OUTDOOR CORNER: EVEN IN THE HOTTEST OF SEASONS, AREA HAS TRAIL OPPORTUNITIES

"...And the arctic trails have their secret tales..." or so Robert Service wrote. Southeast Missouri in the summer is definitely not arctic-like as anyone can attest who has spent a summer day in a hay loft, cruising timber, hacking ties or pouring concrete.

But Southeast Missouri does have its trails, and while, hopefully, you won't find the cremated remains of Sam McGee, you will find some secret tales on Conservation Department areas if you have an interest in the mysteries of the natural world.

The summertime, like all other seasons, does present outdoor opportunities. Hiking the various trails on Conservation lands provides an occasion for you to explore your world.

All Conservation Department lands are wide open to hiking most anywhere you want to go. However, the trails provide fairly short, scenic overviews of the area.

* Hickory Canyon Natural Area in Ste. Genevieve County is on a remote section between Ste. Genevieve and Farmington, north of Highway 32. This natural area is owned by the LAD Foundation, but managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The main attraction of the forested area is its unique sandstone geology. The LaMotte sandstone has eroded through time to form some unique rock formations and box canyons. (Pickle Springs Natural Area has this same sandstone, if you have ever been there.)

There are two hiking trail loops. A one-mile loop west of the road is moderately difficult, has some wet creek crossings and takes about one to 1 1/2 hours to leisurely hike. The 1/2 mile loop trail east of the road leads to the bottom of a box canyon and can be walked in 30 to 45 minutes. Children would have to be closely supervised, for there are steep bluffs and slippery rocks.

* Pickle Springs Natural Area in western Ste. Genevieve County boasts our most popular trail. It is a two-mile loop trail through a rare collection of geological features.

* Millstream Gardens Conservation Area in western Madison County has a one-mile long hiking trail along the St. Francis River. The trail is paved and features some overlooks to the most scenic shut-ins on the river. The area has a 14-station archery range that is often used as a hiking trail.

* Amidon State Forest near the Perry/Madison County line has a short trail to some pink granite shut-ins on the Castor River. This is an attractive stream that is also open to wade fishing.

* Ball Mill Resurgence Natural Area five miles north of Perryville has a 1/2 mile long trail that leads through an old growth forest to the resurgence pit.

* Perry County Community Lake offers a bank fishing trail that can be hiked, without a fishing pole. It starts at the dam, follows the west bank and leads to the upper parking lot.

* Apple Creek State Forest on the Cape/Perry County line has a five-mile loop horse trail that is also well suited for hiking.

* Tywappity Community Lake at Chaffee also offers a 2 1/2-mile hiking or fishing trail around the lake.

* Holly Ridge Conservation Area near Dexter is an area rich in plant diversity. Spruce up on your botany. A three-mile horse trail traverses this unique sand forest.

* Donaldson Point Conservation Area is located at New Madrid. It has several miles of old haul roads which allow one to walk and see this bottomland forest. You will also grow to appreciate the words of Ralph Emerson, "Do what we can, summer will have its flies. If we walk in the woods, we must feed the mosquitoes."

Some of the other areas open to hiking: Seventy-six State Forest on the banks of the Mississippi River; Magnolia Hollow State Forest near the mouth of Establishment Creek, northeast of Bloomsdale; Castor River State Forest, west of Marble Hill in Bollinger County; and Maintz Wildlife Area in North Cape.

Free maps and advice (some of which may even be pertinent) are available at the Conservation Department Service Center in North County Park. And if you get disoriented out in the woods, remember Daniel Boone was once asked if he ever got lost. His replay, "No, but I Have been bewildered for three days."

Before you plan your trips, don't forget about the areas managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Two of these areas, Trail of Tears (near Neely's Landing) and Big Oak Tree Park (near East Prairie) provide good trails and excellent visitor's centers.

As you wander about the forests of our region, you might recall the words of Thoreau," I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Joe Garvey is a district forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation