Knobstone Trail

Day 1 came all too early from a previous late night of parking the getaway vehicle at Delaney and caching the food/water. I believe Eric and I managed to get about a 4 hour nap in before having to wake at 5:30 AM. I got dressed and consumed a foot long turkey sandwich before making the few last-minute final adjustments on pack and gear. Several weeks of preparation had lead us successfully to this point and there was not much left to question, except what the weather would be like at night. Considering no one ever knows what the weather will be was not helping our cause. At the last minute I had finally decided to bring a jacket which would later turn into a 1.5 lb. uncomfortable mistake.

Before we knew it, we were standing at the Deam Lake Trailhead with 45.5 miles ahead of us. We did some light stretches to loosen up the muscles and since I didn't pack a yoga mat and extra weights, some pushing against a tree would have to suffice. It was 7:30 AM and 50° when we began hiking and at this point there was enough visible light to not require headlamps. It took several miles before my trekking poles did not feel so alien to use. I normally always have to hike several miles before I stop looking like a 4-legged robot.

The first five or so miles disappeared quickly. Overall, trail conditions thus far were excellent. After mile 2 there is a hollow that could provide several prime campsites. At about mile 3 we had been hiking for an hour and were making good time starting off. The ascent at mile 4.25 offers one of the first higher scenic views from the trail.

Mile 4.75 put us on top of Bartle Knob. This has always been a good spot to take a break and then head downhill towards mile 5. My favorite tree sits here at the top of the knob near the road, Mother Nature's toilet, if you will. We stopped and each had a 'gel', which please allow me to elaborate to you the delicacy of such a half solid/half liquid food substance. I personally prefer Clif Shots, as where Eric likes a variety of Hammer Gel and Clif Shots. I really can't say that they taste all that great, but then again, they aren't bad either. They lie somewhere in an unhappy-medium of food purgatory. Nonetheless, they are a good source of quick energy and provide a burst of calories that I can feel and my body responds to. We will be eating plenty of those god forsaken things the entire trip, roughly six or more per day. Moving on and eventually arriving at the intersection of the Jackson Road Trailhead, we were sure to turn right and follow the trail. The actual parking lot is about a mile up a gradual hill that is in somewhat poor condition from erosion and illegal horse use.

Approaching Round Knob at 1000 ft., there was major trail erosion occurring on the ascent. This has been noted as a concern and will be addressed. Carved limestone ledges sit atop the knob with two notable older carvings, "K.E.D. 1932" and "J.J.D. & E.D. 1943". Many other names have been carved here, but it is turning more into graffiti than cherishing those that came several decades before us. Moving away from Round Knob we found ourselves on a high ridge for the remainder of mile 6. There were two fallen trees on the trail in this stretch which we had to navigate around, but all for more fun.

Before moving off the ridge we came across one of the first primitive campsites and probably one of the most captivating areas on the trail. For some reason, when we arrived rocks at the camp had been arranged in a half moon pattern, resembling something that of Stonehenge or an ancient sacrificial grounds. We stopped for a short time and each had an energy bar which isn't all that much greater than a 'gel'. Aside from the illegal campsite, down alongside the top of the hill is a shallow rock shelter that many have visited. There was evidence of a recent fire that ideally for me was far too close to the rock shelter, but this one is not deep enough for concerns of collapse. There are several more notable carvings here, "ED BURNS July 26, 1903" and "G.D. 1917". Also, some fool by the name of Walter Jackson made a strong effort to display his grammatical inabilities by misspelling his first name as, "WALER" with a faint "T" that appeared to be crammed in only after the grave error was caught. He then evidently re-carved his name with the help of his mule directly beside the original mistake to get it correct this time. This is just common practice, please be sure to spell your name correctly when you are going to carve it into stone for the rest of an eternity!?! There is also a carved devil-like creature on the rock face which only further supports the evidence of sacrificial grounds, but probably not so much. Leaving here we walked about 1.75 miles before reaching Pixley Knob Road.

Crossing Pixley Knob we began our slow northeast ascent to another scenic view, which was somewhat limited due to the foliage on the trees. At mile 9.75 we encountered minor trail erosion on the descent from the knob. Around mile 10 we came across three older gentlemen having lunch who were heading north as well. They were all well in their 60’s and were using external packs with some older gear, but nonetheless, these guys were on the trail! We spoke only briefly before parting ways. It was really great to see these guys on the trail and I told Eric I can only hope we will still be stubborn enough to still be doing this when we’re that old. I probably won’t be running down hills like I am now, but who knows.

After mile 10 we attained Table Rock, which is a high plateau that drops steeply off into the carved valley below that State Road 160 follows. At mile 11 we began a steep descent down to the valley below to SR 160. This is where our first food/water cache was located, hidden in the woods from anything but us. Luckily, our food had gone unscathed overnight. We sat down on the concrete bridge for about a half hour to enjoy lunch which, for me, consisted of a protein bar, energy bar, and a red bull. We topped off our reservoirs with water, packed up the afternoon snacks, and prepared to resume hiking just as the older men were making their descent.

We hiked out of the valley and walked along the ridge towards mile 12. I started to hear a beeping noise, which I couldn’t quite figure out. I believe Eric thought it was either a bird or a pterodactyl. Since he wasn’t paying much attention I could have told him it was all in his head. As the beeping became louder, it was more apparent that it was some sort of electronic device. Suddenly two dogs approach us wearing electronic beeper collars and trailing not too far behind was a burly hunter carrying a shotgun slung over his shoulder. He appeared friendly as I made sure to note the loud beeping sounds we were hearing. I should have thanked him then for all of the shotgun shells he left laying around for us to stare at as we hiked. For the next mile the trail runs alongside one of the Clark County State Forest roads and eventually crosses to approach mile 13, which showed prevalent trail erosion on the descent into the valley.

The next several miles went by quickly until reaching the New Chapel Trailhead at Liberty Knob Road. I’ve learned not to park at the trailhead, but drive down to the bottom of the hill and place the food/water cache where the trail actually crosses the road. I will not make the same mistake again of carrying several gallons of water down that wretched trailhead. We located our food/water cache and again topped off what little water was needed and packed up our dinner and next day’s breakfast. We made our way to one of the more scenic established campsites along the trail just right before mile 17. It was close to 3PM when we both sat at the camp and removed our shoes and socks to address any foot problems. Upon further inspection both of our feet were in perfect shape at this point. We had held a very fast and steady pace for the past 2 or 3 three miles and the balls of my feet were beginning to get warm. It was time for us to take a long deserved break. This location, although very close to the road, is still pleasant and the fallen tree has a sort of welcomed-eerie feel to it. It was time for another energy bar before taking off again. At this point we came to the conclusion that we were both determined to make it to Leota by the end of the night, even though it would require hiking for about an hour or more in the dark. I sat on the tree next to the creek bed with my feet resting on a rock for a bit longer before it was time to begin hiking again. We had cached one Guinness each for a celebratory beer at Leota and I couldn’t wait.

Several miles hiking north of New Chapel put us on a high ridge top before dropping us into the slums of ATV hell. I didn’t even want to see what it looked like down in the valley this time. Before entering we came across a sign posted to a tree that stated the obvious severe situation that is occurring in this particular section of trail.

“If you see abuses occurring, or evidence of such, please do report it at once to DNR Conservation Officers. They can be reached at District 8 Headquarters (812) 685-2498 or 2499, Monday - Friday, 08:00 AM - 4:00 PM or South Region Headquarters at (812) 837-9536, 08:00 AM - 12 midnight seven days a week.”

Now, I can understand some occasional horse riders becoming confused and entering sections of the trail where it clearly needs to be blazed correctly or carsonite posts installed, but this section of heavy abuse has clearly been marked to alert any ATV riders of illegal trail use. Because of the little or no rain Southern Indiana has been experiencing recently, damage was somewhat limited to only several areas of the trail. I can only imagine what this place would look like after a good heavy downpour when the drunkard toothless-monkies hop on their motorized dip-shit mobiles and tear up some trail. Walking through here, Eric and I were discussing the desperate need of a camouflaged satellite-webcam installed high in the tree-tops to catch this activity or at least the strategic placement of several paintball landmine contraptions to really piss some riders off. Hell, I could even be persuaded to use actual live land mines, but this could pose several health hazards to other hikers. Anyways, we make our way out of this badland and move on to bigger and better things. We eventually make it up and down a knob to where we eventually stop to enjoy dinner.

We found a nice spot right on the trail where two logs had fallen so we could sit and face each other to prepare our delectable cuisine. Finally, some real food for a change, because I had already consumed enough bars and gels to last me for the rest of a decade and I didn’t even want to think about eating more tomorrow. We both had cached the Mountain House Pro Pak style backpacking food; mine was Mexican style rice & chicken and Eric had pasta primavera. Anthony Bourdain, eat your freaking heart out! Just add boiling water and in minutes you have a warm hearty meal, which after spending this amount of time in the woods tastes like the nectars from the gods. Before lighting the MSR pocket rocket stove, Eric made sure to note that he would cry if I had forgot to bring any matches. Not to fear my fine furry woodland creature, I’m always prepared for such an occasion. We enjoyed our hot dinner to the sounds of coyotes nearby. We came to the decision that it would require an entire wild pack of rabid coyotes and lost limbs to actually remove this food from our grasps, since we were both basically starving. We both believe a trekking pole would make for a decent spear.

Enough of the crazy talk, we packed up and begin trekking on towards Leota. Several miles later it began to get dark and I lead for several more miles unaided by a headlamp or any other light. Our eyes had just begun to get adjusted to the darkness when we came upon two other backpackers settling down for the night. One gentleman was sitting down and did not speak or move when greeted as we passed. The other man further away may or may not have waved, or have even moved for that matter. Eric determined that the one sitting was a mannequin and the other did not speak any English. Okay, maybe I made that second one up, but the first part is the truth... I’ll remember his face. We continued on for another couple miles before arriving at the hill leading up to New Salem Finley Knob Road. We had made it, now to just not get hit when walking up the road to the trailhead.

We had arrived at the trailhead sometime around 9 PM. We found our food cache for the next day and the beer! Let’s not forget about the beer now. We packed everything up and took off for our campsite for the night which was atop the knob at about mile 25.25. I will make sure not to note that technically this is an illegal campsite, but I guess if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

We had made it as far or further than we had predicted and we both felt great. Overall, our muscles, feet, and bodies were in terrific shape for hiking this far in one day with around 18 pounds a piece in our packs. We set up the lightweight tarp/tent and prepared our luxurious sleeping quarters for later. At some point I stumbled upon a quarter in the leaves when I was changing clothes and had determined it was a rare coin from the late 1700’s. I can only call myself a dumbass for even thinking this and Eric quickly brought me back to reality once he determined it was a 2000 quarter. Ah, the thousands of dollars I had acquired quickly turned into 25 cents. Oh well! It was beer-thirty and we were both late for the party. We sat on a log and cracked open our Guinness beers discussing the widgetry that lie inside the can and how it magically made the beer even more delicious. I can say for a fact that I have never enjoyed a Guinness as much as that one. We talked for a while longer about the days events and by around 10:30 it was time for bed. I constructed my pillow out of the sleeping bag compression sack and my useless jacket. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it would have to do. We laid down for a long night of restless sleep. I still believe it was all Eric’s fault for not booking our reservations at the Holiday Inn Express.

I enjoyed this so much! Good job. It was also very useful info.