By Brian Thompson, Ozark Society President
I had the pleasure of visiting with Bill Driscoll, the latest recipient of our Sassafras Hiking Award. Bill hails from Tecumseh, Missouri. Bill: “Well, I’m not much into awards, but considering all the trail I’ve done, I thought what the heck.” Bill is retired from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Forest Division, having worked as a fire fighter for thirty plus years, mostly manning fire towers (pretty cool, huh.) Bill can look at a distant plume of smoke and tell you if it’s something “under control” or a possible problem. He was often on his own fighting these fires, getting help where he could depending on the location. He explained to me that in recent years, small local fire departments have formed, and that local control has inspired folks to be a lot more careful. “The fire load has dropped tremendously.”
Bill described an early major hike with his wife where they did the Colorado trail in 2006, starting out with packs in the 50-60lb range. He notes that these were some early hard lessons and that folks along the way helped them determine what gear needed to be sent home. Bill now uses a z-pack rig with a hammock and has a base weight of about ten pounds.
When asked about his favorite trail, Bill mentions that he really liked those huts on the Ouachita, but that the Ozark Highlands Trail in April was by far “the prettiest hike; flowers everywhere, birds chirping, water flowing, it felt like I was in some sort of Polynesian landscape.”
Dillard’s Ferry west to Woolum was the last stretch Bill needed to qualify for Sassafras. He noted that this stretch is ideal for stands of white oak and that the trail was like a trough full of acorns. “Everything was going great until quite unexpectedly, I slipped on what felt like a bunch of marbles.” He landed suddenly and awkwardly on his side. “I could tell my ankle was broken by the sounds it made when I moved it, and I was worried my shoulder was broken as well.” Bill called his wife, who connected him with Searcy County 911. They did a good job of locating him, making their way down the hillside to where he was, examining him, and getting him on a stretcher. Then Bill realized they had called an ambulance. “I did not call for an ambulance” Bill declared, having had a previous experience where he’d had to pay $6,000.00 out of pocket for one to transport his wife when she’d broken an ankle.
The Searcy County rescue folks stewed over this a couple of minutes, until they realized Bill was going into shock and starting to convulse. That’s when they decided to call an air evac. A helicopter flew in and they got Bill to Mercy at Springfield about 10:00 PM, his wife driving back and getting there about midnight. They operated on his ankle the very next day, patching it up with plates and wires, then they had to wait until February to operate on his shoulder, which had a severed rotator cuff and several torn tendons.
Bill got through it all, went through a long difficult rehab, then got back on the same trail, undaunted and determined to finish. On that last stretch, he encountered some of the worst weather he’d ever hiked in, but he by gosh made it to Woolum and waded across the Buffalo to meet his wife. Bill noted “it was a pretty emotional moment for me. I might have cried a little…” We get it Bill.
Bill is now a proud member of the Ozark Society and continues to distance hike. Glad to have you, Bill!