MO trip report & pics

“Here is my travel journal for my hike in the Devil's Backbone Wilderness in MO
Trip Report

Photos”

“Great pictures! A lot different from the Sierra Landscapes that I'm used to.”

“Great trip report and those were nice pictures too.

Thanks for sharing them with us.”

“Great report and pics. Where, exactly is this area? Evidently not the same Devil's Backbone I am familiar with, near Columbia, MO, off Airport Road?”

“Hey, awesome trip report! Sounds like a wonderfully relaxing time... the pics reminded me of British Columbia's southern coast.”

“Pics remind me of great Colorado forests. Course the limestone reminds me of around where I live. We have a Backbone State Park in Ioway. There you get to hike, you guessed it, The Devil's Backbone. When I finally got to it (took a long time...... just over an hour away), I thought it would be narrower. Someone falls off it each year, it seems and sometimes gets killed.

And **very good** story. Great writing!! Say, has your stuff been on that one website yet. You better let us all know.

And....... utahiker........ **THANKS!!** You know what I'm talking about. What a nice, great surprise!!! (And I was having a bad day, so it really "hit" the spot) Still deciding what to use it for. I remember someone on a photo chat referring me to some book on he said was superb on mining photos. I think I'll try to come up with that again.

Thanks again!!!!!! :-)”

“Hey Lizs I was going to mention Backbone State Park in Iowa but you beat me to it. It definitely isn't the kind of place you expect to see in Iowa. I was up there in May and it's really nice, although the weather was ominous so we didn't actually camp. We kayaked on the Maquoketa (sp?) River all afternoon and were pretty beat from fighting the wind, so we ended up getting a hotel room in Strawberry Point.”

“well, Omahiker, are you gonna let me KNOW next time you're in the vicinity??!!? SHEEESH!!! And, geez, you even spelled Maquoketa right! People around here NEVER spell it right!! (I always have to exaggerate how you say it to spell it right) yeah, one time I hiked down from the area beyond the backbone to the river (the hill slopes there) and set up tripod in middle of stream and shot the bluff below the backbone at sunset.

Well, glad to hear you liked my lil' non-flat neck of the woods. And whad'ya think of "the world's largest strawberry??" LOL”

“Sorry we didn't get in touch lizs, the trip itinerary was pretty much "let's hit the road and go wherever we feel like going." Flooding in the area added to the uncertainty.

We took pictures of ourselves in front of the strawberry (haven't developed them yet), wondering how many high school pranksters have tried to steal or otherwise deface that majestic and awe-inspiring fruit.”

“Thanks, all, for feedback on the report and pics!

m-nutz, I have a book on MO's strange topography and it says there are 10+ devil's backbones in the state, plus devil's kitchen, etc. Apparently the early settlers had this fellow on their minds a lot! I'd like to see the one you're talking about as well.

lizs, glad to know you got it! You deserve it!!!!! My article has been published I haven't seen a copy yet..editor says it's in the mail. also, I don't think they keep up their website..not been updated since xmas. They want to print next article in august on the color page using some of the pics I sent. Hope I see my june article by then! LOL!!! Will somehow provide a copy to you when I get one.

Have a good Thursday!”

“Hey utahiker, I was so busy blathering about myself and giant strawberries that I didn't compliment you on your report & pix. Nice!

Also for anyone who is dying to see what lizs & I are talking about:

The World's Largest Strawberry”

“utahiker - I do have some pics of Devils Backbone near Columbia. I'll try to get 'em posted tonight.”

“Thanks for the pic, omahiker.

m-nutz, look forward to seeing the backbone!”

“utahiker, I'm in the MO area as well. Any suggestions for good weekend trips?”

“Welcome, wing, glad to hear that there is another "show-me" stater on the board!

Here are a couple of links that may be helpful to you. One is to a board with many of MO's great hiking trails. The board's founder, Danny McMurphy, also has set up a group on Yahoo (I post there too) and I'm including a link to that site. He and Cheryl, the co-founder of that board, are very knowledgeable about the area. It's a small group since the site just started, but it's growing everyday. Hope to hear more posts from you sharing your trail experiences. Oh, don't forget to submit your photo to Phil for inclusion on the TT Contributor page. Any questions, etc. feel free to email me at utahiker@hotmail.com.

MO Trails

MO Trails Club on Yahoo”