Overnight at browning hill turned dayhike

**crashvandicoot** · 06-24-2012, 09:56

Headed out Saturday for what was supposed to be an overnight on Browning Hill in the Hoosier National Forest. The plan was to hike as far down as possible, then turn back and reach browning hill by 730 or 8. That went to plan and I ended up putting in some decent mileage. I didn't make it to the south parking lot, but I think I was close. Anyway, a bunch of stuff went wrong and I think I made the right decision to call off the overnight.

1. Not enough water. I hike with my dog, and I thought one liter for him and three for me would be enough. No water on the trail, so I had to haul it. It was just enough to get back to the car, but the headaches were setting in around that time. Oh, and turns out the monster needed more than 1 liter.

2. Locals. For a hill that overlooks a ghost town, browning hill is remarkably populated. There were some people coming up from the west who seemed kinda ticked that I was on the hill. Seeing as I was solo, I didn't want to be there when they got to the top.

3. Campfire ban. We have a drought here, so no open fires. The bugs were taking full advantage.

4. The ticks. Really, REALLY bad. Every 10 minutes, I had to stop and pick them off. When I got home, I picked 23 off my dog. I know I have a day or two to get them off before Lyme disease becomes a concern, but I just couldn't leave him like that.

So lessons learned: when you're going solo, don't plan to reach your site as the sun's setting. Allow a couple hours to scout around. Also, I'm just not going to have a good time hauling a ton of water. Gonna stick to trails where I know I can get it. Those 4 liters added 10lbs to my pack, and even that wasn't enough for my dog and I. Hiking with a beast does complicate things a bit, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

**Brute1100** · 06-24-2012, 10:04

Water weight is killer... That's why I have a 15 lb day pack and a 25 lb over night pack... 10 lbs of water will kill your pack weight... Did you at least have fun?

**crashvandicoot** · 06-24-2012, 10:50

Yeah, that's pretty much where I was yesterday. 16lbs base, 26 w water.

Definitely a good trip and one I'll hopefully make for the next hoosier hang.

**Acer** · 06-24-2012, 11:22

That had to be a hot hike,,as yesterday,,I had 93 degrees, 50% humidity with the dew point at 63,,,and at 10pm last nite was still 82 degrees for a hang..Glad you got out at least. Go south to the mts. and hit the elevation where its cooler if you have the time. Gas is way cheaper the farther you go south to Tenn. as well.

**HamMike** · 06-24-2012, 15:42

Too bad you had to bail but yeah ya need that water. Why would the others be ticked you were there? Thats weird.

**crashvandicoot** · 06-26-2012, 15:04

Originally Posted by HamMike

Too bad you had to bail but yeah ya need that water. Why would the others be ticked you were there? Thats weird.

Not sure; probably wanted it to themselves. I heard one of them yell that somebody [me] was up there. Either way, there were a bunch of shotgun shells on the hill, so being solo, I wasn't going to hang around to find out. Ha! Hang.