Wednesday morning I packed up my gear and headed to Jackson Missouri for the Trail of Tears State Park. This was going to be at least a 2.5 hour drive, so I brought some camping gear in case I didn’t feel like making the drive back. I was kidding myself of course; the mere prospect of camping wasn’t something I was likely to turn down. This particular park had some special interest for it’s history. It is located on the site where nine of 13 groups of Cherokee Indians crossed the Mississippi River in harsh winter conditions in 1838-1839. There is Cherokee lineage on my father’s side, and Apache on my mother’s.
The tragic history behind the location serves as something of a contrast to the serene nature of it all. The landscape is not like one that I’ve seen to date in Missouri, save a small local park. The usual rocky scape was absent here, replaced by incredibly lush greenery. Wild fern of various types grew everywhere, along with a few new (to me) flowers, thorn bushes, and too many other things to name. Not that I’d know what they were anyway.
Poison Ivy does grow rampant here however and there’s warning signs all over the park proclaiming as much. Despite the many warning signs of ticks though, I only ever saw one – which was positively amazing considering my previous experiences with hiking in the summer in Missouri. To be fair, I left prepared this time. I treated my clothes, pack and tent with permethrin and had Ultrathon repellent on. The one tick I saw was crawling on my leg on treated clothes though. Since I camped, I spent plenty of time wearing untreated clothes and still didn’t have any problems.
One very clear bit of evidence that these things were working happened when my trail ended at an area completely submerged in about 3 ft of water. Standing at water’s edge, I was immediately surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes. They stayed a few inches away from me. Some were just hovering there, others were darting up and down. It was like I had a shield of some sort around me that they couldn’t penetrate. It was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen. I never once got bit and I stood there for a while searching for a new path and of course, taking pictures.
Much of the Peewah (which means, “come follow in this direction”) Trail was terribly overgrown. I’m not sure anyone has ever tended to the lower section of the trails; it was that bad. Massive trees had fallen in what looked like a domino effect over and along the trails. Some areas you couldn’t see the trail at all. Other areas were so overgrown with thorn bushes, I just kept waiting for my pants or shirt to tear right off. Likewise, I would be curious when their maps were last updated. One part of my trail was permanently closed due to “severe erosion” which was not reflected on the map. Another part, as mentioned, had been completely flooded out.
Despite all of that, I had a fantastic time. My campsite was peaceful and beautiful. I took advantage of the touristy parts and shot some pictures on the overlooks, as well as hiked every trail I could find. The landscape is positively breathtaking. I saw some sort of wild bird flock, like a quail – or something – I’m really not sure, a white tailed deer, and turtles.
And of course, once again, I had to stop for a turtle at one point who was crossing the road. I’m pretty sure at this point that his kin at Meramec must have spread the word that I’m a free taxi. This time, the little guy wasn’t afraid of me at all. Instead of ducking into his shell like the ones prior to him, he had all his feet out swimming in the air; his little head was out.. he looked like he was having a good time. Well, you’re welcome.
One final word, if you ever camp out there and hear some interesting things, I’d love to get an email with your stories.
