Order of Visit: High Point #30
Date Visited: March 25, 2021
Route Taken: Taum Sauk Trail from the high point parking area – 0.3 miles (round-trip)
Type of Terrain: Paved sidewalk (ADA-accessible) from the parking lot to the high point marker
Elevation: 1,772 feet
Ancestral Lands: Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Osage, O-ga-xpa
What’s in a name?
Taum Sauk Mountain sits inside a 7,500 acre state park nestled in the St. Francis Mountains in the Ozarks.
Interestingly, the word ‘Ozark’ is an adaptation of the French term Aux Arc, a shortened version of aux Arcansas meaning “of/at/to the Arkansas” to refer to the 1700’s trading post located in the Arkansas Delta just above the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers.
The name of Missouri’s high point isn’t another adaptation of a French word though. Instead, it was purportedly named after a Pianskeshaw chief named Sauk-Ton-Qua, and his family tale, which is often described as Missouri’s version of Romeo and Juliet.
According to the legend, the chief’s daughter Mina-Sauk was captured by the Osage people, who were the fierce rivals of Piankeshaw. While in captivity, Mina-Sauk became the bride for one of the Osage warriors, and subsequently fell in love with her mate.
Mina-Sauk was later rescued by warriors of her father’s tribe and brought back home to her village. Yet much to her parent’s dismay, she was incredibly unhappy, as she was still deeply in love with her beau.
When Mina-Sauk was spotted at a stream secretly meeting with the young Osage man, her father sent his warriors out to capture him. They brought him back to the village with his hands bound, and after a rudimentary trial, the medicine man announced the Osage warrior should be thrown from the top of a mountain ledge to his death.
Despite Mina-Sauk’s pleading that the young warrior’s life be spared, the death sentence was carried out. Mina-Sauk was so struck with grief that she ran to the precipice of the cliff and followed her murdered lover over the edge.
These tragic events angered the fabled Storm King, who summoned a hurricane to wipe out Sauk-Ton-Qua’s entire tribe. According to the legend, a lightning bolt struck the ground and caused a waterfall to magically appear and wipe away the blood of the star-crossed lovers. Today the falls are known as Mina Sauk Falls.
This Native American legend was retold many times among settlers in the region, but the name Sauk-Ton-Qua was difficult for some of the newcomers to pronounce. Therefore, they decided to alter the chief’s name from Sauk-Ton-Qua to ‘Taum Sauk’ instead.
TRIP SUMMARY
Our family visit to Taum Sauk Mountain was the first of six new high points acquired on our 2021 spring break roadtrip from Kansas City, Missouri to New Jersey. We were already heading through St. Louis on our way east, so Keith and I decided to go for it. We’d detour off Interstate-70 and head a bit south to visit Missouri’s high point.
Although we’ve spend a good bit of time in Missouri for our military service, most of that time was up in the Kansas City region (at Ft. Leavenworth) or in the center of Missouri near the Lake of the Ozarks (at Ft. Leonard Wood). Neither of us had ever visited the southeast corner of the state before.
As with most of our highpointing adventures, I was extremely curious to see what the surrounding area looked like. I didn’t want to just park in the lot and take the brief walk to the summit of Taum Sauk Mountain. I also hoped to also hike down to the Mina Sauk Falls too.
Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. Rain started to pound the car shortly after we turned south from St. Louis. And the further south we drove, the heavier it seemed to come down around us. This was going to be my wettest state high point, for sure!
Just before we got to our destination, we drove through the tiny town of Pilot Knob, Missouri. Although this appeared to be just one more small rural town in the middle of nowhere, it actually has some historic significance worth noting in this trip report.
Most people know that Missouri was a ‘slave state’ in the years prior to the U.S. Civil War (thanks to the Missouri Compromise). However, few Americans are aware that Missouri did not actually secede from the Union and join the Confederacy during the war.
The Governor and nearly half the state legislature voted to secede, while the remainder of the state legislature rejected this proposition. This friction led to Missouri effectively having two state governments for the remainder of the Civil War, and it remained a hotly-contested border state (like Tennessee), populated by sympathizers from both sides.
In 1863, the Union Army built a small fort in the southern portion of the state near Pilot Knob, and named it Ft. Davidson. However, Missouri’s real strategic significance was in the Mississippi River to the east. And once Grant’s Army took control of the Mississippi River in the spring of 1863, the state of Missouri became of limited strategic value.
In September 1864, as the Confederacy was nearing defeat, they made a last-ditch effort to attack the Union forces in Missouri in hopes of creating a popular uprising that would distract the Army. However, this aspiration didn’t actually come to fruition.
The 8,000 Confederate forces were successfully repelled during each of their attempts to take Fort Davidson. Then the Union troops blew up the fort’s magazine and used the diversion to slip past the Confederate troops and retreat back to St. Louis undetected.
The state of Missouri has since turned Pilot Knob’s historic battle site into part of their state park system. And each September, on the battle’s anniversary, Civil War hobbyists descend upon the park to reenact the scene.
We didn’t get to stop to take in this history though. The park was temporarily closed due to the pandemic, and the rain was a good deterrent to any local exploring. So, we continued on straight through Plot Knob and to the high point instead.
The drive to the entrance Taum Sauk Park was relatively easy rural highway driving. Before long, a brightly-colored sign announced our final turn onto the 1.5-mile dirt road that led to the summit.
There were only two other cars parked up at the top of the mountain on this chilly, wet March afternoon. And we sat inside the parked car for the next 10 minutes to let the heavy downpour dwindle down to just a steady shower, then we made a run for it.
Luckily, the 0.2-mile path to the summit was a flat, paved sidewalk. And shortly after we got into the trees, we crossed paths with the Mina Sauk Falls Trail, which looked like a sloppy mess by comparison. We wouldn’t be taking that detour on this visit.
I was hoping we might catch some spring blooms on the trees. But, apparently we were too early in the season too. All the trees were still bare and brown. The only color around us was the orange and blown leaves left on the forest floor after the winter.
The paved sidewalk wound back and forth through the trees and then finally came to a dead end near a bench and a small boulder. Just in front of the rock, there was a rust-colored stone plaque announcing our destination. I tried to get a good photo of the plaque, but it was nearly fully submerged in a giant puddle.
We took a few quick photos to celebrate my 30th high point. The only downside to the achievement is the realization that I’m still one high point shy of earning my 30 state pin from the Highpointers Club. In addition to summiting 30 state high points, you must also have completed five states from each region of the country. Alas, I’ve only only four states from the western region (AZ, NM, UT, and ID), so I still need one more!
With our photos complete, we dashed back to the car to get dry again. It was getting late, and we still needed to drive bak up toward St. Louis where we had a hotel reservation for the night.
Tomorrow we plan to head further east toward Indiana and Ohio’s high points as part of our six-state spring break highpointing extravaganza. If we’re successful, all three of us (Keith, Finn, and I) will all be above the 25 state threshold in just a few days!
DETAILS
When to Visit: This hike is open year-round, but late spring and fall are considered the peak times to visit. In the spring, many of the trees are in bloom and Mina Sauk Falls is flowing. Meanwhile autumn brings the fall colors to the surrounding St. Francis Mountains.
Getting There: Taum Sauk Mountain State Park is located about 100 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri, and just east of the Mark Twain National Forest.
Entrance Fees: None.
Parking: A compacted dirt parking lot, large enough for 40 or more cars, sits atop Taum Sauk Mountain. There area also pit toilets about 25 yards from the trailhead and a small picnic area.
Accessibility: Easy for all abilities. This state high point has a paved ADA-accessible trail from the parking area to the high point.
Bonus: If you have additional time, consider continuing an additional 1.2 miles down the Mina Sauk Falls Trail toward Mina Sauk Falls. This 132-foot waterfall holds the title of tallest waterfall in the state. The most impressive time of year to see the falls in in spring, when the river feeding the waterfall reaches peak flow. Once you reach the Mina Sauk Falls, you have the option to return to the trailhead via the same route or to loop back to the trailhead on the Ozark Trail, one of America’s National Recreation Trails, which ultimately stretches 390 miles in length. Both routes are similar in distance, but the Ozark Trail has a gentler grade on your return trip toward the trailhead.
Resources:
- An Overview of Taum Sauk Mountain (Summit Post)
- Taum Sauk Mountain State Park (Missouri State Parks)
- Trail Map for Taum Sauk Mountain Park (Missouri State Parks)
- Mina Sauk Falls Trail (AllTrails)