Trip Report
I was in St. Louis on business and noticed that the highpoint of Missouri was only 2 hours from our hotel. A co-worker of mine who was on the trip, Andy, was also into hiking. We arranged for a late flight on Tuesday. After a long day in the office on Monday, we headed out for some state highpointing on Tuesday morning.
Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest point of Missouri and Iron County. It is a Native American name. The mountain is part of the Ozark
The drive took us exactly 2 hours as advertised. It was really cool to see the fall colors, the neat landscape, old Civil War battle sites, etc...
We reached the trailhead, where the temperature was about 40 degrees and a 10-15 mph wind. The skies were sunny, but it was chilly.
The highpoint of Missouri is a really easy hike of about 1/4 of a mile. It is basically a wide, paved trail to the top. The top is in dense forest. There is a rock, highpoint plaque, bench, etc... nearby.
After visiting the highpoint, we actually did a nice loop hike that took us to Mina Sauk Falls. The loop hike is very well marked and on a good, albeit rocky trail. The loop is 3 miles round trip. Both Andy and I felt the loop was very nice, with views in numerous spots. We both enjoyed the creek above the falls (the falls are the highest in Missouri at 132 feet).
Upon return, we re-summited the peak before making our way back to the car.
After leaving the trailhead, we stopped at an observation point with a nice deck to view the surrounding area. There were signs with history of the area, mountain names, fauna and flora information, etc...
After a nice lunch in Farmington, we were headed back to St. Louis for our return flight to Boise, both pleased with the new territory we were able to explore.
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