Largest hill/mountain in Missouri

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

The eastern area of California, especially east of the U.S. 395 corridor that runs north-south, has some real treasures not too many people know about. I absolutely love Death Valley. Try to visit it any time between November and early April. The topography is astounding. Dinsdale is right about Death Valley's Badwater Basin (282 feet below sea level) and Mount Whitney (14,495 feet being less than 100 miles apart as the raven flies. Also, when you're walking on the Badwater salt flat facing west, Telescope Peak is right in front of you, standing just over 11,000 feet up.

The Missouri Ozarks and Death Valley--both beautiful areas in their own very different ways!

I have to agree...the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada is spectacular. I've visited the area around Mono Lake, coming out of Yosemite and was amazed at the landscape. Huge mountains, a salt lake/marsh, and then a lavafield landscape that resembles the moon with pine trees as you drive into Nevada. I would love to make it out there again someday (it is on my "list") and do a little more hiking. We ended up driving east across rural Nevada, through Tonopoah and Caliente, and again, a very foriegn, desolate, and interesting landscape.

Indeed, both the Ozarks and that region of Eastern California are beautiful...just in their own ways.

BTW, I'm not sure where I picked up that fact about Black Mountain, but I remember reading it somewhere a few years ago. I can't personally think of anywhere steeper in the entire state...there are some hills around Branson and Eminence that might have 700' of relief, but Black Mountain seems to trump everything else.

[northbayeric]

Most definitely, D.P.! If you just hang around O'Fallon and I-70 between there and St. Louis, you're missing out on some great places to see if you like the outdoors.

Johnson's Shut-Ins was absolutely devastated a few winters ago when a major dam failed, swamping the shut-ins with an unbelievable torrent of flood waters. My wife and I got to visit the park for the first time the following May (must have been 2006), and in spite of its heavily damaged condition, the rock formations and topography are quite nice! They must get all kinds of people who visit on summer weekends, cooling off in the water among the "shut-in" rock formations.

http://www.mostateparks.com/jshutins.htm Based on this site, it sounds like all the recovery work is nearly complete!

Also very highly recommended: the Trail of Tears State Park a few miles north of Cape Girardeau. Not one of our country's finest historical moments, but the park does an outstanding job of recording this time period when the Cherokees were forced to cross this part of the Mississippi en route to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). Beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River at this park. You're now a ways east of the Ozark Mountains. Nearby Bollinger State Historic Mill with its covered bridge is wonderful too. And don't get me started on Onondaga Cave off I-44....(trying very hard not to go off on a big tangent here!) Closer to St. Louis: Castlewood State Park in Ballwin, and the Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, which are at the Ozarks' front doorstep.

[northbayeric]

OA, would you (or anyone else) happen to know if there's a trail you can take to climb to the top of Black Mountain? I found this site Black Mountain Summit - Missouri Mountain Peak Information but it doesn't specifically state whether there's a Black Mountain trail or not.

From this site, it sounds like the Crane Lake trail is really nice! Might have to bring some Off! spray just to be on the safe side....

MoNative 34 wins the prize for reminding me about Elephant Rocks State Park! Another absolute must-see. There's an easy paved loop trail that goes around the main area, with little spur trails that let you get up to these giant granite rocks and get great views of the surrounding hillsides. Beware of the drive along Highway 21. Not like it's really twisty and winding, but this very scenic drive has seen a lot of serious car accidents in the past.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

OA, would you (or anyone else) happen to know if there's a trail you can take to climb to the top of Black Mountain? I found this site Black Mountain Summit - Missouri Mountain Peak Information but it doesn't specifically state whether there's a Black Mountain trail or not.

From this site, it sounds like the Crane Lake trail is really nice! Might have to bring some Off! spray just to be on the safe side....

As far as I know there are no trails. I've only driven through the area, however. Being that it appears to be in the Mark Twain National Forest, it looks like an easy bushwack to the top, of course neglecting the leg-straining nearly 1,000 vertical feet you would have to climb up! Just go in the fall or winter and hike straight up

However, a proper topographic map of the area (I miss topozone.com and the free USGS maps it provided) and a USFS map to validate that Black Mountain is not located on some private land inholding would be required, along with a compass.

[kshe95girl]

I asked DP if he had gotten to really see any of Missouri back when he was in his whiny phase about living there. Glad to see he has decided to venture out! I went to Johnson Shut-ins while I was home, they have done a good job of restoring it, but its not quite the same.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I'm still in my whinny phase (just a bit quieter - it just makes people angry), But I do like to explore, there is enough to see to keep me from going full whine.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

I'm still in my whinny phase (just a bit quieter - it just makes people angry), But I do like to explore, there is enough to see to keep me from going full whine.

DP, I do understand why you whine, thats all I do while I am here, I truly despise this state.
As you said, I try not to, cuz people dont want to hear it.
I try to enjoy some of the natural beauty of rural Florida, and there is quite a bit of it.(its mostly the people that make me so crazy)
There is a lot of Missouri waiting to be explored and enjoyed, go for it!

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

DP, I do understand why you whine, thats all I do while I am here, I truly despise this state.
As you said, I try not to, cuz people dont want to hear it.
I try to enjoy some of the natural beauty of rural Florida, and there is quite a bit of it.(its mostly the people that make me so crazy)
There is a lot of Missouri waiting to be explored and enjoyed, go for it!

I could say almost exactly the same thing about my little corner of California, and I've probably crabbed and griped and groaned and moaned about it too much here! Don't feel too bad. I'm so happy you got to spend some time in Missouri!

There really is a lot to see and do throughout the state, and most things don't cost your first-born to enjoy them (I paid all of three bucks to spend nearly five terrific hours romping around the Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit this past June! ). The state parks are free, and I'd love to try to discover more hiking trails in the Ozarks, including the Crane Lake Trail.

[joe stixpuck]

Will post about condition of the Crane Lake Trail within a couple weeks. A buddy of mine just hiked some of it a couple weeks ago, and we plan to go soon after fishing the lake one day.

[joe stixpuck]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

I could say almost exactly the same thing about my little corner of California, and I've probably crabbed and griped and groaned and moaned about it too much here! Don't feel too bad. I'm so happy you got to spend some time in Missouri!

There really is a lot to see and do throughout the state, and most things don't cost your first-born to enjoy them (I paid all of three bucks to spend nearly five terrific hours romping around the Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit this past June! ). The state parks are free, and I'd love to try to discover more hiking trails in the Ozarks, including the Crane Lake Trail.

yeah, it is VERY nice to visit the parks here in MO and not pay crazy fees to 'enjoy' them with throngs of other folk! and one doesn't have to book camping reservations six months in advance the morning they go on sale.

must admit though...i REALLY miss some of the spots in the Sierras and along the coast out West! especially when they combine fishing with camping and/or hiking. there are still a few places out there that offer solitude, and some even for no fee. hard to find or get to though!

my favorite spots in MO are mostly in the arcadia valley area. VERY beautiful country. working there right now, on the Taum Sauk reservoir project, and have a lot of family and friends in the area.