Last Hike of the Year

First of all I know I'm going to disappoint some people because on this post there are no pictures. You can thank Mother Nature for that as she was threatening some heavy rains on the last day of 2006. I took the camera with me but decided to keep it in the plastic bag I had for protection. Water and digital cameras do not get along well as some people I know can tell you about.
But anyway this is about the last big hike of the year. At first I didn't know if I was going to be able to get one in because of the possible weather situation we were looking at. With temperatures in the upper 50's this morning there was a good chance of a heavy boomer coming in and making a mess of things. I checked the satellite picture and radar the night before and decided I would wait till morning to decide what to do. When I got up this morning I saw that I had about a 5 hour window to add on some extra miles to my total. For that I decided on the same hike I had taken on January 1st this year, a section of the Adventure Trail in the Harrison-Crawford State Forest in southern Indiana to the Indian Creek Shelter, another one of my favorite places.
I put my pack together and quickly made off for the trail. As I was driving I could see the clouds breaking up somewhat to the south and west. That meant I had a good chance of possibly getting the 11 miles in that I wanted. I did take the time to stretch out before hitting the trail, however, because I didn't need anything getting sore on the way.
With the temperatures being as warm as they were it made for a nice first part of the day. I made it to the shelter in pretty good time and sat down for lunch. The shelter sits on a 300-foot bluff with a good view to the east. I could see sunlight hitting a distant hillside as the clouds broke up a little bit more. But that was only temporary. About 12:45 pm Mother Nature let me know she was beginning to shut the window and as a light shower passed through.
After eating my lunch I started to put my pack on and another shower started coming down. This one was just a wee bit heavier so out came the rain gear and the pack cover. About a 1/4 mile on the way back, though, she let me know she was playing with me as she turned off the waterworks. After walking about a mile with the rain jacket on I decided to take it off as it was a little warm underneath.
It wasn't bad on the way back and I took a break at the Old Forest Road crossing. I could see the clouds thickening to the southwest so I was figuring on more rain coming in. My guess was right about a mile later as a more steady rain started falling. I first thought about putting the rain jacket back on but it was a warm rain and actually felt pretty good. It was a good way of keeping me cooled down along way.
The rain grew steadier the farther I went. Mother Nature was telling me she was shutting the window a little bit more. I had a feeling about what she was going to do. It was just a matter of how soon she was going to do it.
About a half-mile from the truck the rain picked up. It still didn't feel bad so I kept going without the rain gear. At least my pack cover was keeping that part of me dry and everything inside. Finally I was at my truck and just as I started to pull my keys out from the top of the pack, Mother Nature not only slammed the window shut but the door as well. All of a sudden a toad strangler came down from the sky. I unlocked the truck and quickly took the cover off the pack and threw it into the truck. Then I threw myself inside.
I actually laughed to myself knowing that this would probably be what would happen. But she did give me the window to get the hike in and that's I wanted. I guess at the end she thought maybe I smelled a little more than I should so she decided it was time for a bath. For the next 15 minutes the rain was heavy and it rained all the way home. By then I knew the front had come through because the temp had dropped about 15 degrees from when I had left the trail. An hour later the skies were clear and all way quiet again.
My total for the year is now finished up at 415 miles. For a lot of big time hikers that is pretty much nothing for me it is a big thing. There were two big goals I had set out to do this year. One was to hike the Smoky Mountains for 73 miles and I did that in June. The other was to reach the 400 mile mark for the year. I did both and even added a little gravy on it.
So what's for 2007. Well one thing is a 70-mile loop trail in northern Michigan I found on the internet. That will probably be in June. In late June there will be some hiking in eastern Kentucky at the Cumberland Falls. If I can find the time I'd like to go back to the mountains again. I need to do Chimney Tops and I want to make the hike to the top of Mt. LeConte too. I've also set a goal for 500 miles for 2007 also. I don't know how much I'll get done but at least I've got some things to shoot for.
Oh....and don't think that just because I'm done hiking for 2006 (I'm taking a few days off from the trail to let my body unwind) you won't see anything here for a while. The people that know me well know one thing....I'm always finding my way into something.
So for right now that's it for 2006. Me and the wife are going to go see if we can find a pizza for supper. HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!!!

The Big Push

Today I'm putting two hikes in one post. These two particular hikes were not about doing a trail in a certain amount of time but getting the miles in I needed to reach my goal for the year.

On December 27th I had 20 miles to go to reach 400 so I went back to the Two Lakes Loop Trail in Perry County, Indiana to get 12 miles in. I had to do this one a little different because the streams were up from heavy rain the days before. On this particular trail there are some stream crossings that can make things a wee more interesting if the water is up. The trail was a little tougher this time around as well because of the muddy conditions, which mean you really had to watch your footing a lot more. But as I said time was not important so I was a little more careful.

This particular time I did the trail in the shape of a comma, doing some backtracking to make sure I got all 12 miles in. There's one spot on the trail that is a particular favorite of mine, which I've probably told you about already, maybe more than once. The picture at the left is a little brook a lot like what you might see in Tennessee in the mountains. With the rains of the days before this one was a little more bubbly than normal but with the sounds of the water running over the rocks it made a great place to have lunch. I even took a little more time to eat this time so I could just take it easy there a little longer. And I saw people on this day as well. A couple from Vincennes, Indiana were doing the loop as were three guys from Evansville. Those three were packed up to spend the night. I told them about a place on a hilltop that would probably give them a view of Indian Lake. I don't know if they used it or not as I kept going to finish my own walk. When I finished I had just 8 miles to go to reach the goal.

Two days later came the day. I was back to the same 12 miles as I had done two days before and this time I was planning on doing the loop the way it was supposed to be done. That meant crossing the streams that I had avoided the hike before. The first stream crossing isn't that bad as you can walk on top of a fallen log. You still have to keep your balance and not fall off, which I do with my hiking poles. About 300 yards later, however, you have the other stream and unless you want to walk several hundred yards upstream to find a place to cross the best way is to simply take the boots off and wade across. The difference this time, because of the higher water levels, the walk was about 15 feet wider than normal. The water temperature was still in the upper 30's and a bit chilling on the toes. As you can see in the picture all of my red blood cells were trying to make a fast escape to higher ground to get out of the cold.

I kept going and was even pushing myself a little harder as I went, I guess knowing I was getting closer with each step. At this spot here where this picture is taken, I did take a quick water break for the next big hill climb. It was on this climb where near the top I started hearing what sounded like some kind of animal or bird screaming from a tree. The closer I got the louder it got. Finally, about 20 yards away, a young broadwing hawk shot out of a tree and toward the next ridge. I was surprised he let me get as close as he did before making a quick escape. A little later I heard the same screams coming from the next ridge. It could be he was looking for a girlfriend. Anyway I kept going.....and going and going and going. This particular time there was nobody else on the trail like the day before. I stopped at my little brook once again to eat. You really have to be there for a while to appreciate it. Of course those of you who live close to spots like that know what I'm talking about. They're hard to get away from once you find them. They're complete no-stress zones and once you find them they're yours for keeps.

When I got got Celina Lake I was about to cross the spot that would put me over my goal. But I had decided beforehand that I wasn't going to do any celebrating until I got done with the hike. With four miles to go there were too many things that could happen and I didn't want to lose focus and possibly get hurt in the process. I did go through a little bit of a letdown I think for the next couple of miles because suddenly everything I had worked for for the last year was done. I had reached the goal I set out to do. With about a mile and a half to go, however, I saw this image at left and that perked things up for me as I grabbed the camera. I think it was the reflection in the water that grabbed my eye first even before the sycamore trees along the lake bank. The water was completely calm, almost like a mirror. I'm thinking of maybe doing a painting similar to this picture later one. It was just one of those times you want to not forget. Finally I reached my truck and at first I was going to let out a big war whoop but there was another truck there so I decided against it right then. After I got out on the road, I did let that yell go out into the air. I kind felt like I had earned the right to do it. But I was not completely done yet. I still had New Year's Eve and I really wanted to get a few extra miles to add on to that final number.

MERRY CHRISTMAS???

Normally I would have three exclamation marks after this title but for what I'm about to tell you about I thought the question marks were more fitting. While most of you were sleeping with visions of sugar plums dancing in your head Sunday night, the volunteer fire department in Marengo, Indiana had their hands full with something much bigger. I'm also sure that there were plenty of other emergency units across the country doing things just like this as well but since I was here I'll just stick to this one.

The call came in at just a little past 3:30 on Christmas morning. This particular house was approximately 80 years old and could probably tell lots of stories. It's last story, however, would be its own.

It took the fire fighters only a few minutes to arrive on the scene of this fire and when they did the house was already fully engulfed by flames. I arrived about 10 minutes after they did and the first picture at the top was my first view. The glow and smoke could be scene could be seen as far away as 9 miles. I was able to see the same glow and smoke for a hilltop 5 miles from the scene. The fire had spread quickly through the house and devoured it in a short span of time. It took firefighters about 2 hours to bring the blaze completely under control. Shortly after this picture at left was taken the main portion of the house collapsed to the ground. The heat was enough to break windows on a house across the street. Needless to say the house was a total loss. The only good thing about it all was that there was nobody living there at the time so nobody was displaced.

There is one dark side to this tale, however. Though it hasn't been officially stated yet, firefighters believe the fire was set on purpose. If that is so, the person who caused this put a lot of people in danger on Christmas morning. While firefighters worked, a hot powerline came down within a few feet of two firefighters. Another hazard was a wall that was in danger of collapsing where two firefighters were hosing down the flames. Then there was the possibility of damage to other nearby buildings. Fortunately Mother Nature was lending a hand as she was covering the area with a light rain. The good thing was nobody got hurt in this fire. The bad thing is it was something that shouldn't have happened, especially on Christmas morning. Personally I'm hoping the person who did this has a whole dumptruck of coal land on him. One lump just doesn't seem enough.

CONSTRUCTION AHEAD

Saturday I did a hike on a 10.5 mile trail in Orange County, Indiana called the Springs Valley Lake Trail. On this particular day I found a lot of construction along the way. You know the phrase 'busy as a beaver', well these guys have been working overtime. The first mile into the hike you have a stream to cross and the water was up a bit so I had to go looking for a decent place to cross. I found this first big tree that had been gnawed on and brought down by the big furry things. I put my pack next to the tree to give you some scale as to how be the trunk was. They're just not afraid to bring something big down, although I know they had to be disappointed with this one because it didn't get all the way to the ground. This one had been done in the early spring but I found lots of others that were a lot fresher.

When it comes to building dams these guys know their stuff. Halfway into my hike I found this dam here at left that was a big one of close to 50 feet across. The water behind the dam was 2-3 feet deep as well. I never saw any of the little guys around but I'm sure they were aware that I was there and probably just kept themselves hid. The dam was tightly held together and letting very little water through as you can see here. The biggest construction area, however, was yet to come. I found a total of six completed dams on two streams.

This was the biggest construction zone on the whole hike. There were three completed dams at this site and the beavers had also brought down several big trees, as big or bigger than the one in the first photograph. A tree you can't see is one to the far left that is as big as the one seen here on the right. As of right now they've gnawed about halfway through it. I expect by the time I hike this trail again the tree will be laying on the ground. You can see two dams here the beavers have built. I guess they just weren't satisfied having one swimming pool. They needed three instead. Yes, there's a third dam about 30 yards over to the right where you can't see. And they brought down even more trees 100-200 yards upstream from this site. You've really got to admire these guys. They really get into their work.

CONTRASTS

The last hike I told you about, the temperature just barely got above freezing. It's amazing what a difference a week makes. This hike I'm telling you about the temperature shot up to 70 degrees setting a record in Louisville. I even pulled out the shorts for this one and it was just a really good day.

Something else I decided to do for the hike was push things a little bit more. I just wanted to see how quick I could do this particular 12 miles in Perry County, Indiana. Yep, the same trail that was voted the number one dayhike trail in Indiana by Backpacker Magazine. The week before I had done it in 5 hours, 3 minutes but I felt like I could do better. With the weather being the way it was I felt like it was very possible.

It was in the upper 30's when I started but in the first mile I had to get rid of the jacket I was wearing. The first big hill was easy as was the first stream crossing (where the week before I had photographed those chunks of ice hanging off the tree). The second stream crossing wasn't bad. I took my boots off for it again and the water wasn't quite as cold since the ice had melted. I got a quick slurp of water and went after the next big hill. I kept a pretty good pace for the next few miles then got to my favorite place on the whole trail (where you see me downing a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwiche in the picture at the top). Took another few gulps of water and was on my way again.

I made one more stop along the way for water before hitting the last big hill. The last mile and a half began to take a toll on me but I kept pushing. When I got back to my truck I found I had done the 12 miles in 4 hours, 32 minutes. That was 29 minutes off the week before. Not bad for an old guy of 54 years and for somebody who's not a runner. I don't plan on trying to do it any quicker though because it took a pretty good toll on me. Besides, I don't really need to now that I saw what I could do. It also cut my miles down to 30 left to go for 400 for the year. In my next post I'll cut it down to 20 and finding some construction along the way.

CHILLED

You know how most of like ice in our drinks when we're out. Well Sunday I had ice on my hike on the trail voted by Backpacker magazine as the #1 dayhike trail in Indiana, the Two Lakes Loops Trail. This is a trail I really like and one that I've done lots of times, since it's only 20 minutes from where I live. (Eat your hearts out guys far away.) Anyway Sunday morning the temps were in the middle 20's when I left but was supposed to be in the 50's later in the day. I got to my starting point where there's a small stream that runs into Celina Lake and found this nice coating of ice. Once I got to walking on the trail it didn't take long to get warmed up and the cooler temps actually felt pretty good.

I had two small streams to cross and because I was doing the loop backwards (just wanted to give it a different look) they both come up pretty quick. At the first crossing the water splashed up under this log forming some neat formations. On the pools a layer of ice thick enough that I couldn't break it with my hiking pole spread out for several yards. Earlier in the week the lows had dropped into the single digits and a lot of ice was on both sides of the creek.

After that crossing I walked another couple of hundred yards where I had my second crossing. This one was different because I couldn't just hop across the water like I had the first time. I didn't want to get my boots and socks wet so that meant doing a little wading, and I knew what that was going to feel like. So off came the boots and the socks. I just kind of stood there at first looking at the water the counted 1, 2, 3 and waded very briskly. With the water temperature being only about 33 or 34 degrees it didn't take long for the pain to set in even though it was only seconds in duration. The good thing was the sun was shining big and bright and quickly warmed my feet as I dried them off. It was a lot better having dry socks and boots to put back on than having to worry about wet ones. Now I know how an olive in a cold martini feels.

When I first started the hike I was on a pace to do the 12 miles in about 6 hours. I stopped for a couple of picture breaks and also a bathroom break then a little later for a quick lunch break. But then I got in a rythm I hadn't felt before. I wasn't having much problem with my knee so I kept going and now slowing down much. The knee finally started talking to me at about 10 miles but not enough to make much different. I was still feeling pretty good. I did take one more water break before finally finishing things out. When I got back to my truck I found that I had done the 12 miles in 5 hours, 3 minutes. Now I know that for some of you New England hikers that's no big deal but for me it was. That was 35 minutes better than my best on that same trail. Not bad for an old guy either.

That leaves me with 42 miles to go to hit 400 for the year. I'm going to do 12 more this weekend (not sure where yet) and get ready for the home stretch. Whether or not I've got the 400 in I'll still be doing my big hike on New Year's Eve. It just seems like a good way to end the year.

Jingle Hiking

Sunday morning was nice and crispy with temps in the mid-20's and it was a day I went for a stroll on a favorite trail section in Harrison County, Indiana. There was one thing different, however, as this was the last regular day of deer hunting gun season so I wanted to make sure I stayed as safe as I could.

I wore a bright yellow jacket to make sure I could be seen but also added another little accessory to my gear. In some parts of the country some hikers use bells to let any big furry bears know they're in the area so they don't become a breakfast snack. For me it was letting the human factors out there know that I was coming through in my eleven mile jaunt.

About a mile into the hike I did see my one and only deer of the day. This guy had obviously been shot at before because he went racing off at a full 30-35 mph leaving me only a blur to watch as he shot down the valley. I think even the squirrels even decided this was a good day to stay indoors as they hid away too.

The walk was pretty quiet all the way to the shelter. On the way I did hear three gunshots to the northwest but nothing that I would consider close. Of course I was about 3 miles deep into the woods so I didn't really expect to see a lot of people. At the shelter I broke out a couple of turkey and cheese sandwiches which I munched down to ease my pangs and washed them down a good ol' bottle of just plain water. After about a half hour break I was on my way back to the truck. But it would not be the normal walk back.

Just before I got to the shelter I had twisted my knee just enough to give me some twinges I just really didn't want so as I started back I was looking down a lot to watch my footing on a lot of the rocks on the trail. It turns out I was looking down too much and not watching where I was I going. Suddenly things looked different than they were supposed to be and I had this strange feeling I was not where I was supposed to be at all. I finally saw a dead cedar tree that I knew wasn't on the main trail and then realized I had a problem. I walked about another 50 yards and the trail I was on just stopped, no 'T's or curves or anything. It just didn't go on. I knew some people might panic at this point but I knew that would not help me any so I started backtracking from where I had come, which turned out to be a little more than a quarter mile and in this dense area that is too far. Finally I found the spot where I had missed a left turn and was back on the trail. You're not going to believe this but about a half-mile later I did the same thing again, only this time I only had to backtrack a couple hundred feet. After that I decided I needed to forget about my knee and mind where I was going. Actually that helped in more ways than one because the knee didn't bother me as much after that. So I ended up with 11 1/2 miles instead of eleven like I had planned.

That leaves me with 54 to got to hit 400. (I'm not counting that half-mile because I don't like counting stupid mistakes.) As of now I've got 25 days to get it done in. I'm going for 12 this weekend and that will make a dent in it. I will get it done. I'm still planning on a big one on New Year's Eve no matter what is sore or what the weather is....ice, snow, sleet, rain, hail, or just a plain old sunny sky, I'm going to pull it off for a last big show of the year. Then I'll start in all over again next year.

65 to Go

I got in 8.3 more miles on the trails Monday to leave myself with 65 to go to the end of the year to reach 400 miles. As of right now I've 30 days to do it in.

Monday's hike was pretty much uneventful. With deer season in the furry creatures have gone completely in hiding. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to find a deer hiding in one of the outhouses here. No snorts, no white bobbing tails, no nothing. In some places the birds weren't even singing making it a very quiet hike to say the least. I would have preferred to have had a little company anyway.

I did see one interesting happen just as I was getting back to my truck. I heard a limb slap another one in a sappling next to the small stream you see pictured here. (This stream runs into Lake Celina in Perry County, Indiana where this particular hike took play.) I looked up ahead and saw something fall from a tree and it hit with a hard thump. For a few seconds nothing moved but then this big fox squirrel got up and started walking away. A little later he picked up his pace and crossed the stream over a big, fallen log. His cheeks were all puffed out like he had a late snack he was taking back to his nest. The fall obviously stunned the squirrel or I figure he would have got up faster and took off running but he took his time. I'm betting he might have had a little headache from the fall.

I'm hoping to get an another 11 miles in Sunday. Right now the temp is 27 degrees and dropping very quickly. I'm expecting it to be in the teens by morning. We didn't get much in the way of snow here, only some flurryin' unlike some parts of the country that are kind of in a shutdown mode. Of course that wouldn't have stopped me from getting in some miles anyway. Two years ago we had a 27 inch snowstorm the day after Christmas and I got in four miles on the road that was limited to one lane. I simply put on my Mt. Washington gear and felt great so off I went. I'm hoping for a good 6-8 inch snow sometime this winter to do a good hike in. Sunday's high is supposed to be between 37 and 40 so that will be a good day to hike. Yep....a good day for a looooonnng walk.