(Belated) Adventures in Camping - Elephant Rocks, Taum Sauk, and Johnson's Shut-Ins

Note: This post is a joint post by Andrew and Erin. Andrew will introduce the post and give his impression of some of the places we visited on our camping trip, and Erin will join in the middle to talk about her hike at Taum Sauk State Park..

[Andrew]
For me, the second weekend in August was a chance to do something different. After several weekends spent in Wisconsin's glacially molded terrain and the beautiful north woods, bogs, and rock formations of the UP of Michigan. However, this weekend he'd be going the other direction, south to the St. Francois Mountains in the Ozarks of Missouri. The rocks, animals, and plants would be different. Unfortunately, so would the climate.

However, the most important thing about this trip was that I would not be doing it alone. Although I was curious to check out Elephant Rocks, Johnson's Shut-Ins, and the views atop the St. Francois Mountains, my main reason for the trip was to visit with my sister. The last time we had camped out did not go so well, so I was hoping this time would be better.

Hiking Training Plan, Week #8 Recap

Week: August 5 - August 12 (8 days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7.25
Miles Hiked (Month): 8.25
Miles Hiked, (Month Goal): 15
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 33.30
Pounds Lost (Week): 2.6
Pounds Lost (Total): 20.2
Nights Camped (Week): 1
Nights Camped (Total): 3
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

So after a down weekend last week, I got back on track with a fun weekend in the St. Francois Mountains southwest of St. Louis with Erin. None of the hikes were too strenuous (I bowed out on the Mina Sauk Falls trail once it started getting too rocky), although there were a few climbs. It was interesting how much better I took those inclines than I would have two months ago. It appears the daily uphill walks up the ramps at the parking garage at work have paid off. The picture above is one of the rocks that give Elephant Rocks its name.

Because I didn't get back from the trip until mid-morning on Monday, this week was one day longer than normal. Having eaten breakfast and a couple snacks before getting back up to my apartment, it didn't make sense to weigh in then. As such, the upcoming week will be one day shorter. I'm going to try to keep up the progress, but this upcoming weekend may cause a temporary setback, seeing as I'm taking a trip for my birthday that will involve very little hiking. As long as I get back to it next Monday, I'm not too worried.

As you can see, I've added some additional statistics. This includes the number of nights I've camped out since starting my hiking training plan. Counting this past Saturday at Silver Mines Campground in Mark Twain National Forest, that brings it up to three nights for the year. I've yet to do a backpacking hike, but my goal is at least one or two nights before winter. Stay tuned for more details about that trip, when it happens.