It somehow seems fitting that we should try and locate one of the "Baldknobber Hideout Caves" on our first adventure. This is a real "Bushwhack" of a hike and I'm willing to bet that not too many of you will follow my footsteps on this one.

As many of you know, the Baldknobbers were a sort of vigilante group that got out of hand here in the Ozarks area shortly after the Civil War. That was a long time ago my friends and the Baldknobbers are long gone now. But there are some interesting Baldknobber footsteps that can still be traced and are well off the beaten path.

I love to study maps and while looking at a "Forest District Map" I got at the General Store in Chadwick, Mo I noticed that there was a cave named "Baldknobber Cave" not far from Branson. I had driven past this area before and knew there was no sign to point it out and I've never heard anyone talk about it so I figured it would be fun to see if I could locate it.

There were a couple of ways to approach the old Baldknobber Cave from what I could tell. My maps show the cave to be just above a creek bed that I might follow up from below the cave where a dirt road crosses it. The other approach was to try and park my car on the side of County Road H and hike down from above.

I started out in my little Suzuki Samurai. If my maps were accurate, I figured I could get pretty close to the cave from the main road. They show the cave is located right on the Christian County side of the line that divides Christian and Taney County and just east from County Road H. They show power lines that run parallel to the east side of the road and they pass right over the cave. But as I drove by a road sign that shows the county line I didn't see a place to park the little Suzuki so I decided to keep going and find the dirt road instead.

This is Mark Twain National Forest Property. I just love it here! It's February and the leaves have all fallen from the trees. You can see further into the forest this time of year than any other. It only takes a few minutes before I'm heading down hill and I know that the creek bed should be getting nearby.

At the bottom of the hill I see the creek on my right side and a dirt road that crosses over it so, I turn on to it because this just feels like it must be the way to go. This is really more of a trail used by the forest service and hunters than it is a road and it ends soon just as I expected it to. I shut off my Suzuki and get out my map and compass to get an idea of where I am.

I start heading west up the creek bed and soon find a dry creek bed that heads off to the right in between some hills. I continue to follow the main creek heading almost due west from where I parked. This creek bed is overgrown with brambles so I start hiking on the hillside on the right side of the creek. After hiking about 1/2 mile I find yet another dry creek entering on the right side of the main creek. I stop here and check my map and compass again because I'm not quite sure which way to go.

I figured I would see the power lines by now but I can't get a bead on them anywhere. My compass shows that I'm now heading southwest and the creek bed on my right heads northwest. A quick check of my map shows that the creek bed that the cave is near bends around to the south just before it passes the cave. If I'm where I think I am, then I should be close enough to see the power lines, but I can't. I decide to stick with the left branch of the creek because even though I can't see the power lines, the lay of the creek bed closely resembles the map I have and the smaller, usually dry creek beds are not always shown on these maps.

I head across the creek and up the hill to where some rock ledges protrude from the hillside. It's in the cracks and crevices of these types of ledges that you'll usually find a cave entrance. It's now that I begin to realize just how difficult it is to find a such a remote place like this. I take a minute to think about how those brave men who's job it was to bring those Baldknobbers to justice must have felt when they were searching for them here over 130 years ago. If they were quiet, the outlaws could have heard and watched the lawmen coming long before they knew it. They really had the upper hand when they were hiding out around here.

After searching for 5-10 minutes, I can't find anything that looks like a cave here. Maybe I'm in the wrong place. Maybe the cave entrance has collapsed or has been filled in by the park service. Maybe, I should give up and head back to the Suzuki. I decide to walk around the bend in the hillside, directly underneath the power lines and check my map again. Right around the bend is an old rusty power pole and I head towards it to take a look around.

There, right under the power pole, is the cave entrance. I've found it. The exact spot where Baldknobbers once hid from the law. I'm not surprised that it's a small entrance. Not at all like the caves that have tours. I grab a flashlight, squat down at the entrance, and bend and strain to see inside. It's a small, narrow room that's visible. It doesn't look like it's very big inside but you can never tell until you've been in there.

It must have been really crowded if there were more than just a couple of men that hid in there.

As I sat there thinking, I found an old broken piece of pottery. It looked like the kind that you'd see used in a crock pot, real thick, to help keep food warm for a long time. Did a Baldknobbers wife or mother send food up here years ago? If so, she was worried, I can assume that for sure.

Maybe I'll come back someday and explore the inside of the cave. Who knows? Maybe a Baldknobber hid something in there. Maybe some loot, or maybe something really spooky.

I took my time and meandered through the creek bed on the way back. There were several springs that were flowing and it was nice to stop at each for a moment to enjoy them.

It's a ton of fun and some great exercise to get out and explore this way. This is why these Public Lands exist. Get out and explore them too!

I'm glad I found the Baldknobber Cave. I don't think too many people have been here in the last 100 years or so. The men who placed the power pole here, and those who clear the tree branches away from the lines now are about it, I suppose. I've never met anyone who's been here. If you ever go there, drop me an email because I'd really like to hear about it.

Bill Stephenson