What do you do when you're six miles in going the wrong way on a loop? Keep going!
That's what my friends and I had to do when we took a wrong turn while backpacking the Charles C. Deam Wilderness in Indiana. We were supposed to only hike about 10-12 miles up to Lake Monroe for two nights of lakeside hammock camping, but it turned into a much bigger adventure than that. Regardless, we had a great time and slept through a torrential thunderstorm, found some amazing geodes, and slept lakeside next to the remote lake bordering the wilderness area. To reward ourselves afterward, we visited Upland Brewery in Bloomington for some amazing post-hike food and brew.
If you decide to visit the Charles Deam, make sure you know and understand the maps. And, if you visit in the warmer months, know that you'll be sharing the trails with horses and LOTS of ticks (the area is crawling with them). The trails are fairly easy, with only a few minor ups-and-downs, but the horse traffic can turn the trail into a mud pit, making it very difficult to traverse. The wooded hillsides are beautiful, and the large stands of pine have a way of giving a sense of being somewhere much more wild and remote.
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