Date: 2012-01-08
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Miles today: 0.0

The Holidays have now passed. I have been working on day hikes at Hoosier National Forest, Harrison Crawford State Forest and Ferdinand State Forest (FF). Many of the trails have had an unusually high number of hikers. I suppose that this was due to the very mild weather and the fact that many folks are off work due to the Holidays. On Monday, January 2, I decided to take an all day hike at Ferdinand Forest. I¢ve hike here most of my adult life and I always marvel at how different the woods looks in the various seasons. It seems to me as though you are hiking in a totally unique area in each season. In winter you get a very good view deep into the woods since the tree leaves have all dropped. As I drive in to FF, I see only 1 car. I drive to the campground to park and find no one there. Good, I hope to have the trails to myself today! I park in the campground close to the Fire tower trail. I get out of my car and carry my boots and pack to a picnic table. I stretch my legs, arms and back then put on my boots and pack and grab my hiking poles and I¢m off. The weather is cool - maybe about 30 and the sky is cloudy. There is a strong wind blowing. I get about 300 yards and I hear what sounds like a wounded animal. I think to myself as to what it could be, maybe a dog that is hurt, maybe a coyote. I pause and scan the woods but can¢t seem to make out what is making the noise. I start to walk again and then the moaning sounds starts up again. I¢m becoming very curious to find the source of the sound. I pause again and look to my left, then to my right. I don¢t see anything on the ground and after a few minutes I detect that the moaning is coming from above me in the trees. Now I¢m really stumped. What in the world can this be? The sound isn¢t constant, but as I stand and listen I notice the sounds correspond to the wind blowing. Then off to my right I see two trees and the sound seems to be emanating from up in the trees maybe about 30 feet off the ground. I wonder if it could be a bird or wild turkey. As I gaze at the trees for about 10 minutes, I solve the mystery. There are two thick branches rubbing together as a very strong wind gusts through the woods. This is the source of the ghostly sound. It¢s eerie to hear such a surreal sound while all alone in the woods. I now move ahead on the Two Lakes Trail and walk toward Coyote Lake, one of my favorite spots at FF. The trail climbs steeply up and then follows a ridge for a short time. I look off each side of the ridge and in a bare woods the hillsides seem especially steep and have nearly vertical drop offs in some spots. Then I begin a slow descent and the trail is nicely maintained here. I close in on the dam of Coyote Lake and walk off the trail to the spillway. The lake is isolated and I think about how the CCC men have dug this manmade lake. I suppose they may have done it by hand or maybe used horses. I make a note to research this. The trail follows the shoreline and then when I approach the end of the lake, there is a boardwalk. I like to stop here for a break and I take a sip or two of water. I see the old sign that states ¢Bass must be a Minimum of 14 Inches¢. The sign look so old and I also note that a tree which used to have a bird box of some type has fallen into the lake. Ultimately Nature exerts her control. While taking my break, my thoughts tend to wander they way always do. What is it about walking in the woods? You put one foot in front of another and then repeat. It seems like such a simple physical act. But at some point if you¢re lucky, you begin to really sense what is around you in a mysterious sort of way. It¢s like I see for the first time the veins on the leaves and the kind of bark on a tree. I wonder how old the rocks and stones are. I sense there are moods in the clouds in the sky. I know I may be the only human to hear a rushing stream on this day. I look out and sense the calm on the water of Coyote Lake. How lucky can a person be to have all this?My daydream ends as I hear the approach of two Mountain bikers. They stop to chat and I find out they are from Evansville and have made the 50 mile drive to FF so they can take their bikes on the trails. They seem exceptionally nice and friendly and we chat about the trails and the other areas where they have biked. They like the Twin Lakes Trail in Hoosier NF as do I and I tell them about the Birdseye loop near the town of Birdseye where they have not yet been. They tell me that can¢t believe there aren¢t more bikers out and about. I tell them that FF is usually not very busy. They head out and I follow after a few minutes.I hike up a short distance on the Fire Lane and then exit off on the trail and head north. The Trail now climbs up. After about 30 minutes, I reach a rocked County road. Here is where the Two Lakes Trail ends and across the road is the Kyana Trail which I will take to reach the Ferdinand Forest Fire tower. But as I cross the road I see an absolutely horrid scene. The State Forest has been clear cut and all the trees have been cut down in a large swath. The trees lay dead on the ground like fallen soldiers after a battle. There is a small sign that explains that the area has been ¢managed¢. Yellow poplar trees which were dying from years of drought have been cut down and left on the ground. The sign says that in about 20 to 30 years that seedlings will have grown into trees about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Then the trees will be thinned out with only the ¢high value¢ trees like Walnut, Oak etc. to be left standing. This makes no sense to me at all but I¢m not professional forest manager. I walked past the clear cut and head down the Kyana trail. About 12 mile in the woods just to the left of the trail, there was a beautiful large white oak tree that I remember from previous hikes. But the tree is gone and only a lonely stump is left. It has been harvested. I lay my hiking pole across the stump and I guess the diameter of the stump to be about 4 feet. I reach a turn near what used to be a wildlife pond. The sign denoting the pond is almost grown over by the tree on which the sign was nailed. I can still make out the words Wildlife Improvement but little else. Nature exerts her control again. As I now turn and head east, I walk through along the trail and white pine trees are growing like a barrier on both sides of the trail. I suspect the Pine tree were planted by the CCC as they appear to be in a very neat row and evenly spaced. The trail slopes down gently before climbing back up. I now cross another clear cut area and the evidence and of heavy machinery is plain as day. There are deep ruts in the ground and a number of trees show the scars and scrapes from machinery. I walk up a slope on the trail and as I reach the highest point I pause to catch my breath. As I stop, the wind begins to gust. The temperature seems colder but it¢s hard to really tell. Then the wind really begins to gather force. Now I see a collection of assorted brown leaves become slaves to the wind. The leaves appear to be suspended in the air yet they twirl about as if they are in a wind tunnel. Then as suddenly as it started, the wind dies down and leaves all find their respective places back on the ground. I move on and a short time later I hear voices from behind me. I turn around to look at the section of the trail behind me. There I see a group of 6 trail runners. They seem to be running at a pretty nice clip. As they pass me by they all greet me with a ¢hello¢. They seem chipper and I notice they are dressed in high fashion - sporting wind proof clothing and the latest in trail runner shoes. They all look lean and in spectacular physical shape. They pass by me and start down a steep part of the trail and soon disappear into the woods. I glance at my watch and notice I have been walking for about 2 hours. I follow the trail down a steep incline then cross a few small streams and then start up the steep hill that will take me to the Fire Tower. I huff and puff and reach the fire tower and opt to take another break.Once at the Fire Tower, I drop my pack and have a seat on the wooden steps. I then get out my snack which today is a pop tart. I notice that the wind is especially brisk here. My hands get cold very quickly without my gloves on - so I put them back on. My pop tart is really cold too - so cold in fact I can take it and smack it on the metal hand railing of the fire tower and it doesn¢t break. Ice has formed in small chunks in my water bottles. As I look off to my right I see what appears to be a large bone just breaking the surface of the dirt. I stand up and go over to see the bone. I dig up the dirt with my pocket knife and uncover a skull that looks like it came from a large dog. I pick the skull up and place it on a stump. Then I go back and have my seat and finish my snack. Then I head south on the Fire Tower trail and after about 12 mile I come to another spot that fascinates me. There is a small creek the runs parallel to the trail and the water is crystal clear. But as the creek approaches a turn near a tree, the water in the creek turns a rusty red color. I suspect it has something to do with a source of iron but I don¢t know why the water and the creek bed turn red after this one point. I try to look at the section of the tree root in the water of the creek to see if there is anything to cause the red color but I don¢t see anything that I can explain the mystery.Once I reach the point where the Fire Tower Trail intersects with the Foxey Hollow Trail, I veer right on the Foxey Hollow trail. After just a short distance, I see for the first time ever at FF some tire marks from a four wheeler. This is perplexing and I hope that it will be the last time I ever see evidence of four wheelers on these trails. They do a great deal of damage and exacerbate erosion. I walk past some old concrete survey markers and then cross a fast flowing creek. I meet another hiker and his dog and we exchange pleasantries. I hike up the last of the inclines on this trail and then follow the trail downhill to the black topped entry road. I check my GPS and note I have logged about 7 plus miles so far.I cross the road and then pick up the Southridge Trail which is really beautiful as it follows the shoreline of the FF Lake. The first section of the trail though follows a fire lane and then veers left and climbs steeply to reach a ridge. I follow the trail and then decide to pause at the top of the ridge to take a swig of water. There are several sizable oak trees that fell across the trail here. Where the trees had fallen across the trail, the trail maintainers have cut a 3 foot section out of the trees that blocked the trail. So the trail is clear to walk through. But a secondary benefit for me today is that the fallen trees provide a perfect seat for me. I sit down to take another break. As I sit and drink some water, the sky darkens and the winds pick up. Then it begins to snow. The snow at first is only flurries but then increases to a very heavy snow. The flakes become big and fluffy. Within 10 minutes my pack and hiking poles are covered in snow. I take a look down the trail and it is now difficult to see more than about 10 yards due to the heavy snowfall. It is now after 3.00 pm so I better get going.I start the mild descent on the trail toward the lake and suddenly the snow fall stops. Within 10 minutes the sun is out. I approach a finger inlet of the lake and watch some ducks swimming. They seem to enjoy the sunshine and they paddle effortlessly toward deeper water. They occasionally dip their heads underwater in search of food. The temperature feels a bit warmer but then the clouds move in again and the darkness seems to be coming on fast. The wind blows hard and cold again. The trail has been redone here and stays closer to the shoreline which is very nice. I start back up a series of switchbacks to get on top of the ridge and get an even better view of the lake form there. I near the end of the lake and follow the trail across a wooden foot bridge. The trail then passes a shelter house and across the road is the Property Managers residence. I pick up a trail that has no name and I will hike on the southwest side of Fossil Lake. As I climb up the trail I see Fossil Lake off to the left. I also notice that this area of the woods has been ¢Managed¢ as there are trees cut down. More evidence that this is a ¢Managed¢ Forest is that I see trees left standing and about 4 feet off the ground there are two chainsaw cuts around the base of the tree. This is called ¢girdling¢. A forester uses a chain saw to cut two rings about 2 inches into the bark of the tree. It is a method to kill the tree without the use of herbicides. I walk on and soon approach the trail back to the Campground and my car. It is now pushing 5.00 PM as I reach my car. I sit on a picnic table, take off my boots and put on some Crocs. I pause and think to myself what a truly remarkable day this has been. I have walked nearly 10 miles and while tired I still feel like I have been ¢recharged¢. I bet I¢ll sleep well tonight and I think about my next day in the woods.