The Ozark Trail: A Guide to Hiking Missouri’s Mountains

Here the 30-mile Current River section picks up, following the river for two miles before veering south toward Stegall Mountain. Enjoy views of the Ozark landscape as you gain 500 feet of elevation up 2.5 miles to the top of Stegall Mountain. Camp out at the top overnight, catching a glimpse of a full sky of stars if it’s clear.

The Ozark Trail (OT) is one of America’s premier distance hiking trails. Mostly divided into linked sections, the trail winds through 390 miles of rolling hills, stone bluffs and cool streams in central ozark trail backpack and southern Missouri. Outdoor activities such as hiking and biking, and also for school. The front and hip straps make it very comfortable and takes alot of the pressure of your shoulders and back.

Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting. Overall, it could have been roomier, but the weight savings were attractive to me with only one spar instead of two. Furthermore, I didn’t plan on being in the tent other than during the nights, so a roomier but heavier 1-person tent wasn’t desirable.

On the other hand, accessing the tent from the middle, or on the long side, gives one more degree of freedom. Assuming a symmetrical tent, like the Ozark Trail, my head could be placed at either end and both options would feel equally comfortable. In fact, my particular tent spot wasn’t completely flat so I quickly rotated my sleeping bag so that my feet weren’t above my head all night. It was pretty easy to make adjustments from the side door access. At 35 liters, this pack is perfect for day trips or for hikers who don’t need to carry a lot of gear on the trails.

ozark trail backpack

I’ve been attempting to drop weight for the past several years, mostly because my knees can’t handle it. My shelters have gotten lighter as have my sleeping system — next in line for a diet was my carry ozark trail backpack system. Funds, however, were non existent and my CFO (i.e. my wife) wouldn’t increase my discretionary fund. Not the best choice for long trips or hikers who need to carry a large amount of gear.

Many never think about the actual weight of the pack, but some are close to 5-pounds. Having a fancy suspension system doesn’t reduce the weight your feet and knees are feeling so go as light ozark trail chair as possible with the pack. Most ultra-light packs do fine with loads of pounds. Since portions of the Ozark Trail haven’t been built yet, our goal is to walk the finished sections.

I took this pack on a 5-day mountain bike ride from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Washington, D.C., and it performed very well. Spend some time at the base of Mina Sauk Falls, beautiful even when water flow is subdued. Imagine Mina Sauk of the Sauk-ton-qua tribe leaping to her death over these falls, enraged over the unfair death of her Osage warrior love.

In one of these posts, I reflect on the loss of a friend and the positive impact of his life. Rain was in the forecast for Sunday night so we were hoping to make camp before it started. It was dark by 6 p.m., so I got under my quilt wondering how I was going to get by on just 12-hours of sleep! My body uses the time of rest and recovery since most of the daylight hours are spent walking. I’m always surprised at how well I sleep while camping.

My only knock on it would be the lack of a small water bottle pocket. All told, I’ve had the pack on my back for about 50 miles. Keeping the load under 15 pounds seems to be the key. I really wanted to use it for our fall two-nighter on the AT, but was unable to fit my bivy with a 20 degree Kelty Cosmic down bag inside.