Late April is usually too late (warm and buggy) for me down here, but I had to get out and give it a try. Other than some new Topo Untraventure shoes, I took my usual gear. 26.6lb total including two cans of beer. I'd still like to hit 20lb total, even if that's without the beer.
I saw what appeared to be a lull in the rain, so I left home and crossed my fingers. I got lucky, falling into a 3-hour window of no rain after arriving. I set up and just relaxed, preparing for a longer hike the next day.
It's interesting to see how special people think they are, including me I guess. While not "necessary travel" during the covid-19 pandemic, I wasn't going to leave my car the whole way down and have absolutely no contact with anything or anyone the entire time. But then I see the forest service fire tower at the trailhead: pink caution tape ripped down, people climbing up top, ignoring the CLOSED sign. Then the sign "No parking along Tower Ridge Road"...so a truck parks right on Tower Ridge Road. And camps must be 100' from the trail, but I see people camped RIGHT ON THE TRAIL, one with a ~50qt wheeled cooler. I passed thru the horse camp and saw the big yellow AREA CLOSED sign...full of cars, people having picnics, horse trailers, etc. Keystone, Miller Lite and Bud Light cans everywhere, even well off trails. Doesn't anyone in Indiana drink good beer? Even halfway cheap decent stuff other than fizzy yellow water? The answer is no. Done ranting.
Great weather, a little sunburn, very quiet, plenty of wildflowers, one blister. The new shoes felt great but wool socks NEVER dry and after walking thru a couple streams I was done for. When hiking out I passed a couple who said "is it all full down there?" 13,000 acres of camping area yet most everyone seems to think they have to camp on that nasty, muddy, overused peninsula. That's just so bizarre to me.
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