Hoosier Daddy - Backpacking the Charles C. Deam Wilderness

[outlan]

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.

[2ply]

Looks like y'all had a great time even with the extra miles.

[Rolloff]

That's still a great loop, but go east, at least to the Firetower. No horses, only foot traffic. Even further east, Nebo Wilderness Area. Share the trail with mountain bikes, but no horses!

Can you see a pattern here?

[OneClick]

That's still a great loop, but go east, at least to the Firetower. No horses, only foot traffic. Even further east, Nebo Wilderness Area. Share the trail with mountain bikes, but no horses!

Can you see a pattern here?

Love that foot-only Sycamore Trail! I wish more of the trails were like that. I can't imagine the mud and poop slip 'n slide everywhere else after all this rain! I do a lot of bushwhacking in this area for that reason.

[Rolloff]

Love that foot-only Sycamore Trail! I wish more of the trails were like that. I can't imagine the mud and poop slip 'n slide everywhere else after all this rain! I do a lot of bushwhacking in this area for that reason.

I hear yah. My current form of the Penni Trail starts @ the fire tower then uses the Axom branch trail, with a whack from there to where ever on the lake I end up. You'd have to march me at gun point into Saddle creek valley at this point.