Location – 5/5 We visited Sam A. Baker State Park for Memorial Day weekend, our first car camping of the season. The state park is located in Patterson, MO off Highway 67. The drive was straight forward and very easy. Campground – 3/5 We camped on the largest camping holiday weekend of the year, so it may have been a bit more crowded than usual, but the entire campground was packed! This included very drunken, Continue Reading
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Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest
Location – 5/5 Garden of the Gods is about an hour away from I57 interstate and was a very simple drive. There was a dedicated overnight backpackers parking area, though during busy times the day hikers take up spots. The official trail is 6.4 miles and seemed to be pretty accurate. Campground – 5/5 Most of the campsites were right on the trail, except the one we stayed at. It was about 30-40 feet off Continue Reading
Panther Den Wilderness
Location – 5/5 This site was close to a friend’s house, and his introduction to backpacking, so something close is always nice. Panther Den Wilderness official trail is only around 2-3 miles so we custom made a new route to be in the 10 mile range. The AllTrails mileage and elevation is off (5.44 mi. in, 3.95 mi. out, 1181 ft. elevation) compared to my watch (6.5 mi. in, 4.8 mi. out, 1339 ft. elevation). Continue Reading