HOOSIER DADDY?
From
the Red River Gorge we drove through Lexington and Louisville and on into
the Hoosier state. One of my goals for this trip
was to do hikes in some of the states we’d pass through on our way to
Wyoming. Specifically, I wanted to hike
in states where I’d never hiked before.
First on that list was Indiana.
Years
ago I traveled with a friend to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota for a canoeing
trip. We drove through Indiana on the
way. At some point we passed an
impressive escarpment of cliffs. I
thought they’d been just outside of Louisville, Kentucky. When I started researching hiking options in
Indiana, I read about the Knobstone Trail. The Knobstone Trail
follows an escarpment for 58 miles in southern Indiana. When I read that, I figured it followed the
cliffs I’d seen all those years ago.
We
only had a few hours to dedicate to our hike, meaning we’d only be able to
cover a small portion of the trail.
After more research I settled on a short hike near the southern
end. That would be fairly easy to get
to, and it sounded like the scenery would be enjoyable.
We
drove I-65 from Louisville towards Indianapolis. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the cliffs that
were etched in my memory. This left me
puzzled, but we drove on towards the trailhead anyway. I was eager to get some exercise just to
break up the long drive.
We
found our way to the Jackson Road trailhead, which is high up on a wooded
ridgeline. We followed a dirt road
getting there, and found the parking area deserted at our arrival.
We
released the dog from his confinement and started down an access trail that
connects the trailhead to the Knobstone Trail. The access trail is actually a gravel road
that is surprisingly steep. The rocky
descent seemed to go on and on, and I began to wonder if I’d made a good choice
for our hike. Eventually we bottomed out
near a small, mostly dry streambed.
There were a few muddy pools of water here and there, and Boone spent
time in every one of them. I’m confident
it was his favorite part of the hike.
We
joined the Knobstone Trail there and immediately
began ascending the hill we’d just come down.
The good news is that we were now on a proper trail. Unfortunately the climb was surprisingly difficult. To make matters worse, it was brutally hot
and humid despite heavy cloud cover. The
bugs were awful, too, and even the profuse summer wildflowers did little to
make the hike more appealing.
A
bit later we took a break, as Christy was actually feeling nauseous from the
heat. While she rested in the shade I
explore a side trail that climbed up to a campsite on a small knoll. It was a nice spot, but getting water would
require a looong walk. I rejoined Christy, who’d had enough hiking
in Indiana for at least one trip.
Instead of backtracking though, I came up with a more appealing
plan. We continued ahead, climbing
again, but more gently. Eventually we
reached the ridge and then bushwhacked a short distance over to the road we had
driven in on. From there, it was simple
to follow the road back to our car. That
gave us a shorter, and much easier, return to our starting point.
Our
hike was disappointing, but that may be partially my fault. In all of my pre-trip research, I’d spent
very little time or energy on our hike in Indiana. I’m sure there are more appealing stretches
of the Knobstone Trail than the one we hiked. Also, that area is probably more enjoyable in
the spring or fall when the weather is better.
Perhaps I’ll return some day for another try.
We
drove straight from there to Lafayette, Indiana. We had reservations at a Red Roof Inn, which
provided cheap, adequate accommodations without any extra charge for the
dog. We checked in around 4pm and showered. We jacked up the air conditioning, enjoying
the cool air after our hot hike. A bit
later we enjoyed an early dinner at Mountain Jacks restaurant, which was
conveniently located next door. I had
the Walleye, which was a little expensive, but worth it.
WHERE WOLVES?
After
dinner we put Boone in his crate before making a visit to Wolf Park (http://www.wolfpark.org/). I’d first read about Wolf Park years ago, and
it had been in the back of mind as a place to visit ever since. Wolf Park covers 75 acres, and is currently
home to 14 wolves. The wolves aren’t
domesticated, but they are socialized with humans. The first wolves there came from the Chicago
zoo. Today, wolves are occasionally
exchanged with other parks and zoos to vary the genetics of the wolves.
Although
they aren’t exactly wild, Christy and I were excited to see them. Even though we were headed to Wyoming, we
knew that the odds of actually seeing a wolf there were pretty slim.
We
had timed our visit to coincide with a “howl night”. Howl nights are special programs that are offered
about once per month on Saturday evenings.
Howl nights feature a presentation that includes an opportunity to
listen to the wolves howling. After the
presentation, we’d have the opportunity to roam the property and observe the
wolves in the evening, when they tend to be active. This particular howl night also coincided
with a full moon, which seemed appropriate.
A
20-minute drive took us from Lafayette to Battle Ground, Indiana. We arrived at Wolf Park a bit early, but had
to wait in a long line to get in. We
paid $7 each and found seats in the bleachers just outside the wolf
enclosure. We were introduced to five of
the resident wolves, including one young black one. After an educational presentation, we got to
listen to the wolves howl. Of course
they don’t just howl spontaneously. We
had to prompt them. The crowd (which
probably totaled around 200 people) was instructed in proper howling technique,
and after a bit of practice, we had the wolves howling. Even though this was rather contrived, it was
still cool watching those wolves throw their heads back and join in. Aside from the wolves that were being social,
we could hear more wolves and even coyotes joining in from more remote parts of
the park.
After
a bit of howling the wolves were rewarded for the efforts with treats,
including a deer carcass. Once the
presentation concluded, we were free to walk a trail between the wolf
enclosures. I spent most of that time
trying to photograph the wolves. That
was tricky since we were separated by a chain link fence, but I had some
success with my telephoto lens. The
highlight though may have been a beautiful sunset over a small pond along the
trail. I took many photos there before
catching up with Christy in the gift shop.
We
headed back to the hotel afterwards, where we had to explain to Boone what we’d
been up to. We went to bed early,
exhausted from a long day, and with an even longer day in the car looming.
Back to Indiana
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