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!!!!!
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!!!!!
posted by The Maniac at 2:24 PM
2 Comments:
Congrats!!!
Still coulda done it quicker in a car, though :-D
Not as much fun.......%-)
Next week I go for even more...
%-)
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