Some of the best Hiking in the Ozarks is to be had in the winter. The leaves are mostly gone, and the views are unobstructed. There is nothing like a sunny day with crisp cool air. The nights get cold, but daytime temps often reach into the 60’s. There’s no ticks, chiggers, and snakes to worry about, and most of the trails are clear of tourists.
Tea Table was a place I heard about for a long time, a good friend gave us directions and we took off for a Saturday Hike. A couple miles down a dirt road into Walnut Valley and we found the “trailhead”. It started off as a 4 wheeler trail and took us to the edge of the bluff.
There the ATV trail ended, and we “bushwacked” our way around the bluff.
The view from Home Bluff..
And we found the Tea Tables!
The entire part of the bluff where the Tea Tables sit has cracked away from the main bluff line, and you can not (very easily) get from one to the other. I was tempted to jump, but it was along way back to a hospital… Or a town… or a car.. or a road for that matter.
We Found a way down to the underside of the bluff..
And the rest of our viewpoints were looking up..
Here was a cool ice formation made by the water dripping off the bluff overhead..
Once down, there was no easy way back up
(where the hiking was much easier).
This poor tree had worked real hard to get as tall as it was.. With plenty of wounds and twists and snarls before it ran dead end into the bluff above…
And even when it hit the “top”, it found a way to get around.. Nature has its own way of busting through the “glass” ceiling..
Just go AROUND instead..
I like that psychology…