October 23, 2026 | Wallace State Park, Poosey Conservation Area & Jamesport, Missouri
Some days, you wake up ready to take on the world.
And some days, the world can kindly fuck off.
Friday was the second kind.
I'd had enough of people, plans, expectations, and pretty much anything requiring patience. I wasn't in the mood to work, socialize, or spend another beautiful fall day sitting around waiting for someone else to figure out what they were doing. So I grabbed my hiking gear, loaded Indie into the van, and left.
No grand itinerary. No carefully planned adventure. I just needed some trees, some fresh air, and a little distance between myself and everything getting on my nerves.
Adventure One: A Dog, a Trail, and a Change of Plans
My original destination was Poosey Conservation Area, but somewhere along the way, I decided to head to Wallace State Park instead.
And I'm glad I did.
The fall colors were starting to show off, the sun was shining, and Indie was more than happy to be along for the ride. That's one of my favorite things about dogs. You don't have to negotiate an itinerary with them. They're just happy you opened the van door.
We ended up on Rocky Ford Trail, winding through the trees and down toward the creek.
There were leaves crunching under our feet, sunshine filtering through the branches, and some beautiful stretches of exposed rock along the water. The kind of place that makes you forget to check your phone.
Indie explored. I wandered. We stopped to take pictures, drink some water, and enjoy the fact that nobody needed anything from either of us.
For a while, there was absolutely nowhere else I needed to be.
And that was the whole point.
Adventure Two: Apparently, We're Going to Poosey After All
Meanwhile, my phone had been getting some attention.
Carl, a friend of mine, had been trying to get ahold of me. At one point, he was texting me from my driveway while I was out wandering around the woods.
The day had already taken one unexpected turn, and apparently it wasn't finished.
Eventually, Carl and I connected, and off we went to Poosey Conservation Area, the place I'd originally intended to explore.
Poosey, as it turns out, was determined to make us work for our adventure.
Finding the trail wasn't nearly as straightforward as it should've been. There were gravel roads, questionable directions, dead ends, and more than one moment of wondering where the hell we were supposed to go.
We eventually found our way toward the Panther Den and Lost Forty trails.
After all those gravel roads, dead ends, and questionable directions, I was beginning to think Lost Forty was a description of us, not a trail.
The trails were beautiful, though. Quiet woods, rocky stretches, scattered fall color, and that particular kind of peacefulness you only find when you're far enough from town that the rest of the world feels irrelevant.
It wasn't a perfectly planned hike.
But I've never been especially interested in perfectly planned anything.
A Little Detour Through Amish Country
Because apparently two hikes weren't enough wandering for one Friday, we made our way through Jamesport, Missouri, before heading home.
If you've never spent time around Jamesport, it's a little town in Missouri's Amish country where a casual stop can easily turn into browsing country stores and discovering things you didn't know you needed.
Carl was like a kid in a candy store every time we passed another bakery. And there were plenty of them. Eventually, I had to make him choose because we were absolutely not stopping at every single one.
We ended up at the Gingerich Dutch Pantry, along with the Jamesport Country Store, and came away with a pretty respectable collection of goodies.
Bread and butter pickles, peanut butter bars, chocolate animal crackers, and some enormous pecan rolls.
Not exactly your typical post-hike recovery meal, but I regret nothing.
What started as a day when I wanted absolutely nothing to do with anybody somehow ended with two adventures, good company, beautiful scenery, and a bag full of baked goods.
Funny how that works.
Sometimes You Just Have to Go
I've been thinking about how differently that Friday could've gone.
I could've stayed home irritated. I could've spent the day working, scrolling, or waiting around for plans that weren't coming together.
Instead, I left.
And the day unfolded into something I never could've planned.
That's a big part of what Meraki Mountain Trading Co. means to me. It's not about having the fanciest gear, visiting the most spectacular destinations, or living some perfectly curated adventure.
It's about getting out there.
Sometimes that means driving across the country. Sometimes it means exploring a state park an hour from home. Sometimes it means taking the dog for a walk, getting lost on a gravel road, or deciding there's always time for one more stop.
Life doesn't have to be perfectly organized to be worth living.
And a bad morning doesn't have to turn into a bad day.
Sometimes you just have to grab your keys, get out the door, and see where the road takes you.
For the life you'd rather be living.
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