Location: Iron and Washington Counties, 15-20 miles southwest of Potosi, MO!

Distance: 24-miles long from Hazel Creek Campground to Highway A at the Northern terminus of the Taum Sauk Section and eventually the northern terminus of the Karkaghne Section.

Water: Water is available in Hazel Creek, Telleck Branch and Spring, a spring about 1/4 mile south of the Council Bluff cutoff - right along the south side of the trail, Big River crossing, Panther Branch, Peter Cave Hollow, and Ottery Creek.

Parking: Overnight parking is available at five locations: At the Hazel Creek Campground, the north terminus of this section; An unmarked parking area near the Hwy DD crossing at the 12.5 mile point on the trail; Council Bluff Lake at the Wild Boar Boat Ramp using the Council Bluff Trail and the cutoff along Telleck Creek, not shown on the brochure map; at the Hwy 32 crossing at mile 18.2; and at the southern terminus at Hwy A.

Comments - Danny: Notes from Danny McMurphy: On Friday, 22 February '02, John Roth, Robert Smith, and myself hiked the northern section of the Trace Creek Section on Friday from Hazel Creek Campground south to Council Bluff Lake and used the cutoff there to the parking lot at Wild Boar Boat Launch. We had a beautiful day as the sky cleared and there was nothing but blue sky for most of the hike. Took us about 7 hours to cover the 14 miles, which included lunch and breaks. Essentially all streams were flowing great and it was nice to see all the water. A portion of the cutoff from the Trace Creek to the Council Bluff Trail was flooded as the local beaver population had dammed up Telleck Creek to the point that it was flowing down the trail. John pointed out the beautiful Telleck Spring to us too. Since being in the area two weeks ago the sign for the Hazel Creek Campground had been torn down and the housing for the pit toilets at the parking lot was missing two - strange looking as the commodes were still intact. Notes from Danny: On Friday, 8 March '02, suyame128 and myself hiked the southern portion of the Trace Creek Section of the OT from Council Bluff Lake, Wild Boar Boat Launch parking lot to the trailhead at Hwy A at Bell Mountain Wilderness. It was windy day on the lake but there were two boats out with fishermen. We used the Lakeshore Trail and the 1/2 mile cutoff between to get over to the Ozark Trail and continue on south. Still plenty of water in Telleck Branch and the beavers still have a small portion of the trail flooded. After reaching the OT we headed on south. There is a nice spring right along the trail about 1/4 mile or so after leaving the cutoff. On over the hill we crossed Big River, a creek here though, but it had plenty of water as well and a nice camping spot on the south side. The trail is very moderate on over to Hwy 32 as switchbacks do their job on any areas with substantial grade. There is more grade to walk between Hwy 32 and Hwy A though. Panther Creek and the creek in Peter Cave Hollow were all flowing good as well. Another spring was noted on the south side of the creek crossing in Peter Cave Hollow. I spent some time trying to locate Peter Cave No. 2 but to no avail. I feel that the caves must be plotted in the wrong place on the map. When entering Peter Cave Hollow there were some awesome views of Bell Mountain through the trees. I'm sure these views will disappear when the canopy returns though. As we made it to the top of the last hill above Hwy A the sky to the southwest was very dark but we had a dry day and only received a slight sprinkle as we approached the car at the trailhead. There were some more great views of Bell Mountain as you come down the long switchbacks back to the trailhead. Ottery Creek along Hwy A was the hardest to cross this day as it was flowing very well but since it was the end of the trail we didn't worry too much about getting our feet wet.

Maps: The Trace Creek Section Ozark Trail Map/Brochure that is available from the US Forest Service and the Ozark Trail Coordinator. The map/brochure is very adequate for this trip. The USGS 7-1/2 minutes quad sheets for this section are Courtois, Palmer, and Johnson Mountain.