My Photos: [www.mohiking.com]
Official Site: [www.wilderness.net]

This is a review of part of Bells official trail (the best � of the loop and the trail down to the Hwy A trail head) and also the particular hike we did on this day which was a bushwack.

This hike of 10 people was organized and lead by Danny McMcmurphy. Danny is an experienced hiker who knows the area and wanted to bushwack from near by Lindsey Mt., down to shut ins creek and straight up the side of Bell. He�s done this before, and twice from the other direction. I saw this as a great opportunity to do a hike I would not ordinarily get to do with someone who knows the area and would like thank Danny for inviting us. (Danny also has a website with reviews and photos of his hikes at [www.motrails.com]).

Since we were not doing a loop we did the car shuttle thing, leaving cars at Hwy A trail head and then car pooling over to Lindsay Mt. The parking spot for Lindsey must be fairly close to the top since we didn�t have to clime it, but most certainly had to go down.

First, Danny took us to the summit of Lindsey where some large boulders were strewn about making for a perfect place to take a break. Then we back tracked a bit to the place where we would cross over to Bell. Just as we came to the side of Lindsey where we would begin our decent, the woods opened up and all the sudden we got our first really great view of Bell Mt.. Everyone oood and whipped out their cameras as it really was a spectacular site. Still retaining it�s autumn color, Bell was laid out in front of us in auburn red and you could very clearly see 2 of the 3 rock walls that lay in horizontal stripes across bell. (You can see the stripes of the rock walls in the photo section, the first photos are of Bell Mt. as we spotted it from Lindsey).

Before we could climb Bell, we had to get down the side of Lindsey which, in my opinion, was the miserable part of the hike that must be endured in order to do the rest. I hate going down and going down Lindsey was the worst. The hillside was absolutely covered with those foot sized rocks, and for extra excitement, many of the rocks were covered in leaves. I hate those foot sized rocks because they are not big enough to walk on, just big enough to be annoying as you try to find spots between them. You can walk on them, but there is the risk they could turn or roll under your foot, and often they don�t have a flat spot to step on anyway.

After carefully picking our way down Lindsey we earned a break sitting on boulders by the lovely little shut ins creek. Danny took some of the hikers over to a see mine adit that is down there. Then we crossed the creek and started our climb up Bell.

Climbing Bell, without a trail, just bushwacking straight up the side of it, was fun and challenging and rewarding. It was very steep and in many places you really were climbing, almost on hands and knees over boulders, and I don�t about the other hikers, but Margot and I were using the saplings to pull ourselves up wherever we could. I enjoyed the climb, it�s the kind of thing that makes you feel like a kid again. This side of Bell was not covered in the foot sized rocks but rather had more large boulders. One good thing about climbing a steep hill is that you can�t really fall, as the ground is only about 12 inches away if you stick your hand out.

Although the rock �walls� look like solid straight up walls from afar, they are really a series of large boulders and you can pick your way between them. Except for that last part at the very top. I took some photos of that last part at the top, it�s the photos looking straight up at straight high boulders that truly did make a wall. But even there I found a place that was somewhat horizontal. The last bit was solid rock and I had to leave the safety of the saplings behind and actually do some real rock climbing for just a couple of feet. I found my last foot hold and Danny let me grab onto his stick and he pulled me up over the top.

We were immediately rewarded with a fantastic view of nothing but mountain ridges going off into the distance. Bell Mt. is one of the highest spots in Missouri. I really enjoyed that climb, and now that I�ve had time to think about it and look at the photos of Bell I would actually like to do it again! Not by going down Lindsey though, if I ever did it again I�d rather do down Bell and back up, or find a way to follow the shut ins creek valley in, and then up.

With perfect timing we met up our friend Suzanne (the woman who leads the Friday Sierra club hikes in this area). She had some friends with her and she already knew our group would be coming up the hill and she came over to greet us. Not far from the place we came up, was a rock patio/overlook area that makes a perfect lunch spot. The 2 groups joined for lunch and the rest of the hike.

After lunch we got on the trail for the rest of way. We took � the loop and the Hwy A trail head path several miles back to the cars. Being a wilderness area, the trail was not well marked with markers but it was easy to see, even in fall. For most of the way as the trail went across the top of the mountain it was a nice clear trail that was almost like walking on a sidewalk.

On the way down, the trail opens onto several glades that offer views off the side of the mountain into the distance. As the trail started to go farther down it had some rocky stretches that were filled with those foot sized rocks. That can be especially hazardous this time of year when they are covered with leaves. I don�t know how the more experienced hikers manage to fly over those areas, for the first time ever, I twisted my foot pretty bad not once but several times on those rocks. Some people with me, who have seen a lot of trails, told me that trail does seem to be one of the worst they�ve seen as far as being filled with rocks. So that is something to watch out for if you are going to be doing this hike.

Final analysis is that I enjoyed Bell and would do it again, and would do the climb again. Did not see the whole loop trail.








Edited 4 times. Last edit at 12/25/06 06:34PM by Nick Kasoff.