BACK ON THE TRAILS

Hi Guys!!!! Yeah I know, it's been a long time since I've been on here. I've just had a lot going on and needed some down time too. BUT I'M BACK!!!!

I was going to put lots of stuff on here from the Kentucky Derby, Indy 500, and Nationwide Meijer 300 on here but to see those pictures the best place to go is http://www.clarionnews.net/ and then click on the photo galleries. There's more pictures there than I could get on here so jump on over after you get done with the blog and take a look. Lots and lots of pictures for sure.

Okay....I finally got back on the hiking trails. The hike I'm telling you about first is one in the Harrison-Crawford State Forest where I was planning on doing 27 miles on the Adventure Hiking Trail. I wish I could say I got all 27 in but sometimes things don't go exactly the way you want and I ended up coming up 4 miles short.

The first day was a good one...at least most of it anyway. Let's say the first 12 miles were anyway. I got an early start at about 7:30 that morning and made for the Isaac Bottom trailhead. It didn't take long to see some wildlife as I jumped up a big covey of quail that also had two wild turkeys in it too, one of them landing on a tree limb for a good five minutes before finally jumping off and floating down into the valley. Deer were jumping up in front of me too but mostly giving that wave good-bye with their white tails. But the body wasn't feeling too bad considering I hadn't hiked at all for a few weeks.

A shower kept the air cooled for me and the forest canopy did a good job of acting as umbrella enough that I didn't have to pull out my rain jacket. It did kind of slicken the trail up some, especially on one steep section that forced me to dirty up my backside a little bit. After a while, however, I made it to my first real stop of the old iron bridge, which I've showed you before.

If you look at the first two pictures you'll see debris in the middle of the bridge. That was left behind during a major flood in the spring that caused a lot of damage all over the Midwest. When you look down at the third picture you can see how high the water had to get to leave that debris behind. The river even covered a small part of Indiana Highway 62 forcing the road to be closed, something I had never seen happen before. This was the same flood I told you about that flooded the town of Milltown. I know it caused a big mess for a lot of people to clean up.

After the break at the iron bridge I continued on and met some horse riders from Corydon out for a leisurely stroll through the woods. After climbing the next big hill I took a break where most of the horse riders were camping at. The weather was still pretty good with nothing but clouds to keep the sun and heat away. A little later I made it to the Pioneer Cabin and then to the top of the next big hill where the burned down shelter that I'd told you about before had once stood. Nothing has been done yet to rebuild the structure but somebody had left behind a Kawasaki Mule that I guess had some mechanical problems.

During my break there a little thundershower let go with a little bit of rain and low rumblings up in the clouds. I didn't think about it much until the thunder got a little louder and being on top of that hill was really not the best place for me. So I decided it would be best if I head down the other side. I only got about a quarter mile and the clouds unloaded everything all at once. The downpour was enough that I had to grab a poncho out of the pack and also the pack cover. Lightning flashed overhead and the rain came down in a deluge but I kept on going ahead at the same time wishing that shelter was still standing.

Then I came to a section and I have now named Mind-Bender. You first have a very steep uphill climb. (This is the toughest section of the whole trail by the way.) On the other side you have a very steep downhill and the rain had made the trail very slippery forcing me to hang on to trees as I made my way down the hill. Not only was it using up a lot of my energy but just when you think you're close to the road you find another steep climb in front of you. Then on the other side of that hill you can see the road but the trail winds back and forth so that your brains really get scrambled. Finally though I was at the Cold Friday Hollow Road where I took another quick break. After one more climb of just over a mile I finally made it to the top where I gladly crashed into the Homestead Shelter after 16 long miles.

Yes this is what I looked like after the first 16 miles. I'm going to admit it took a lot out of me. I think the muddied section through Mind Bender where the footing got really difficult used up a lot more energy that I had intended on using. Had it been dry I don't think I would have been near as tired as I was. After just sitting for a while I pulled out the pad and sleeping bag and tried to get in a short nap. I had made it to the shelter by 3:40 pm which was really pretty good time considering that I hadn't really done a big hike for a while.

Sometime between 6 and 7 pm Steve, Chuck and Carole showed up to give me some company for the night. They arrived as I was cooking up a bag of Mountain House lasagna for supper. Steve got a fire going to keep the skeeters away and we watched the sun go down through the trees. All it all it had been a pretty good day but I was a bit worried how stiff I would be the next morning.

Actually I wasn't as stiff as I thought. I did a lot of tossing and turning during the night but I did get a few hours in anyway. I know I must have because Steve said at one point he woke up to see a brightly lit moon, something which I didn't see. Steve and Chuck got their coffee going and I slugged on a bottle of water with some Propel in it for a little vitamin B6 and b12. I've been off coffee for 18 years so decided just a little flavored water would work best for me. I did eat a little breakfast food and Chuck offered me a cinnamon-apple cookie, which I gladly took.

We finished breakfast and finally got on our way but a wee bit later than what we really wanted to. There was a little concern about water but Steve and Chuck told about water they had place about 3 miles down the trail. After leaving the shelter we soon came upon a stretch of a lot of downed trees, big ones too. It was obvious some type of micro burst with possibly 80-90 mph winds had swept through the area turning the stretch into a kind of maze. Some of the markers had been knocked down and unless you knew what you were really doing it would be easy to get sidetracked. Steve had been through it before and led the way. After about a half mile things finally got better and we entered a really nice section where rays of sunlight beamed down into the woods. We crossed one area where is the wet season there would be a 20-foot waterfall. I know I've got to try to get back here during next year's spring rains to both see it for myself and show it to you here. It will be worth the walk, that I know for sure.

We finally made it to the Indian Creek Shelter which I've had on here many times. We took a break there and then headed for Old Forest Road. The next three miles turned into the hardest for me. I knew we were getting low in water and had no sources really with all the springs now dried up.The last four miles the day before had taken more out of me than I thought and the last hill before Old Forest forced me to end it here. Carole was kind of glad of it too because a sizable blister had formed on her foot. Steve reached his wife on the cell phone and he and Chuck met her to go get my car. We then went to his car and called it quits until another time.

I do plan on making the effort again to do the entire 27 miles in two days. I'm already looking at doing it sometime in April when the springs are up and running and the streams have sufficient water so that the water worries are out of the way. It was still a good hike and I'm ready for another one but of shorter distance for now. I am considering a September hike back in the Smoky Mountains, which I'll have some things to tell you about from a quick three-day visit there. Now it's time for me to go on to the next adventure.