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On
May 4th of this year, before trekking
down the final two of
our eleven National
Scenic Trails, the
Nimblewill Nomad headed out on the
Ozark Trail (OT), right here in his
home state of Missouri.
Of the 500 miles of
proposed trail in
Missouri, some 350 miles
of the
Ozark Trail have been
completed. Isolated
sections are
interconnected (for now)
by somewhat lengthy roadwalks. It’s a
scenic-but-rugged trail,
as it traverses the
highest land between the
Appalachians and the
Rockies, the
Ozark
Mountains, as they’ve
come to be known.
And these Ozark
Mountains? Well, they
could be more correctly
categorized as
highlands, since they
sprawl across an
elevated, deeply
dissected plateau. And
for sure, the region is
unique, certainly as to
its culture, in both
folklore and folksong.
The descriptive term
Hillbilly, or Ozark
Hillbilly; they’re
pretty much synonymous
(Yup, that’s
Nimblewill!). It’s
a remarkably diverse
region. Here can be
found mountainous
terrain marked by deep
valleys through which
clear, meandering
streams flow. Caves are
numerous. Hillsides
throughout are heavily
forested in oak,
hickory, and pine.
Minerals abound.
Agriculture, forestry,
mining, tourism, they’re
the mainstay. |
