Ozarks Highland Trail

I'm trading my spring hike on the AT for a hike on the Ozarks Highlands Trail with my son. The only other time we have hiked together was six or seven years ago when he went with me on my my first visit to the AT since I was a college student. We did the loop hike at Standing Indian, and since then I have been section hiking the AT once or twice a year. He has become a proficient hiker on his own, doing a major section of the Long Trail after he graduated from high school and tackling some sections of the AT with friends. We compare notes and equipment as we simplify and cut our pack weight. For Christmas his dog Charlie got his own pack from Santa Claus and this will be Charlie's first real hike. We're going to do the section between Ozone and White Rock Mountain. It takes a lot to make me give up hiking the AT, but this is an opportunity not to be missed. Who knows when or if it will ever happen again. It's one of the special privileges of being a father.