Camping Trip to Big South Fork, May 31-June 1: Only three intrepid (foolhardy?) souls actually went. Saturday it rained all day, but we did see mountain laurel and rhododendron in bloom on a short hike in the rain near our campsite in Pickett (TN) State Park. All three tents leaked. Sunday, the weather was nice, but the heavy rain the day before made our hike on the Honey Creek Loop challenging. One of us suffered a minor injury, but we were all able to finish the loop.
Tipsaw Lake, June 1: Rained out. (The weather was still bad.)
Patoka Lake, June 8: Heavy rain just before and rain during the hike made this a muddy and shortened hike for the nine folks who went. Hopefully the two new people will try us again.
Cave Run, June 15: Seven people (one new) went on a moderate hike this hot, sunny day. We lunched by the lake at the midpoint. After the hike, we climbed a steep hill to see the view from an old fire tower. We ate at the Cantuckee Diner in Winchester.
Knobstone Trail at Elk Creek Lake, June 22: Twenty people (one new) hiked from this trailhead toward Spurgeon Hollow in moderately hot weather. Most of us hiked about 6 rugged miles round trip, some a mile or so less. Dinner was at Neil's Place with dessert at Tradewinds.
Lincoln State Park, June 29: Despite heavy rain in Jeffersonville, 14 people (2 new) went on the hike. At the park, the ground was dry and it was sunny the whole time we were there. We did 5 to 5.5 miles on a loop combining three trails. After the hike, we drove to Corydon for dinner at Magdalena's. Most of us then got peach ice cream at a produce shop.
Mogan Ridge West, Saturday, July 5: Five of us explored this recreation area in the Hoosier National Forest, south of Tipsaw Lake. It has two main loop trails shared by hikers, cyclists and equestrians, mostly following gravel roads or old dirt roads. But there is a hiker-only side trail which leads to an interesting series of rock shelters. The tick population density was high.
Raven Run, July 6: Sunny but not terribly hot weather brought 19 people (5 new) out for this hike. Mostly we followed the main (yellow) trail around the edge of the preserve. We kept a good pace but took long breaks, especially at the Kentucky River overlook. We ate good seafood at Hall's on the River, which had chalked up yet another flood mark since our last visit.
Hardy Lake, July 13: After a short hike in the heat, some of the 14 (4 new) hikers went swimming while others hiked a little more. Then we remet at Neil's Place and visited Tradewinds.
McCormick's Creek, July 20: Only 9 people went on this trip (early start, hot day). We did 5 or 6 miles on a combination of three scenic trails along creekbeds, waterfalls and cliffsides (like Clifty Falls but nicer). We ate at the Snow Lion (Tibetan/Chinese/Indian/Cajun) in Bloomington.
Adventure Hiking Trail, July 27: This day was so hot and humid, the seven hikers went to Harrison-Crawford State Forest instead of Tipsaw Lake. We hiked about four miles on the AHT.
Mogan Ridge East, Saturday, Aug 2: This place is near Derby, Indiana in the Hoosier National Forest. (We visited Mogan Ridge West in July.) Five people hiked the 5-mile loop (plus about a mile on a spur) along gravel roads and old wagon roads. There may be nice views in winter.
Tioga Falls, etc., Aug. 3: Seventeen people hiked the two-mile round trip to Tioga Falls this seasonably hot day. Our numbers dwindled to ten for Fort Duffield after doing the Bridges to the Past road hike (also two miles round trip). The pot luck swim party at Carol's that evening drew about 23 people. We had a fun time swimming, eating good food and chatting.
Mammoth Cave, Aug. 10: Only six people made this trip. We did a through hike near Blair Spring Hollow and the Wet Prong of Buffalo Creek. (For future reference: a Mazda MX-6 doesn't quite hold six people.) We ate at the Country Kitchen in Cave City.
Spring Mill, Aug. 17: Very heavy rain on the way up led one carload to turn around. But the ten or so of us who persevered had a nice day, though we didn't do much hiking. The rain stopped soon after we arrived. We explored the mill and pioneer village, then did a short hike to Donaldson's Cave. Some of us went swimming in the park's pool, while others went to eat.
Audubon State Park, Aug. 24: It was a beautiful day, mild for August. The twelve of us hiked every trail we could find (about 4 miles altogether), then explored the museum at the park. We drove to Owensboro for barbecue, but ended up eating good seafood instead.
KT at Spurgeon Hollow, Aug. 31: About 15 people did a long, rugged hike on this section of the Knobstone Trail. (Your editor missed that hike.)
Otter Creek Park, Sep. 7: Only 9 people (2 new) came on this hike. The weather was mild, at least to start out. We ended up hiking the rugged, 8-mile Blue Trail. Most of us ate at Mike Linnig's fish place in SW Jefferson County.
Red River Gorge, Sep. 14: A total of 18 people (4 new) hiked a 1.5 mile section of the Sheltowee Trace along the Red River (out and back). About 14 also visited Sky Bridge and Angel Windows for a total of about 5 miles of hiking. Nine ate at the Cantuckee Diner in Winchester.
Adventure Hiking Trail in Harrison-Crawford, Sep. 21: Of the 13 people on this hike, 10 were new! The weather was wonderful. We hiked the portion of the AHT which crosses a dry streambed and then follows a ridge overlooking the Ohio, covering 5.5-6 miles round trip. A few of us went to Magdalena's restaurant in Corydon afterward.
Jefferson Memorial Forest, Sep. 28: We decided to hike the rugged Mitch McConnell Loop. We did the full loop, which the map says is 7.5 miles. Some of us ate at Sue's Touch of Country.
Knobstone Trail, Saturday, Oct. 4: Six people (1 new) did a through hike on the KT from Jackson Road to IN 160. This hike is 7-8 miles, with steep hills at both ends.
KT at Deam Lake, Oct. 5: About 14 hikers did about 6 miles round trip on this easy part of the Knobstone Trail. We ate at Neil's Place in Sellersburg. Tradewinds was closed, though.
Brown County, Oct. 12: About 9 people went on this early-starting hike. We hiked a combination of three trails (4,5, and 7) and another trail (8), for a total of 7.5 miles. After that, we had an early dinner at the Artist's Colony Inn and Restaurant in Nashville and then explored the shops.
Hemlock Cliffs, Oct. 19: 15 people (5 new) hiked the short loop and a larger unofficial loop. A few of us did a little bushwacking. Several of us ate seafood at The Dock in Leavenworth, Ind.
Clifty Falls, Oct. 26: It was raining at meeting time, but 9 people showed up. When we got to the park (in Madison, Ind.), we decided to do a through hike on Trail 8 from the Nature Center to the Big Clifty and Little Clifty Falls area, then look at the falls. The light rain ended shortly into the hike, and we had trouble with traction at only one spot. We hiked about 6 miles altogether. Little Clifty Falls was much bigger than Big Clifty Falls on this visit. It looked like a real falls. We ate at The Pines buffet in Madison.
Mogan Ridge West, Nov. 2: Only 8 people (2 new) went on the hike; rainy weather probably scared people off. This trail in the Hoosier National Forest near Gatchel, Indiana consists of two intersecting loops of about five miles each and some side trails. We did one of the two loops. There was a brief, light rain at one point. Four of us ate at the Dock in Leavenworth.
Berea College Forest, Nov. 9: On this relatively warm day, 11 people came on the hike. We hiked to the West Pinnacle, Indian Fort Mountain itself, Buzzards' Roost, and the East Pinnacle. The leaves were still up and the views were great. Some of us ate at Papaleno's in Berea.
Patoka Lake, Nov. 16: A dozen hikers (2 new) braved freezing weather for this hike. There were flurries as we hiked but it never got heavy (or very wet). After a while, the ground seemed to be covered with giant Frosted Flakes. Most of us ate at the Overlook in Leavenworth.
Knobstone Trail, New Chapel to Leota, Nov. 23: Eighteen people (one new) and one dog came on this hike. We hiked fast, doing at least 6 miles round trip in partly sunny 40ish weather. Most of us ate at Schuler's, near Henryville, Ind.
(Nov. 30 hike cancelled due to heavy rain and light turnout.)
Starve Hollow, Dec. 7: The 11 hikers on this trip combined two trails for more than five miles of vigorous exercise. After the hike, most of us ate at Schuler's near Henryville.
Cave Run, Dec. 14: Seven people hiked about six miles on trails and roads in the Pioneer Weapons Area. We were the only hikers but there were many hunters. This was not the time of year to hike there. Back in Louisville, six of us ate at the Bluegrass Brewing Company.
Scotts Gap Loop in Jefferson County Memorial Forest, Dec. 21: About 15 people hiked this short but hilly loop trail. It was seasonably cold, but the climbs warmed us quickly.
The Christmas/Hanukkah party that evening brought out more than twice as many people. We had a variety of delicious food, a gift-exchange game, interesting conversation, carol singing and a gracious hostess, Barbara Rowland.
Jackson-Washington State Forest, Dec. 28: Returning to the part of Indiana we visited three weeks earlier, 16 people (2 new) hiked this day, exploring trails we hadn't been on before. Two hiked separately. Most ate at Mama Rosa's in Salem.
http://members.iglou.com/frazar/hike/log1997.html, revised 03 November 1998