The Grand Canyon is a true wonder of the world. I've got to visit a bit of it and some of the areas around it but I've never backpacked there. Everywhere I've ever went out west I wanted to wander into but none looked so vast as the Grand Canyon.

For me, the Ozarks are like the DisneyLand of hiking areas. There is so much packed into them that's it's always fun. They're rugged and remote enough to give you the feel of exploring in a vast wilderness, but you're really not. And they're still pretty much unspoiled and pristine, and old, so you are still exploring an amazing area that very few really see.

I have found natural shelters and springs and old homesteads and hunting camps that even the locals have forgotten now. These are some of my favorite places to camp now. I can be sure that when I get there no one else will be there and it will be sweet.

Every trip here is fun. I won't say they are "adventures" because that implies there is a risk involved, and like DisneyLand, there's really not. You can get hurt and be alone, but you won't get eaten by a bear or mauled by a moose, and like I said, you can't even get very lost. Bushwhacking to some of these spots can be a slog, but I almost always find something that makes it worthwhile.

The Ozarks have more natural beauty packed into them than anyplace I've been. It's not so much "Grand" here as it is "Enchanting".

Check out Tim Ernst's photos. He's a die hard bushwhacker too who captures it as good as I've seen and I've followed his guides to some really great spots, but like anyplace you have to be there to really get it. These photos are from the Buffalo River area, about an hour drive south of me.

Tim Ernst Photography

I agree with this entire statement. I've stealth camped on the sides of rivers while on kayak trips but I'm choosy about the location and prepared to deal with the fallout.

Thanks for the photo link, Bill! I see some unique geologic formations and a look to the land and water I'm not familiar with. Really piqued my interest. Gorgeous.

Then there is also the matter of "stealth hiking". I'm thinking specifically of the fact that a lot of state and regional parks have rules against being on the trails after dark, and yet I love night-time hiking, preferably by moonlight or background city light. I usually don't worry about getting in trouble, but I once rolled into my designated backcountry site at Castle Rock State Park here in Calif just after dark, coming back from a very long dayhike, to find a ranger ready to read me the riot act. Man, he was way serious! I was lucky not to be fined and kicked out to boot. If he had known that I also went off trail, I would definitely have been dead meat. I never want to cross him again. I think in his case, though, his park had had a problem with an illegal weed grow and he was highly suspicious of people sneaking around in the dark and off trail. I see his point. To me though, I just love the dark too much to give it up...except in Castle Rock!

We do some occasional stealth camping ourselves. We have an area that requires a permit for overnight camping on the weekends from May 1 till Oct 31. The area is pretty large and has a lot of trails but in Oct the portion we camp in is usually empty. Of the 3 times I have camped there for a 3-night weekend I have only ever seen another group one time and they had been weekday camping and were packing out as we were packing in. The problem is the permits are always “sold out”. So what do we do? We stealth it. Never seen a ranger... I guess we would play dumb and hope for the best if we did.