Prepare for Heat Wave before Hiking the Many Trails of the Mark Twain National Forest

(Palmer) The first heat wave of the summer begins Tuesday and the hot weather is going to be here for a while.

If you plan on hiking some of the trails on the Mark Twain National Forest, make sure you are prepared for the heat.

U.S. Forest Ranger Becky Ewing provides these tips for you.

Ewing says if an emergency happens when you are hiking the Mark Twain forest, do not expect help to arrive anytime soon.

There are several sections of the Ozark Trail within the Mark Twain National Forest.

The Courtois Section of the Ozark Trail, running from near Palmer in Washington County to Scotia in Crawford County is 46.9 miles long.

The Bell Mountain Wilderness Trail, starting south of Banner in Iron County and ending on ‘J’ Highway near Black in Reynolds County is 38.6 miles long.

The Karkaghne Section of the Ozark Trail, starts on ‘J’ Highway, west of Black and ending at the junction of Highway 72 and ‘K-K’ Highway, is 27.9 miles long.

There are also over 20 more trails on Mark Twain National Forest land, ranging from a short one mile hike up to 33.7 miles long.

To see all these trails, go to alltrails.com or the Mark Twain National Forest website.