• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

My Blog

My WordPress Blog

  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Recipes
  • Motivation
  • Travel
  • Nursing
6 Things I Have Learned From Going to Therapy

6 Things I Have Learned From Going to Therapy

A Leap Of Faith

A Leap Of Faith

A Season of Change

A Season of Change

Taum Sauk to Johnson Shut Ins

November 10, 2018      mirandaehrich

About a couple of weeks ago, I went on one of Missouri’s toughest hikes. We started our hike at Taum Sauk and ended at the Johnson Shut Ins. Now I like to think I am in shape, but boy was this hike hard. It is 14.5 miles long with rocky terrain most of the way. The hike took us 8 hours total including breaks. It definitely is not a boring hike and there are many scenic views along the way. From the tallest waterfall in Missouri, to the Devil’s Tollgate, pine trees and bluffs that overlooked the other mountains in the area. I am going to take you all through my day and give some tips on how to survive this hike if you ever decide to do it!

We prepared the night before by packing our food and filling up our water packs since we knew we were going to have an early morning. Be sure to bring plenty of water for this hike especially if you plan on going during the hotter months. When we went, the high was only 65 degrees so it was perfect weather and I didn’t suck through too much water. We hit the road a little after 6:00am and got to the Johnson Shut Ins around 7:40am. Depending on if you go with a group or not, one person can drop a car off at the Shut Ins and then another person can drive to Taum Sauk to begin the hike or you can catch a ride to TS from JSI from one of the park employees. The ride does cost $50, but we thought that would be easier than bringing two cars.

We got to TS right around 8:30 and began our hike right away. Taum Sauk sits at an 1,772 ft elevation, the highest point in Missouri. It was nice starting here rather than ending here. I don’t think I would have made it up this mountain if we started at JSI. Heading down the mountain the trail is mainly made up of rock. If you have ankle or balance problems, I would recommend bringing walking sticks or breaking in some good hiking boots before going. At the bottom of the mountain is the waterfall. There is a place where you can look at it from the top and from the bottom. There wasn’t too much water flowing from it at the time, but I hear it fills up during the rainy months.

About 30-45 minutes after the waterfall, you will come across the Devil’s Tollgate. It is two volcanic rock formations that the path passes through. Pictures do not do its justice of how cool it was to see this in person. If you are feeling daring too, you can climb to the top. There is a pretty easy path on the other side, you just have to do a little climbing. You’ll notice a stream to the right side of the path. We decided to venture through the trees and check it out. The rocks reminded me of the Johnson Shut Ins and it was fun to just get off the beaten path and explore a bit.

Next started our uphill battle towards Proffit Mountain which had a 1,703 ft elevation. And when I say battle, I mean battle. The picture below was how most of the terrain was going up the mountain. The rocks weren’t this big the whole time, but you can see how rocky it is. I slipped two times during this hike. The first time was going down Taum Sauk and I bruised up my hand and knee pretty good. The other time was during this rocky part and I like to blame these rocks for my hip pain the next day. So take it easy during this part if you’re not a pro.

The minefield we had to walk through multiple times.
Top of Proffit Mountain

The trees were just now starting to change color when we went and to walk through these golden trees with the sunlight coming through made me feel like I was in a Lord of the Rings movie. Most of the time you have to stare at the ground to make sure you don’t twist your ankle, so be sure you take the time to look up every once in a while and snap some good pictures.  Towards the top of the mountain, there are plenty of areas to take pictures and just take the time to really appreciate how beautiful nature is. Since there were many large rocks, we decided to take a break and eat lunch in this area.

After lunch, we ended up on the side of the mountain out in the open. We were able to see the water reservoir, which was pretty neat. During this part, there is an electric fence that runs pretty close to the path so be on the lookout for that. The rest of the trail, once making your way down Proffit Mountain, eased up a bit. It was mostly gravel and dirt, with some occasional bigger rocks. This is where we really started feeling sore and tired. The last 5 miles were the absolute hardest even though the terrain wasn’t as bad.

You can see the water reservoir in the distance.

Once you get to the point in the path where you have to go right or left, GO LEFT. We made the mistake of going right and walked the wrong way and had to walk along the highway to get back to the park. (lol) With that we ended up walking almost an extra mile. And I when I say walk, I mean crawl. We were crawling at the end.

This is a hike I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys hiking. But I think this is a one and done hike for me. It was very challenging, but with good company was a great time. I would suggest going during the fall for a few different reasons: you can see the colors change in the trees, the temperature is cooler so you are not dying, and the bugs were almost non-existent. We did have a couple of ticks fall on us, but non that actually stuck.

Hiking is a great exercise for those who like to switch things up instead of going to the gym. You work multiple muscle groups, the inclines get your heart rate up, and you burn quite a few calories. Taum Sauk and Johnson Shut Ins offer many other trail options as well if you are not up to doing this long one. Many seasoned hikers and campers will actually split this trail up in two days and camp in one of the camping areas offered on the trail. This trail challenged me physically and mentally, but I am so glad we did this year. Mother nature is so beautiful and most of us do not spend enough time in it and appreciating it. I hope everyone is able to enjoy a good hike in their lifetime and if you ever need a hiking buddy, I will gladly accompany you.

If anyone has any questions about this trail and would like to know more, feel free to ask!

 

XOXO

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 6 Things I Have Learned From Going to Therapy
  • A Leap Of Faith
  • A Season of Change
  • Detox Cabbage Soup
  • I Relapsed…..Again

Archives

  • May 2020
  • February 2020
  • September 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018

Categories

  • Fitness
  • Health
  • Motivation
  • Nursing
  • Recipes
  • Travel

Miranda Ehrich

Miranda Ehrich

"For what it's worth: It's never too late to be whoever you want to be.

I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Latest Pins

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Footer

Subscribe to blog below:

Loading
I’m proud of this girl right here. Proud that sh I’m proud of this girl right here. Proud that she can spend hours crying, then get up and do what she needs to do. Proud that even on the days she is in unbearable pain, she still does a workout. Proud that she defied all odds and is still defying them. Proud of her for always staying true to herself. I’m just so proud of how far she’s come. 

I hope one day soon I can share a little bit more of the recent weeks, but for now I am just grateful to be where I am. The good moments make the hard days easier to manage and process. Don’t forget to show yourself some love on your bad days ❤️
To the hardest year of my life: You taught me mo To the hardest year of my life: 

You taught me more about myself and life in a year than most people will learn in an entire lifetime. I had to rebuild myself from nothing. Learning how to walk again, coming back from a traumatic brain injury, learning how to cope with PTSD, dealing with the hardships of being out of a job for a year, the list goes on and on. 

But I did it. I survived the worst year of my life. I will never be grateful for getting hit by a car but I am grateful for the lessons that have been learned and for the growth that has come from it. I am a stronger, more resilient force and everyday I continue to heal. 

Most of this past year has been pain, depression, anxiety and more pain. But I look back at my camera roll and I see so many smiles, laughter, and amazing moments with amazing people. The people that have supported me this past year are the reason I am still here. Through my darkest moments I had difficultly finding my reason to hold on, but because of my support system and the love I received I held on. 

I made new friends, continued to grow current friendships, saw great EDM shows, went to festivals, spent so much time with family, visited friends across the country, went to multiple weddings, spent time in nature, and witnessed my second nephew be born. 

This year was hard and painful, but this year also gave me so so much. This year gave me a reason to live. This year showed me I am worthy of love, happiness and success. 

2023 watch out, I’m coming for you. 💕
Job secured ✔️ Apartment picked ✔️ In a sh Job secured ✔️ Apartment picked ✔️ In a short 3 weeks I’ll be back living in Orlando full time again. Bring on the adventures 💕
This year was the first Thanksgiving I had experie This year was the first Thanksgiving I had experienced with my family in over 5 years. Between work, having COVID, and being in the hospital, I haven’t been able to sit down at a table with a full plate with family, so this year was very special for me. Also special because I am still here to experience it. 

As a new beginning is coming, a tremendous amount of reflection has been happening about what this past year has looked like for me. As many know when I was discharged from the hospital, I had to go live with my sister and her family as I needed a full time caregiver. I couldn’t be left alone at the house because I needed help doing everything. She had to change my bandages, help me go to the bathroom, empty my commode, help transfer me, and had to remind me everyday to do my exercises. All while running a business, raising a toddler and being pregnant. She’s basically super woman. 

She didn’t leave my side in the hospital, advocated for me when she felt I wasn’t getting the best care, and somehow kept it together in front of me when I didn’t recognize her when I woke up. 

Everyone knows my sister is my best friend and that she’s my person. We aren’t the mushy lovey type, we get through life with coffee, wine, sarcasm and dark humor. We have always had this unspoken respect, love and compassion for one another that we don’t need to verbalize and we both know we would take a bullet for each other. 

She hasn’t gotten enough recognition for what she has done for me this past year and there will never be anything I can do to repay her. I absolutely would not have survived this past year without her support. Being close to my nephews, being able to be there for Lincoln’s birth and watch him grow up has been one of the greatest things this past year. Happiness has been hard to find at times but those 2 nuggets can always put a smile on my face. 

Anyways this is an Andrea appreciation post and I hope everyone has an Andrea in their life for when you hit rock bottom. 💕
One year ago as of yesterday, I was leaving EDC an One year ago as of yesterday, I was leaving EDC and my life changed forever. I woke up a week later in the hospital being told by a person I thought was a complete stranger, that I was crossing the street when a car going close to 50mph hit me. It took me a minute to register but the person telling me this was my sister. Over the next couple of days, I slowly started grasping the severity of my injuries and as they slowly decreased my fentanyl and morphine, the more my mind cleared up and the reality of my situation set in. Along with an unimaginable amount of pain. 

After 6 surgeries, breaking nearly 20 bones and being in a wheelchair for 4 months, I came back to EDC again this year. My PTSD is still there, my pain is still there but I am also still here. I survived death. I beat all odds and I am walking, talking and alive. I danced, I laughed, I cried and I celebrated that the worst year of my life is now behind me. 

For my other trauma survivors: hold tight, healing is not linear. You’ll have good days, okay days and terrible days. Sometimes those terrible days last for what seems like forever but the more you continue to fight for yourself, for your life, the more the okay days are more often than the terrible days. And before you know it the okay days start becoming the good days. This is your sign to prioritize your healing and create the life you want. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported and loved me this past year. I know I wasn’t always the best to be around, but I could not have gotten through this alone. I can’t wait to see what this next year brings me. 💕
We work on the glutes so we can have charcutes. 😋
Convinced my life is always a Taylor Swift song. Convinced my life is always a Taylor Swift song. 

I have spent so so much time picking up the broken pieces from this past year and a new chapter is finally beginning. 💕
Surgery #6 done ✔️ Everything went well. Doc Surgery #6 done ✔️

Everything went well. Doc said my bone growth was pretty significant and they had to take a lot out. It went all the way from my ulna to my radius. I’m pretty sore this morning and doing my exercises is not fun 🥴 but we are managing. Starting OT today and have to get some braces made that I can sleep in. 

I ended up getting a lot of hardware taken out. All 3 limbs were operated on but hopefully this will help me with the daily pain I am in. Arm plate/screws came out (which I’ve had in for 10 years now, might miss it a bit 🤪), screw in knee, 2 screws in left ankle, and my long screw in my right ankle (far right) all came out. I’m less robot now. 

Definitely aspirated when I was being extubated so been coughing up a lot of stuff over night but it’s getting better this morning. 

I have a lot of hard work in front of me and the next 6 weeks will be very vital in my long term recovery. My arm is still stiff and doesn’t want to rotate like it should so a lot of cranking on it and hourly exercises will have to be done. Pretty similar to what I went through when my leg didn’t want to work. 

Anyways hopefully this will be my last surgery and I will be able to get back to “normal” in the next 2-3 months! Thank you all for the kind words, for thinking about me and for those who have texted me it means the world. 

My year of hell is almost over. 🙌🏻
“I’m coming to terms with a broken heart, I gu “I’m coming to terms with a broken heart, I guess that sometimes good things fall apart.”

3rd time seeing @illenium in the past year and my love for him grows more and more with every show. Thanks for another amazing night Nick. 💕
Tell me you love me 🎶 Tell me you love me 🎶

Copyright © 2023 · My Blog · Blog Design by TinselPop