Ozark Trail Training Through Hike Archive

You may find it helpful to make a list of meals for each day you are out on the trail to ensure that you are not over- or under-packing for your trip. The entire trail is open to hikers and offers easy and moderate hiking conditions. Much of it is also accessible for mountain biking and horseback riding. In a sheer stroke of luck for this test, we are having a very aggressive heatwave in Southeast Michigan with temperatures around the 90’s during the day and staying in the 70’s overnight. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day.

I’ve carried out many extraordinary “adventures” in my 53 years, but hiking the entire 230-mile OT through the Mark Twain National Forest in southeast Missouri was one of the more fulfilling. I’ll forever cherish the memories made and accomplishments achieved — and my own cherishing quickly turned to wondering about other OT thru-hikers’ experiences. While this pack may not be big enough to carry all the gear you need for longer treks, it offers many of the features you would want at a good price.

While the Ozark Trail doesn’t run directly through any towns, hikers may access options for resupply and services along the way, including the locales below. Please be aware that we make an effort to keep this information current. However, businesses and business conditions change, thus the information contained here is subject to change without the knowledge of the Ozark Trail ozark trail canopy Association. A great way to ask questions of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts is to check out the Ozark Trail Section Hikers and Backpackers  (OTSHAB) Facebook page. You’ll find numerous advocates eager to answer your questions and aid you in planning your thru-hike. My shoulders did not chafe nor rub or irritate while walking and I did not get any bruising on my hips.

In essence, I had committed to the permanent rainfly option by default and there was a certain contentedness that came with that. The first good design feature is the placement of the door on the side, and more specifically on the long side of the tent. I’ve tried tents with the door on one end and it is cumbersome. For the end-door variants, one has to toss their sleeping bag down the tent when getting ready for bed.

It also includes loops to hang your trekking poles when not in use. Our sister site Alloutdoor.com recently reviewed a hiking backpack sold by Ozark Trail that had an overall stellar performance and it triggered a question among our staff. Is Walmart’s Ozark Trail brand a true sleeper, putting out products that deserve much more attention among outdoorsmen? With that question being floated, we decided to travel down the path of discovery and start to take a closer look at Ozark Trail and some of their products.

I used a Katadyn BeFree 1-liter filter and only needed to clean it once in my 16 days. Berchek continued, “Water is easy to find on the OT, even in the drier seasons. The problem is there are a lot more water sources than indicated on the map, so…you end up carrying more water than needed.

“I was surprised that Missouri could have a wilderness that still gives a feeling of solitude. I was also surprised by the amount of trail maintenance on such a ‘less talked about’ trail,” Tils said. On the small side, so it won’t work for hikers who need a spacious pack. Try out unlimited access with 7 days of Outside+ for free. Because it’s basically a single compartment stuff bag, I did have to make sure the items inside were distributed properly.

ozark trail backpack

Be prepared to face changing weather conditions out in the wilderness. Water sources such as rivers and streams may only be available seasonally. Ozark Trail maps are a great resource to help identify places where you can access water. Bring enough water for your trip or a way to purify water to make it safe to drink.

But there’s one more thing that can contribute significantly to designing exceptional products and ignoring it means missing out on creating products that are truly iconic. Some 1-person tents will have two major spars or spines that cross for the main support structure. In the Ozark Trail tent, it has only one spar traveling down the center lengthwise with a single rib to open up the area in the middle. The four or six tent pegs hold the structure down but are crucial for the tent to stand by itself.

She enjoyed many “zero days,” visiting local attractions with her brother, who followed her in a support vehicle. Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please ozark trail backpack be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting. When all folded up, it takes up about the same amount of space as two t-shirts. Overall, its a great backup to have when traveling, and very inexpensive.