Taum Sauk Trail Closure

One of the most popular hiking destinations in Missouri took a beating on the morning of December 14th, 2005, as a pumped-storage reservoir on the top of Proffit Mountain was breached, sending over a billion gallons of water down to the East Fork of the Black River.  The torrent ripped the northwest slope of Proffit down to bedrock, sending trees, boulders and soil down a hollow and across the valley below.  Johnson Shut-Ins State Park was severely damaged, and a portion of the Taum Sauk section of the Ozark Trail was wiped out.  The park is closed until further notice, as well as the trails that run through it.  The closed portion of the Ozark Trail lies between Taum Sauk Mountain State Park and the western edge of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.

This page provides information on the breach, the damage to Johnson Shut-Ins (JSI), the damage to the trail, and updates on restoration progress.  If you have anything to add to this page, or need additional information, please contact us.

What Happened

If you've hiked the nearby trails, or looked up while driving on Highway N, you've seen the denuded cap of Proffit Mountain, the berms of a reservoir poking up from the surrounding trees.  This man-made lake was built in the early 1960's by Union Electric (now Ameren) as part of a pumped-storage plant to generate electricity during peak demand.  Water is pumped up during non-peak hours from a lower reservoir on the East Fork of the Black River, to be later released through shafts drilled through the mountain, driving generators in the valley below.  There are hundreds of pumped-storage plants in existence, and they're used much like batteries to store power that might otherwise be wasted, to be released when it's most needed.

In the early morning of December 14th, something went wrong.  Media outlets have reported that faulty sensors may have caused the pumps to continue to operate after the upper reservoir was filled, sending water over the edge and eroding away a portion of the northwest berm.  Whatever the cause, the effect was quick and devastating: a wide breach developed and the reservoir released perhaps a billion gallons of water in as little as twelve minutes.

Wall of Water

Most backpackers are well aware of the weight of the water they carry: about two pounds per quart, a little over eight pounds per gallon.  On the morning of December 14th, over eight billion pounds of water came crashing down Proffit Mountain.  The water fell 500' over a half-mile, through a natural bowl on the northwest side of Proffit.  The bowl constricted to a hollow, its walls funneling the water and shooting it across the valley below.  Over a hundred acres of trees, dirt and rock came with it, obliterating everything in its path.

The torrent of water and debris hit the valley perpendicularly, gouging a large hole as it tore across the Black River and headed towards the home of the sleeping Toops family. The house was torn apart and the Toops washed upstream, the flow of the water crossing Highway N with enough force to sweep a tractor trailer off the road.  As more water followed, the campground was inundated, buildings destroyed and boardwalks ripped away as the deluge made its way to the Shut-Ins.

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2007

The park was open for day-use this past summer, but is now closed until reconstruction is complete.   More details at the park site.

Status of the Trail

The trail through the park is closed until further notice.  The eastern portion of the trail from Highway 21 to Taum Sauk Mountain State Park is open (signs indicate that no traffic is allowed west of Devils Tollgate.  You can hike from Highway 21 to Mina Sauk Falls and Devils Tollgate, but then you'll need to turn around.

Bell Mountain Wilderness is open.  The trail from the south edge of the Wildnerness to Highway N is closed due to tornado damage, but we hope to have the cleared in late 2007. There is no trailhead at Highway N, but we're working on alternative solutions with the staff at Johnson Shut-Ins State Park.  The Goggins Mountain Hiking and Equestrian Trail off of Highway M is closed while the new campground is being constructed.

Trail in yellow is closed

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2007

A two-mile re-route of the Taum Sauk trail around the damaged area has been designed and awaiting final approval.  We are waiting for a go-ahead from the Department of Natural Resources to begin reconstruction. We do not anticipate this portion of the trail re-opening until sometime in 2008.

Here is a map of the proposed re-route:

Send questions, corrections and additions to us.