Too Much Time on My Hands

Well, not really. I just found this interesting and decided to take the time to see if anyone else felt the same. This is a dozen or so of my rides that I have recorded over time over-layed on Google Earth creating a picture of MOST of what I've ridden down there. When I say most I mean most because while I have ridden it several times, I have not recorded the South Trace from the Middlefork connection down to its end. That end not being the end of the Ozark Trail, but the end of mountain bike use, hence the creation of Middlefork. Middlefork allows all users to continue on with the flowy goodness of Mark Twain National Forest single track.

This map begins at the north only a handful of miles from the actual northern most point of the OT. Unfortunately, bikes are not allowed beyond this point on my map. In fact, I think we went just past the official Narrows trail head where you can access the Courtois section and begin riding south. It was a jeep trail but we did see the Huzzah signs which, I believe is where bike use ends. We rode in from Bass' River Resort and turned around to ride back.

From there to the southern end of my map is about 91 miles of single track, one way. Also in the top part of the map are the gravel roads used in the Berryman Trail Epic which can be used to bypass any or all of the single track between Bass' and Berryman. This section also contains the newest trail in the OT system.

After what I would call the first two "loops" when starting from the top, you make it to the Berryman. Only the west side of Berryman shares the dirt with the OT, but I thought the entire loop should be included. At this resolution, Berryman looks like one small loop and one very large loop when in fact it is one ginormous loop, 24ish miles to be exact.

Just below is another good sized loop that shows the OT on the left and a gravel return on the right. Under that, are two very small and one slightly larger loop which are all part of that gravel return. The OT only crosses the gravel two times here, but again at this resolution it looks like more.

From there it's all single track for a while, finishing the Courtois(Code-away) section at Hazel Creek camp ground and moving on to the Trace which is divided into a north and south section. North Trace ends at hwy DD where you have one mile until you reach the 1/4 mile long Tellock Connector(GORC had much to do with this re-route) which takes you over to Council Bluff Lake. A 12.5 mile loop around the lake with a 1/2 mile option up to the campground is in there. From the junction of South Trace and the Tellock, you keep going for a mile or so to the Middlefork fork. To its end, Middlefork is 24 miles. There is a large loop and a small loop in this section. These are the gravel returns that some like to use, I prefer the trail.

Just below the small loop is the start of the Karkaghne(Car-kag-knee), a 29 mile section and my newest addition to my map collection. The very bottom of my map is still about 14 miles short of completing this section so I have work to do.



While you can order up copies of any and all of these maps, these are my experiences. I've ridden all of this, in many cases LOTS of times. In some, only once. 117 miles of single track and 35 or so of gravel, it's a ton of fun. All of this within two hours of St. Louis and a ton of camp grounds available as well as camping on the trail itself. Beyond the south end of the Karkaghne is much more trail to be "mapped".

When I say they are my experiences, I really mean they are experiences I've had with friends. Some in races, others in non-races but all just riding to have fun. These are some of the Jerks that helped me create this collection.

Todd Hecht
Greg Ott
Jeremy Bock
Matt Grothoff
Dwayne Goscinski
Chris Ploch
John Pieffer
Nate Means +1?
Mike Best
Doug Davis

Bizarro Post

Not really sure why I feel like doing this. That is, exposing my fat, white underbelly on the web, so go easy.

I was just sitting at my computer and since no one else is home, I opened up my media player and started playing one of my newer finds over my inadequate space saving monitor mounted speakers. I will begin by saying that I don't claim to have "been there with this band since the beginning", I just discovered them last summer after the release of their 6th-ish album. I found them while watching stuff on You Tube, this linked me to that and holy crap, I found Avenged Sevenfold. This is a good tune but the video looks like somebody had too much time to play on their computer, kinda goofy-Buried Alive.

Keep in mind, I like these guys because they pour out an energy that I fail to feel in 99% of the music released in the last few years. I'm not that into the whole skeleton and bat wing thing, but these guys have a sound that is real. I watched one of the music award shows a while back and all I could do was hang my head and turn off the TV. The music out there right now sucks, at least what they say is popular. Some of you will say that these guys are pussys and they've sold out. Some will listen to it for 10 seconds, cover your ears, begin to cry and then repent. It's not like I'm listening to Nickelback or anything. I used to like Nickelback, they had an awesome, powerful sound(for about 10 minutes). It's what you do with that sound that defines you in the music industry. Nickelback went the wrong way in my opinion. That's what A7x did right. If you listen to some of their old stuff you will definitely hear a different band than the last 3 or 4 albums. They were loud, fast, screamed a lot and didn't care what you thought. BUT, hidden in their stuff, even back in the beginning is a twisty, melodic and rhythmic vein that other bands search for and never find. I believe they found it and went with it, hence their newer, albeit more profitable direction.

I rushed out and bought Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold and Nightmare. Cost me about $40 after tax. Best $40 I've spent in a while. I'm not big on downloading music, I'd rather have the CD in my hand. I feel musicians deserve my $10 for their effort.

I guess one of the reasons I thought I'd write this is that unless you know me, you probably don't know me. My taste in music would surprise most from the impression I tend to give, or lack there of. I'm a no tattoo havin, non-pot smokin, light drinker with a wife and two kids, a den leader in scouts, mountain bike racer that eats too much and I happen to like a HUGE range of music. A range so huge that I'm not going to talk about it for fear of persecution. (Not that there is anything wrong with any of the above, I just have moar fun building pinewood derby cars than getting high.)

A7x history lesson from me and I don't know a ton. They are from, surprise, southern California. A 5 member band, they started really young in 1999 but when they broke into the scene, they plowed it over. In 2009 their drummer, Jimmy"The Rev" Sullivan died of a combination of heart disease aggravated by years of drug and alcohol use. They had already started work on their newest album, Nightmare but hadn't recorded any of it. A well know metal drummer, Mike Portnoy that was the creator of the band Dream Theatre stepped up and played the rest of their tour so they wouldn't have to cancel a ton of shows. A7x asked Mike to record the new album with them and he did. He liked the direction A7x was going so much that he decided to put DT on hold, eventually quitting DT and now tours with them. He's not officially a member but he fills in pretty well. Personally I think Mike might be technically a better drummer than The Rev, but I like the energy The Rev bled into his songs, you could feel it.

Ultimately, I started my collection of A7x to listen to while racing but they have become one of my top choices. I'm a big Tool fan also, but if you check out the movie Blood into Wine, it gives you the feeling that Maynard may be done making new music. Worth the watch by the way. He now owns a vineyard in Arizona called Cadudeus Cellars. To the critics, his best wine goes by the name Judith but it's hard to get. Listen to the song that plays on the Judith page, be patient and wait for part two to start. It is one of my favorite Tool songs and the lyrics are down on the page, read them. This guy's no dummy.

The elusive Karkaghne

I looked long and hard unable to find any current, reliable information on this section of the Ozark Trail. It starts at the south end of Middlefork at hwy J through some of the most rugged ozark hills we have. I doesn't sound that crazy hard at 29 miles one way but after taking the plunge today, I can offer up a current point of view. I'll start by saying that this is not the trail for OT virgins. Start with North Trace or Middlefork. NOW, if you dig the challenge of staying upright or dying, climbing until your head explodes, seeing one of the moar amazing bluff trails in the mid-west and rock gardens that are tough but rideable, then head a little further south.

The drive takes about 20 minutes longer than going to 32/DD for MF. The ride starts with a creek crossing that we got across with dry feet followed by a few hundred feet of creek debris(big rocks). Soon the trail starts up a 3/4 mile climb on your first section of the mostly bench-cut Karkaghne, you must call it by name or it will get you. Seriously, 85% of this trail is bench-cut into steep hillsides. The north part from J down to Sutton Bluff campground was built about 10 years ago and much of it was constructed using machinery. This cuts a wider base that seems to hold up well against the forces of nature and allows you to rip when pointed down, moar resembling MF. The south end was built back in the 80's and tends to be much narrower although some of the north end is fairly narrow also.

Middlefork climbs about 125' per mile, Council Bluff about 80' per mile, Berryman about 95' per mile. The Karkaghne climbs almost 150' per mile. This doesn't sound like much, but try it and you will see. You may do as you wish but IMO this is not a single speed friendly trail, go ahead and call me a puss. I almost twisted my carbon bar into a knot trying to grab another gear that I didn't have. Long ass climbs that are above 15% for a lot of the time but with gears they are rideable. You don't fly through this trail like MF as hard as you can push a gear. There are many rock gardens that will challenge anyone to go dab free. The carnage from the Derecho,( ENGLISH: NOUN: PRONUNCIATION: deh-RAY-cho) in 2009 is a sight to see just as much as it will disturb you and at first, make you sick to your stomach. There are LONG sections where 95% of the trees are gone. I saw an estimate saying over 2000 trees had fallen crossing the trail surface on the Karkaghne alone, when we finished there were only three that require a dismount. Not that we cleared much in comparison but using a handsaw, we removed 20 or so that would have brought you to a stop. Lots of holes left behind from the root balls, Syllamo style, but only 3 or 4 that aren't rideable and apparently they are working to repair all of them as you read.

After you descend 1/2 mile into Sutton Bluff camp ground on the pavement and cross the Black River the trail makes an immediate left only feet after the bridge. This is when your jaw and face will start to get sore. A couple of quick dismounts on some steps up and then back down will lead you to the base of a massive climb with 7 switchbacks. We could not ride the first two but made the rest, with a "rest" in the middle, or two. After the switchbacks you head out onto the bluff. I know many of you have ridden the bluff trail at the ranch, this thing is like that on steroids and crack at the same time! Merely walking this section will make anyone pucker let alone riding it and it is rideable. Make sure you stop and enjoy the view, it's amazing! Huge cliff walls above you and an almost sheer 200' drop below you. Your jaw will hurt because of all the dropping and you won't be able to stop smiling hence the sore face. Moar climbing and descending on very narrow bench-cut from here to the hollow that drops you down to Bee Fork which is like a small river and was our turn around point. 14 1/2 miles to this point which took us 3:15. While we did stop a bunch to move/cut stuff, this was the toughest 3 hours I've had in a while. We could not see a way to cross Bee Fork without getting soaked but we think there is a spot up stream that may be passable.

Now shame-the-hell-on-me for not taking a camera but I'll just have to go back and get proof. It snowed on us off and on for the first 3 hours and was between 19 and 26 degrees which may have contributed to our difficult labors. The bummer and harsh reality of the Karkaghne is that it is likely to be a November through April only trail as it will be a jungle come summer.

Here are some nice maps broken down into three sections.

North
Middle
South

Here is my Garmin link in my continuing effort to "map the world" as Tom Albert puts it.

*EDIT* The only other suggestion I would have is look at the maps or have one with you before you head out. One common report I kept getting when looking for information was that it was a difficult section to follow and you could easily get lost. We had no trouble at all but I had a good picture of where we should be in my head and we watched for OT signs. The only place we did not see any was just before Sutton Bluff when you pop out on the road you descend on the pavement all the way to the river. You can easily miss the trail after you cross the bridge so watch for it. It's well marked when climbing back up on your return trip. The Sutton Bluff trail head has a small loop that connects it to the bypassing trail. If you go the wrong way it will just take you back to where you need to be, just drop down the steps with the handrail.

There is also an unmarked connector at the one mile mark that comes up from the Brushy Creek trail head so skip that. My guess is that would be the place to park if the first creek was too deep to cross. Soon after you will see a single track that crosses your path with green arrows marking it. Not sure what this trail is but just follow the OT signs and you'll be fine.