Backpacking the Sylamore Trail

trip planned: Sylamore Backpacking Trail

Guy and I have planned a short trip to get the spring started and are looking forward to a few hours without the bustle of life and just enjoy the beauty of the Ozarks. By the time we are done we may just be ready to jet home to see our families; it's an ambivalent hobby.

Originally we planned to hike close to KC, but it seemed that longer trails are all about the same distance away whether in state or out. So we agreed to try the before now unheard of Sylamore Trail. We wanted to hike the north end of this trail but it has been closed due to the damage caused by winter ice storms; this section is 'newer' which may attribute to the damage. Every trail I have been on has some sort of damage whether it's downed trees or washed out trails, but to close the whole trail must be extensive damage indeed. We thought of just going anyways, but what the heck, we can follow the 'rules'. Many reviews say this is one of the most scenic trails in the Ozarks.

This is my first 'out and back' trail so we'll see how it goes; I'd rather go for loops or shuttles, but we wanted this to be as simple (and cheap) as possible.

Itinerary:
Friday:
- On the road by 1300 or as soon as we can
- Arrive and camp at Allison trailhead
Saturday:
-Early start
-Turn around at Gunner Pool; mile 9
-Camp between mile 8 and 7 depending on scenic and water resources. I am excited about this part because I've never really gotten to choose my site without backtracking on a one way trail; should be nice.
Sunday:
-Early start
-Back to car; total miles- 18.
-Back to civilization

I'm really going to miss my daughter, all she knows is daddy isn't home, the wife understands, but Madeline doesn't. That is one thing I've noticed in the last year: I can communicate with my wife and she is understanding of things, but how do you communicate that to a toddler? I may have to hoof it to the nearest ridge to get signal for a phone call...