Yellow River St. Forest hike, Iowa, Apri l 2-4

“lizs, what a great report - I felt like I was along for the ride. You are really making me want to go on this trip in April. Maybe I could talk hubby into staying home with the sickly dog if I offered to take one of the kids with me?”

“lol... omahiker. Now to remind me of YOU and HUBBY being there, we would need to haul in steaks and vino and chairs. LOL! Thanks for that great, unexpected meal and just for the surprise of being there in camp. That was too much!

Mataharihiker, yeah there should be a lot of places to put up a hammock in the campsites.

Lets see the potential list of attendees,whether or not they're listed on the "trips" page:

For sure, as it stands now:
1. Prosecutor
2. Mataharihiker
3. T-mac
4. lizs
5. Local gal friend

Maybe's:
1. Nullen_void
2. Sunshine
3. Omahiker
4. Crazy Mike
5. Ms. Crazy Mike
6. gojo
7. sarabelle (I have to list her. This could be a big coup in getting midwesterners to turn out, the lure to actually say THEY MET SARABELLE!!! LOL)

C'mon folks! Lets turn out for this. :-)”

“bump...

I'll have some photos, prolly by Tuesday night.”

“lizs - Answer your dang email. ;-)”

“I will say rite now that me and my hubsand Gissmaeioux will be ther! And my daddy to prolly!

It will be the gooooooood times!

Thems verry good woods aroun ther. They got verry good tree rats and fessents and DED DEERS WITH GUTS! EWWW! (but Gissmaeioux eets ded deer guts!)

Be verry carful tho cuz ther is the Skeery Woof Bare cabe with aminal bones!

(BWT - If you see the Skeery Woof Bare RUN THE NOTHER WAY!)”

“Cool, I'll get to meet the great Sarabelle!

Believe me, I know what to do if I see a Skeery Woof Bare. I'll be running like an Olympic sprinter.”

“bringin' peach cobbler?”

“LOL! **WHO** is WackoRobie?? C'mon Wacko, let us know who you are and visit us. lol”

“Ummm... I know some of these hikes have great food and stuff. Ummm... I can do hot dogs and Smores!! But that's about it.

Am looking forward to the venison treats from Prosecutor. And beyond that, maybe we could get either Phil or Dutch Oven Dave to attend??? LOL!”

“I might venture across northern Illinois to meet up with you guys and gals. I wouldn't be showing up until Friday evening though. Is there a map of the trail network available somewhere? I haven't searched the web yet.”

“Sorry, disregard the inquiry in my previous post. I just saw your link lizs.”

“Yeah, go to the TRIPS page for as much info as I've got posted to this point.

Oh, I see you're already on there. Good.
Making it easy to get there

See under "INFO ADDED 3/3"??

Go to that third link for specific backpacking trails. It's a pretty good map.

If you want topos, to get an idea of terrain, go to the first link on the forest area in general. Then, when you get to that website, you'll find topo maps for the various units listed with links.

As I recall, Paint Creek South contains most of the trails, although you might also want Paint Creek North and maybe Waukon Junction. The trails aren't marked on these, but forest roads are (which are at times trails).

Just be warned.... all the maps are .pdf documents. That sometimes locks up my computer. BUT at other times it's just fine.

I'm trying to get a route finalized soon. Check all the messages back through this thread for more info, too. Thanks! Hope you can make it!”

“I don't think I'll be able to afford an Iowa fishing license..would you share your catch with a trout-lovin' lass who enjoys your cooking? I'm trying to convert the sinfullest chocolate pudding/cake recipe I have for the trail..meanwhile, anything, food-wise, I should bring?”

“C'mon wusses! Backpack in Iowa. Not EVERYONE can say they've done THAT!!!! ;-P

We welcome one and all to the trip. :-)”

“(this should encourage some of the southern guys).”

“There ya go!! ;-)”

“Howdy. Since you asked...

Thought I would jump into the conversation and see what this was all about. New to the site and looking for some backpacking partners in the area. I am not new to backpacking but you had best consider me a newbie since the amount of time from when I last did any serious backpacking is along time ago.”

“WackoRobie, go back to the Trail Talk page, and on your right click on

"trips",

then Click on

" No Foolin' - Backpacking in Iowa!, (IA) Yellow River State Forest, Northeast Iowa".

These are open trips to anyone, and if you are reacquainting yourself to backpacking in the midwest, this is a perfect trip to be on, expecially with the helpful people like Liz and MataHariHiker. I hope you join us. All the group trips I have been on so far is that everyone hikes self-contained and brings and cooks their own food, but most, like I, bring a little extra for others to sample. As you can see, I did ask if anyone wants venison burritos, and if someone wants a whole meal for the first night, they just have to ask. As for MataHariHiker's question of sharing trout, I consider catching trout on a trip like this a group supply. I eat trout all the time, and I would rather share it with those that do not get trout as often. Unfortunately, I have never fished for trout in these streams, so the predictability of eating trout is uncertain at best.”

“Thanks for the info Prosecutor. That's the kind of help I was hoping for, a little explanation of protocols. I am pretty gung ho about going on this trip, but, with my job, my availability can change very quickly. Any info would be appreciated and an idea of the route would also be nice since I have backpacked Yellow River before. Thanks again.”

“Liz is working on the route. She lives close by, has done it many times, and has since gone out scouting for a route, kinda like Sacagawea.

Oh, by the way, WackoRobie, is there anything we should know about how you got your trail name?”

“any bodies in buried in the back yard? Now's the time to dig 'em up and ship 'em west. UCLA Medical School could use them.”

“delete that first "in" in the first sentence.”

“Nothing to be concerned about. :-D

Have you ever heard of a cartoon series called the Animaniacs. My college friends thought I was identical to one of the main charachters. Wacko. Thus the name was born and I have the tatoo to show it.”

“LIZS....cancel this hike and everyone come to my Birthday party on the 3rd...if ya want bag nights ya can sleep in the back yard.....


LOL..hahahhaaahaaa”

“Where ya from WR? I lived in Decorah for 20 years and am not far from there even now (although across the border in MN)

Hey guys, you gotta like his website. The most "family" photos I saw were of BREWING. LOL! And something called "Gertrude," pity the poor unborn baby (least I think it was an ultrasound). LOL! I couldn't get the Florida photos to come up. :-(”

“They have backpacking in Iowa? Please ....is this serious?

Rolling eyes .....another one of lizs Svetlana tricks.”

“C'mon SOLLY!!! COME TO THE TRIP IN THE HEARTLAND!!!”

“LOL! No way...... I lived in Kansas once for nine months. That was all the Heartland I could take.”

“We have HILLS... BLUFFS... BIG ROCK OVERLOOKS... the MISSISSIPPI. Kansas ain't got that. Just ask Dunadan! lol”

“Right now I am living in Des Moines, but I grew up in Hartford, IA. I do own land in MN though if anyone ever needs a free place to pitch a tent. Its 6.5 acres attached to a state forest just south of Lutsen and across the highway from the lake.

What you don't like the brewing photos? The "gerti" photos are from an ultra sound. That is my child to be at 6weeks. Its about the size of a shelled peanut. :)”

“I LIKE the brewing photos. So would most TTers. You should fit right in. LOL!

Poor Gertrude. Even if you give her a differrent name upon birth (and congrats on the baby!), she may well be scarred for life upon hearing "Gerti" in her unborn ears.

LOL!

Where the heck is Hartford? Not NEW Hartford? And are you in a part of Des Moines where you're being overrun by state tourney crowds and -- shudder, even worse -- high school students??!? LOL! I used to go to the state wrestling and the team stayed out by the airport. (Yes to those of you who just don't know. DES MOINES HAS AN AIRPORT. phhhhhhhht!)

That was my one big weekend in Dez Moy-nez each year. lol”

“Couldn't possibly go backpacking in Iowa. All the roads in that state come together at right angles.”

“Solly, go look at the trail map. Shoot, I'll get you a topo. Hold on.”

“I invite you to find all those right-angled roads here (NOT township boundaries!)

Yellow River State Forest

WOW! There's even changes in elevation! wooo hooooo, Solly! C'mon out!”

“Hartford is about 20-30 miles outside of Des Moines. I actually work downtown with the craziness of state tourneys.”

“Change the view to 1:100,000 and "large map" if you can do it.”

“The whole Yellow Forest State Park is only 1.25 miles by 1.00 miles?
That's what the scale on the map says. Elevation change, roughly 200 ft. How many days y'all plan on taking to do this hike? Have you hired a guide and sherpas? Got oxygen? hehehe

This is sad ..... really sad Lizs.
You need a trip out West, or at least one to Western NC.”

“Hey Repubican Leader!
You have mail. ;-)”

“Just as you need one to the tri-state area of NE Iowa, SE Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

LOL! Jerk! Dork! Jerk and Dork!! phhhhhht!!!”

“Love ya Lizs! Mean it.”

“I understand your presumed innocence, but you'd stand out less around here if you were a mass murderer. A penchant for necrophilia might buy you a little slack.”

“I could do that under the right conditions. What's your take on birthday spankings?”

“Ummm... wrong thread, Snake Eyes??”

“What are you going to do if we show up Lizs?????


Please no CAR CAMPING!!!!!!!!


8p”

“I think you better show up. I DOUBLE TRIPLE DIRTY DARE YA!!!”

“Too funny!



8)”

“Not wrong thread, just poor taste.
Scroll up.”

“Wow, I missed that somehow. Divinity, COME TO THIS HIKE! WE'LL MAKE IT WORTHWHILE!! moooooooohahhaha”

“Wow, I missed that somehow. Divinity, COME TO THIS HIKE! WE'LL MAKE IT WORTHWHILE!! moooooooohahhaha”

“Yeah that's it, everybody check. You all have mail.”