The humorous part about my new found outdoor adventure fixation is that I’m highly allergic to pretty much everything outside. I use two different nasal sprays daily along with a dosage of zyrtec every morning and in case of allergy-induced emergencies, I have two different rescue inhalers along with an EpiPen. One humid August night spent in a tent a couple of years ago brought on such a severe sinus infection that I couldn’t even talk the next morning. Are you getting the picture yet?

But this 7 mile hike was so much fun this past weekend that I can’t wait to go back. And the hives that started creeping up my arms and legs in the car ride home were totally worth it. It helped that we had hilarious hiking companions that made the burning sensation in my quads as we hiked up the hills (that I swear seemed like mountains) a little less painful. And because I find it so difficult to find information online about trails in the area, I wanted to share my tidbits on the Chubb from the West Tyson trailhead (read about round one from the opposite end here). If you’re like me and know you’re not going to make the entire 14 miles from one point and back, I highly recommend sticking to this end of the trail. 

The terrain was much more rugged on this end of the trail making it a more challenging hike and the scenery stayed interesting throughout the entire trip- we turned around halfway through the trail making our total trip 7 miles. The natural stone ‘stairs’ (above) along the trail were such a beautiful spot although my hamstrings weren’t seeing the beauty when we climbed up them. The creepy abandoned house above was oddly one of my favorite things from the hike as I went back through the pictures.  Of the hikes we’ve gone on so far, this was by far my favorite trail and I will certainly be going back soon.

 This post would be more accurately titled with ‘How NOT to Hike’ since not pictured here is the large sign we came across five minutes into our hike stating “trail closed”. And of course, we clearly didn’t think this applied to the trail we were on (note: there were no other trails nearby) and continued on our blissful way.

 I chose Chubb Trail because I’ve heard it’s one of the more challenging trails in the Valley Park area with rougher terrains, consistent inclines, and views overlooking the Meramec. I was looking forward to “the steps” in this trail to really challenge us but we unfortunately didn’t make it that far.

About a mile into the trail, we run into the river and quickly realized that the “trail closed” sign did in fact apply to us and that may be why we had run into less than five other people on the trail thus far. It was clear that the Meramec had taken over the flatter terrain of the trail and left debris and mud in its path. Lots and lots of mud. I was actually so focused on not getting stuck in the mud that I didn’t get a picture of the worst part but you can see some of the debris from the river below (this is pre-mud attack).

On our way back, I snapped some pictures of the mud that we thought was the worst of it (below) until we ran into the river and realized it didn’t even compare. All in all, it was a nice way to enjoy five miles of the outdoors (albeit rather freezing outdoors) and I even tried to give myself a heart attack with a mini run near the end. Uphill. Lots of bad choices involved this day.

I will definitely be heading back once the temperatures climb a little bit since I am determined to try out the infamous limestone steps along the trail.