Compton Hollow Conservation Area - Feb. 5, 2011

Hiking Compton Hollow Conservation Area

With our full weekend plans to hike and camp in Arkansas pretty much out of the question, my buddy Brian D. and I hiked a little conservation area just east of Springfield, out towards Seymour, Missouri. We hiked about five miles in eight to ten inches of snow.

Getting there was a bit of trouble. When we stopped to read a sign on the side of the road, the car lost traction and slid several feet sideways, downhill. Every time we tried the gas, it would just break traction again and slide sideways a few inches. Seeing that I didn't want my wife's car to tumble 20 feet down an embankment and into some trees, we walked to the nearest house and borrowed a shovel. We then dug some ruts down through the underlaying ice layer and crossed our fingers that the car might shift down into the ruts and get some traction. Luckily it worked or we might have had a pretty bad day.

Starting out

The area had quite a few small glades and fields to wander across.

As well as a few old cow ponds

The trail sees several types of traffic, but the only company we had all day were a handful of deer that crossed in front of us. Of course, by the time I got to the camera, they were nothing but tracks.

Creek

Brian and I

Looking over an adjacent property

An abandoned house along the outer road

Long shadows

Bird tracks

Deer tracks were everywhere

Either a small dog or a large cat

The end