Hike to the South Fork in the Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA
1/5/23
Wildlife Management Areas are curious. From what I've seen of the few I've visited, they're typically not very attractive. For hunting they might be adequate, but for undisturbed natural beauty...well, not really. First, Waffle House served me up some breakfast. Then at 5:45 with 32°, entry was made within the domain of this Scott Henderson guy. It took a while to get past all the crappy terrain up on the plateau. When I dropped down into the valley, things changed. I found a mostly undisturbed and widely sprawling valley with a typical Ozark stream at the bottom. The sun rose with great loveliness. More of the valley was explored after that. Bluffs and small to large boulders abound. A waterfall was also located and viewed. This was Nub Smuggler Falls. Lunch was had on some leaves against a tree with the edge of the valley just before me. At 11:00 with 48° and clear skies, my hike was over. Ground covered totaled 2.7 miles.
