Bell Mountain Wilderness -in Mark Twain Natl Forest-MO near hardly anything (Taum Sauk reservoir visible to southeast).
My understanding is Wilderness designation means its basically a roadless large area (9000 acres here) that is largely left to nature, save for some trail clearing, minimal signage, and what's left by hikers/campers.
as you can see by this view of deadfall hurdles on the trail itself, minimalist maintenance in the wilderness area.
of course the galoot was along for the journey
Place is known as one of the quietest in MO -and has some great views at top. Prayer rocks.
Galoot on Pride Rock
The dog stays pretty much in control-but did disappear for an unnerving 10 minutes or so. I keep him leashed some, but this wilderness stuff is natural to him. So, every now and then, when my gut says its safe, I give it a chance to excorcise his demons.
There's a trail that looks so easy to follow on a crude map, but it was different in reality. Easy to let your mind drift here and not pay attention to landmarks. Hard to gauge distance, a few unexpected forks in the trail, and deadfall to confuse the route. I like this feeling and ability to get a little lost -you can definitely get that at Belle Mountain. I had a timeframe for the dayhike, and fortunately guessed right, and didn't backtrack much. a compass came in handy.
Probably a week or so from the fall colors in full
I've never been backpacking, but it definitely looked inviting to plop down for an evening/morning at the top with that view. Part of this trail is shared with the Ozark trail, so its definitely got enough to it for backpacking.
anyhows, now its someone else turn to add to the GRB outdoorsy braintrust.
