I, on the other hand, could have stayed out longer. True, I wasn’t able to remove the rain fly to watch the stars or let the wind ventilate my tent, but I was able to enjoy the day hikes without any sort of worry. In essence, I had committed to the permanent rainfly option by default and there was a certain contentedness that came with that. The first good design feature is the placement of the door on the side, and more specifically on the long side of the tent. I’ve tried tents with the door on one end and it is cumbersome. For the end-door variants, one has to toss their sleeping bag down the tent when getting ready for bed.
This was day nine of my 16-day thru-hike of the Ozark Trail (OT). Get Backpacking Light news, updates, gear info, skills, ozark trail backpack and commentary delivered into your inbox 1-2x/week. Visit our Trail Directory for an overview of the sections.
Although I saw many diggings from feral hogs, I was fortunate to have never come across any. I did meet a hunter in the woods whose hands and arms were covered in blood. She had just shot a wild hog and had cut out the “back straps” to eat. My first night out I heard coyotes howling just before I fell asleep, which half startled me but was also beautiful to hear.
I was also surprised by the amount of trail maintenance on such a ‘less talked about’ trail,” Tils said. Because it’s basically a single compartment stuff bag, I did have to make sure the items inside were distributed properly. I have used the hydration compartment for items like my iPad. My shoulders did not chafe nor rub or irritate while walking and I did not get any bruising on my hips. I only walked about a mile away on a dirt trail to the showers but it was not a flat surface and the equiptment on my back was stable. Fast and easy to adjust and all buckles and webbing are in good quality.
However, businesses and business conditions change, thus the information contained here is subject to change without the knowledge of the Ozark Trail Association. A great way to ask questions of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts is to check out the Ozark Trail Section Hikers and Backpackers (OTSHAB) Facebook page. You’ll find numerous advocates eager to answer your questions and aid you in planning your thru-hike. They might be able to assist in arranging a shuttle. By default, this unexpectedly ended up being my go-to daily bag for several months.
“A cold front bringing thunderstorms was preceded by a spectacular cloud show on Stegall Mountain. A sub-freezing night brought beautiful, delicate frost flowers. Water from a full day of rain and a nighttime thunderstorm brought life to the small waterfall in Wolf Pen Hollow.
Since the trip was three years in the making, the anticipation was doubly intense. “Mid-November is one of the best times to hike in Missouri. With the seasonal overgrowth fading quickly, wildlife is easier to spot. The trail is likely to be in better condition this time of year because a lot of trail work begins in the fall,” he said. “Some nights were a little too cool, and I found I needed warmer gear.
Stitches appeared evenly spaced and of uniform distance from the fabric edges. There is a lack of reinforcement on the pack’s taffeta bottom, though. Shoulder straps are lightweight mesh-lined with very little padding. This hydration compatible backpack has a connection for a water bladder built in to the design. It also includes loops to hang your trekking poles when not in use. Similar to many of the other thru-hikers, I downloaded the OTA’s excellent GPS maps, but I loaded them into the Gaia GPS app on my iPhone.
I used this mostly to make sure I was on the trail when blazes were hard to find, and I logged my campsites and where I filtered water. My Suunto Baro 9 GPS watch has a battery that would last a whole day, and I brought the Anker PowerCore power bank that weighs a whooping 20 ounces. I needed to charge my headlamp, watch, and iPhone, which I used often for GPS, photos, video, and journal entries. Includes compression straps on the sides to keep your gear stable. This pack has a lot of extra storage pockets for organization of your gear.
Filtering or chemically treating water is overwhelmingly recommended. I used a Katadyn BeFree 1-liter filter and only needed to clean it once in my 16 days. I carried my water in two, 1-liter SmartWater bottles. “Every unfavorable turn of weather brought some reward,” said Berchek of his fall hike.