spur trail brought us to the confluence of the Lee and Blackburn Creeks, which were flowing more like serious rivers after the recent precipitation. There was plenty of daylight left to set up our rigs, locate and retrieve some dead wood, and build a nice big fire. After dinner we basked in its warmth and used the radiant heat to dry our shoes and socks. Since the sky had begun clearing just before dusk, I opted to go tarpless that night, which is always my preference whenever the opportunity presents itself. I got a little frost on my 0-degree top quilt toward dawn, but nothing major. The low temperature overnight was 27.
After a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and headed out. It was very pleasant hiking that morning in the bright sunshine, and by the time we reached the parking lot six miles later it had warmed to over 50 degrees.
All in all it was a good trip. The BHT is interesting with several historical sites and waterfalls along the route, a few nice overlooks from the ridgetops, and many established campsites to pick from. The park's namesake point-of-interest, semi-hidden Devil's Den, looked like an awesome place to spend the night along the trail, and I'd guess probably tends to be a very popular spot in warmer seasons.
The dog you see in the pictures below is my 12-year-old rescued border collie mix, "Ginger". It was her first backpacking trip, and she did very well.
the route overview
first time using a dyneema tarp
camp 1
a touch of snow
semi-hidden campsite entrance
camp 2
"what's for dinner tonight?"
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