Bluff Ridge Trail - Missouri
Date Walked: 5th April 2014
Total Distance: 2.1 miles (3.3 km)
Total Actual Ascent: 141 ft (43m)
Total Time Taken: 1 hours
Bluff Ridge Trail is a short, easy 2 mile trek on the northern side of Harry S Truman State Park. After an overnight stay in the small town of Clinton Missouri en route to North Carolina I was looking for a place to stretch my legs in the morning, this fitted the bill perfectly.
The sun was yet to rise above the horizon as I arrived and I took my time changing boots and hanging around the car park until I decided to start out regardless of light. I stumbled my way along a narrow pathway for quite a while until there was sufficient light to grab a few images.
The sun was yet to rise above the horizon as I arrived and I took my time changing boots and hanging around the car park until I decided to start out regardless of light. I stumbled my way along a narrow pathway for quite a while until there was sufficient light to grab a few images.
The area is pretty much a typical Missouri forest with trees of oak and hickory, the trail itself is quite straightforward (once you can see) and is marked with blue flagging at all the required places.
There is little in the way of ascent or descent making it a good family trail, though it does reach a sheer drop off on a high rock bluff so children would need to be suitably corralled
The only short ascent on the trial is a climb up the back of the bluff ridge where I startled a herd of deer who returned the favour by dashing off through the trees making enough noise to wake the dead. Given the time of day and the lack of any other sound than my boots on the trail I can only assume they were as half awake as I was at our meeting.
Once onto the bluffs the trial follows along the ridge heading east and it's nice to be walking the morning sunshine as it rises above the horizon at last.
Working toward a point on the eastern end of the bluffs it is now a really lovely early morning wander, the forest floor looks like autumn rather than early spring and many of the trees still cling on to the last of their leaves
There are loads of turkey vultures roosting in the forest and none are keen to spread their wings just yet though they do keep a beady eye on me as I pass
Almost at the overlook as a storm cloud does it's best to block out that lovely morning sunshine but it fights through and the reflection on the lake is beautiful to see as I make the final stages to the overlook
Once at the overlook only a splash of sunlight remains as more and more clouds fill the sky, I guess its fortunate that I got up so early and made my way down here as this looks like it is to be the best part of the day.
Down on the lake there are a number of pelicans looking for breakfast and many other bird species crossing over, landing on and diving into the water, I guess this isn't the best part of the day if you're a fish.
I spent a little while high on the bluff just looking over the lake and watching the birds chasing their breakfast and seeing the last of the sunshine before it was eliminated by cloud
From the eastern point on the Bluffs I made a circuit through the woodland back to the park road and followed it around to my truck having enjoyed my morning leg stretcher.