Backpacking Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Unit East Loop
It was an early spring outing and I was itching to use some new equipment and learning I had obtained over the winter. I had never been to Stephens State Forest before so I was welcoming a new experience. I live in the Des Moines Metropolitan area and Stephens Forest is about an hour south of Des Moines so it is easy to get to for a quick weekend. I was planning on a two night trip and had to get down there after work so somewhere close was kind of imperative.
Some good to know information for you if you choose take some time and explore the Woodburn Unit.
1. There is a nice parking area at the trail head. It has box of maps and a faucet for fresh water is available. It was my only water source for the trip, other than what I brought from home.
2. The trail is broke up into an east loop and a west loop. The east loop is 3.25 miles and the west loop is 3 miles. The parking lot sits between each loop.
3. There are three campsites on the east loop and two on the west loop. All are primitive sites for backpackers.
The forecast was for very cold weather, especially for April, with a low on Friday night of around 15 degree Fahrenheit, a high in the mid 30s, then a low in the lower 20s on Sunday morning.
As usual, before every trip you should let somebody know your plan. I always let my wife know my plan and I sent my plan to the ranger email account.
Night 1 (1.25 Miles)
When I arrived there was a dusting of snow on the ground. My plan was to take the north route of the east trail and stay at White Oak Camp. Since it was late in the evening I had to get into the first campsite. Each campsite is equipped with a picnic table and a fire ring. White Oak Camp was a nice flat site on top of a ridge. The trail to get there was not too difficult. A couple hills but not too steep. The trail itself was pretty easy to follow and had very good signage.
Well, now that I am going through this I realized I didn't get a picture of White Oak Camp. I have pictures of all of the other campsites and they all pretty much look the same. Sorry. This was a good site to get into quickly on a night after work.
Having a picnic table surely made a night at camp easier. Keeping my pack and gear off the ground and not having to bend all the way to the ground to get everything makes my back feel much better. One of the pieces of equipment I upgraded this winter was my backpacking stove. My old stove had the normal 3 arms to hold up my cooking pot, but my new one has 4 and has a matching windscreen. Though the picnic table made it hard for me to see the difference between the 3 & the 4 arm stove, but the windscreen made a huge difference in cook time. If you are interested it is the Snow Peak GigaPower 2.0 stove with a matching windscreen.
Day 1 (7.7 Miles)
On day 2 my initial plan was to finish the east loop and do the west loop nearly two times. My plans changed due to what I wanted to do with this report but I think it was for the best. I ate my breakfast overlooking the valley below and noticed a stream bed that looked like it had quite a bit of water. I only brought water purification pills since I knew the trail head had potable water, but this would be something to check out.
Saturday morning back on the trail headed towards Long Beard Camp. Twin Oaks Trail continued to the northeast and you head down into a valley. There is a DNR access trail just before Broken Bone Crossing but the signs clearly point to the correct trail to follow which leads you to Broken Bone Crossing. This was the first "water" crossing of the trip. The stream bed had barely a trickle of water and it was mostly frozen due to how cold it was.
Having the good signs really made it easy to know where you were on the trail.
After crossing over the stream it was on up the trail. This trail wasn't too steep. It took a nice long stretch up to the top of the ridge where the entrance to Long Beard Camp is located. The trail continued to be easy to follow even though they were covered with leaves. The trail was still frozen so it was kind of easy to walk. When arriving at the Long Beard Camp entrance you will notice the trail into the camp is very long and would get you far off the trail if you wanted some privacy.
Here is a picture of the sign and the long trail. Long Beard Camp is at the top of a ridge, as most of the sites are. It is well off the main trail.
Here are a couple good pictures of the campsite. They are flat with a picnic table and a fire ring.
A little jaunt and I was back on the trail. This section was called Buckeye Trail, though there was no sign on the Long Beard side of Buckeye Trail. After a short hike I was at Black Oak Camp. This camp was occupied when I went by it in the morning and I didn't want to invade this person's experience by walking up to his site and snapping a few pictures. So, I had to come back later, which is what changed my plan.
Black Oak Camp is nice and out of the way of the trail and right by a DNR access trail. The sign for Black Oak Camp is broken in half, but using your map it is easy to determine. The camp itself is very nice and looks well used.
Continuing down Blackjack Trail back towards the trail head is a very long downhill trek. It is not too steep if you come the other way. It is a very nice and wide trail to the bottom of the valley taking you Arrowhead Crossing. Arrowhead Crossing was the most difficult crossing to get over. There was no easy way all the way to the creek bed so I had to jump and it was a bit muddy on the landing side. With a 40 pound pack on, it wasn't ideal, but for the most difficult one, it was still pretty easy. The sign for Arrowhead Crossing is about 20 feet to the north of the trail up the creek bed. Perhaps the trail was moved due to flooding at some point.
Coming back up towards the trail head is a steeper incline and it is the most difficult on the East Loop, but it isn't too bad even with a pack on. Once you get to the top, the trail flattens out nicely. There are some large shrubs on both sides of the trail and it gets closed in a little, but hey, it's flat. As you continue down this trail you will return to the trail head of the East Loop. It's a good place to refill on water as you prepare for the West Loop.
The East Loop was enjoyable and signs were very good. The only time I ever didn't really know where I was was on the first night and that was only because I thought I was walking faster than I was and I was not expecting the signs to be this well placed. I will be posting a similar analysis of the West Loop in not too long.
Hope to see you on the trail!
Craig
Some good to know information for you if you choose take some time and explore the Woodburn Unit.
1. There is a nice parking area at the trail head. It has box of maps and a faucet for fresh water is available. It was my only water source for the trip, other than what I brought from home.
2. The trail is broke up into an east loop and a west loop. The east loop is 3.25 miles and the west loop is 3 miles. The parking lot sits between each loop.
3. There are three campsites on the east loop and two on the west loop. All are primitive sites for backpackers.
 |
| Trail leading towards the east loop |
 |
| Sign at the trail head |
 |
| Trail across the road |
The forecast was for very cold weather, especially for April, with a low on Friday night of around 15 degree Fahrenheit, a high in the mid 30s, then a low in the lower 20s on Sunday morning.
As usual, before every trip you should let somebody know your plan. I always let my wife know my plan and I sent my plan to the ranger email account.
Night 1 (1.25 Miles)
When I arrived there was a dusting of snow on the ground. My plan was to take the north route of the east trail and stay at White Oak Camp. Since it was late in the evening I had to get into the first campsite. Each campsite is equipped with a picnic table and a fire ring. White Oak Camp was a nice flat site on top of a ridge. The trail to get there was not too difficult. A couple hills but not too steep. The trail itself was pretty easy to follow and had very good signage.
 |
| Beginning of Twin Oaks Trail |
 |
| First night on the trail |
 |
| Very good signage along the trail |
 |
| Each campsite has a nice sign |
Well, now that I am going through this I realized I didn't get a picture of White Oak Camp. I have pictures of all of the other campsites and they all pretty much look the same. Sorry. This was a good site to get into quickly on a night after work.
Having a picnic table surely made a night at camp easier. Keeping my pack and gear off the ground and not having to bend all the way to the ground to get everything makes my back feel much better. One of the pieces of equipment I upgraded this winter was my backpacking stove. My old stove had the normal 3 arms to hold up my cooking pot, but my new one has 4 and has a matching windscreen. Though the picnic table made it hard for me to see the difference between the 3 & the 4 arm stove, but the windscreen made a huge difference in cook time. If you are interested it is the Snow Peak GigaPower 2.0 stove with a matching windscreen.
Day 1 (7.7 Miles)
On day 2 my initial plan was to finish the east loop and do the west loop nearly two times. My plans changed due to what I wanted to do with this report but I think it was for the best. I ate my breakfast overlooking the valley below and noticed a stream bed that looked like it had quite a bit of water. I only brought water purification pills since I knew the trail head had potable water, but this would be something to check out.
Saturday morning back on the trail headed towards Long Beard Camp. Twin Oaks Trail continued to the northeast and you head down into a valley. There is a DNR access trail just before Broken Bone Crossing but the signs clearly point to the correct trail to follow which leads you to Broken Bone Crossing. This was the first "water" crossing of the trip. The stream bed had barely a trickle of water and it was mostly frozen due to how cold it was.
Having the good signs really made it easy to know where you were on the trail.
After crossing over the stream it was on up the trail. This trail wasn't too steep. It took a nice long stretch up to the top of the ridge where the entrance to Long Beard Camp is located. The trail continued to be easy to follow even though they were covered with leaves. The trail was still frozen so it was kind of easy to walk. When arriving at the Long Beard Camp entrance you will notice the trail into the camp is very long and would get you far off the trail if you wanted some privacy.
Here is a picture of the sign and the long trail. Long Beard Camp is at the top of a ridge, as most of the sites are. It is well off the main trail.
Here are a couple good pictures of the campsite. They are flat with a picnic table and a fire ring.
A little jaunt and I was back on the trail. This section was called Buckeye Trail, though there was no sign on the Long Beard side of Buckeye Trail. After a short hike I was at Black Oak Camp. This camp was occupied when I went by it in the morning and I didn't want to invade this person's experience by walking up to his site and snapping a few pictures. So, I had to come back later, which is what changed my plan.
 |
| Buckeye Trail Sign |
 |
| Black Oak Camp (Sign has seen better days) |
Black Oak Camp is nice and out of the way of the trail and right by a DNR access trail. The sign for Black Oak Camp is broken in half, but using your map it is easy to determine. The camp itself is very nice and looks well used.
Continuing down Blackjack Trail back towards the trail head is a very long downhill trek. It is not too steep if you come the other way. It is a very nice and wide trail to the bottom of the valley taking you Arrowhead Crossing. Arrowhead Crossing was the most difficult crossing to get over. There was no easy way all the way to the creek bed so I had to jump and it was a bit muddy on the landing side. With a 40 pound pack on, it wasn't ideal, but for the most difficult one, it was still pretty easy. The sign for Arrowhead Crossing is about 20 feet to the north of the trail up the creek bed. Perhaps the trail was moved due to flooding at some point.
 |
| At the bottom of Blackjack Trail |
 |
| Sign for Arrowhead Crossing |
Coming back up towards the trail head is a steeper incline and it is the most difficult on the East Loop, but it isn't too bad even with a pack on. Once you get to the top, the trail flattens out nicely. There are some large shrubs on both sides of the trail and it gets closed in a little, but hey, it's flat. As you continue down this trail you will return to the trail head of the East Loop. It's a good place to refill on water as you prepare for the West Loop.
The East Loop was enjoyable and signs were very good. The only time I ever didn't really know where I was was on the first night and that was only because I thought I was walking faster than I was and I was not expecting the signs to be this well placed. I will be posting a similar analysis of the West Loop in not too long.
Hope to see you on the trail!
Craig
Comments
Post a Comment