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

“Brother of the infamous #&%!$ Galore. That's P---Y Galore in case the censors catch it... as I"m sure they will. hehehehe”

“LMAO!! . . . you just never know who is going to show up for these trips! ;)”

“hmmmmmmmm... just saw a forecast in north-central Iowa calling for 26 degrees Saturday night.

Here is the latest NWS forecast for Waterville, which is fairly close to forest headquarters:

Overnight: Clear, with a low near 30. North wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high around 58. North wind between 3 and 9 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32. North wind between 10 and 14 mph.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high around 51. Breezy, with a north wind between 14 and 22 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28. Blustery, with a north wind between 15 and 21 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low near 31.

AND FROM WEATHER.COM

Tonight: Mainly clear. Low around 30F. Winds light and variable.

Friday: Mainly sunny. High 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday night: Mostly clear. Low 32F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 20s.

Sunday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 20s.

PLAN TO STAY WARM!!!”

“Ok, that's not as warm as I was planning - 28F w/ 21mph winds. Where do I send my complaint? Damn lizs, you are making me re-pack right before going to bed.

Ha, don't worry, the hubcap doesn't freeze!”

“The vote was 7 to 1 to have the journalist of the group, Lizs, post the trip report. What's keeping you Lizs?”

“I’ll just give a few overall details. Aww, hell, you know me. “few??!” LOL!!


FRIDAY, April 2
We had a great weekend, I think. Friday when I arrived at the parking area I met thelorax and mataharihiker (mhh). Thelorax told me he had seen the “bckpck” car at Effigy Mounds when he stopped. And T Mac’s Jeep was at the parking lot. All early arrivals accounted for!

I went to our Saturday night campsite (Brown’s Hollow) to stash a little dry firewood (within one-half mile) and to put up my two-person tent near the big campfire to “reserve” it. Ran into a guy named M*** from Minneapolis with his cool black dog. I told him what I was doing with the tent. He said, “Are you from that group that was coming here?” LOL! He had been doing a search engine on “Yellow River State Forest” and came across us. (good job with search engine placement, Matt!) We were to run into him a couple more times.

Late Friday afternoon the three guys made the hike into the Heffern Hill camp. mhh had decided on an easy, early season hike, so drove close by. So did I since I had some stuff to haul into camp. Hehehee… I set up the Eureka Zeus Exo to sleep in.

For supper, prosecutor made DELISH venison burritos. YUM! And we also tried homemade stromboli (sp?) made by thelorax. More YUM!! We discussed and theorized on many topics far into the night.

As most retired around 10:45-ish, I decided to go back to check the parking lot for more arrivals, as well as putting up a couple glow sticks marking the trail (thanks for the idea, twigeater!) in addition to some tape that I realized could hardly be seen at night. DOH!

I saw hubcap had arrived. After I got stuff up and parked the Jeep near camp, VOILA! There came hubcap in person. It was a bright night, nearly a full moon both Friday and Saturday. I thought hubcap had a crazy Mohawk haircut, but it was just his headlamp, which was not turned on. LOL! (could be a new trail name!)

I headed to bed and heard voices later. gforce arrived in camp around one-half hour later and those two sat around the re-stoked fire for awhile.

SATURDAY, April 3
After enjoying b’fast and making further acquaintances – and having most everyone else meet M*** as he happened by the camp, the guys headed out around 9, I think. mhh and I drove cars to the parking lot (wanted it there so our other MN arrival on Saturday would know I was indeed there). I threw on the Camelback. mhh took me back to catch the guys as they headed across the first bridge as the trail went through the pretty Little Paint Creek campground.

We took the trails up to the blufftop, with only minor map checking. (I specifically went to that spot after you guys left today to see what the heck was up. It was just a little loop that came out about 30 feet down the trail we had just come up. DUH! Not marked well there; then again, we did the loop the “opposite” way.)

We got to our main overlook of the trip. Very nice! Stopped to yap for a bit and then the M*** guy arrived. We took his picture there and he took ours. (We did speculate he was Violin??? LOL!) Then it was the rocky trail down the bluff and on to the noon rendezvous at the parking lot.

There sat “elementary1” (E1) all packed up and ready to go. She’s a newbie and lives in my area. Addicted to hiking, she looked forward to trying backpacking for the first time. We ate. We both drove the Fire Tower Road to one-half mile of Brown’s Hollow and left the Jeep, which had a lot of water (the campsite was dry), a lot of potential DRY wood in the back (M*** let us know he’d had trouble with a fire there) and – need I say more?? – TREATS!!! LOL!

E1 hauled me back to the lot, where the guys were having a siesta. Then we hiked the rest of the trail. Ran into some horse riders in one area. They came through just before us. With a steep downhill, we bushwhacked up a hollow and soon arrived at camp. mhh told us she had scared away a potential big family group in SUVs that had wanted to stay there. GOOD JOB!!

It was another great night of cooking. prosecutor always has, pun intended, “something cooking.” Too hot for my tastes, but everyone else gave kudos to his latest creation (watch out Titanium Chef competitors!)

We stayed up fairly late and had another great evening. It was a cold one, too, in the 20s.

SUNDAY, April 4
E1 and I hiked some stuff back to the Jeep, including the 5-gallon water container (empty!) and the cooler (ummm, did I say “cooler???!”). I slackpacked for a second day. (gforce STILL hasn't seen me backpack, I don't think!! LOL)

We got back to camp and a bunch of group photos were taken. We were especially thinking of Crazy Mike and his feelings of love for Yellow River State Forest and how much he must be missing us in a couple Sunday photos. (STAY TUNED FOR PHOTOS!! Hehehehee)

Headed out around 10:30 on the day that Daylight Savings Time took effect. We hiked up what I think is the worst hill on the trail. I started out up front with E1 and faded fast. LOL! But thelorax kept me company. He can tell you why. :-)

Then we came down the hilltop again and came to the stream crossing. I can’t speak for where the others went (although thelorax stayed DRY!!), but gforce followed me in a fairly good spot. He put on his Crocs (??). They’re no YELLOW WALDIES, but sufficed.

E1 screamed, “I DON’T WANT TO CROSS THE STREAM!! WHERE’S THE BRIDGE???!) (She had at some earlier time sprained an ankle on a stream crossing.) I gave her my trekking poles and she made it without incident. It was indeed a high-five moment. Hahaha… Then T Mac gave her the business. Hmmmmmmmmm….

Back at the parking lot, people quickly freshened up and we decided to head to Prairie du Chien to eat at Fort Mulligan’s. We went back through the forest unit on the Fire Tower Road and found mhh just finishing packing up. So all eight of us head out, E1 leading the way and almost hitting first, a bunch of deer running across the road and, second, a couple turkeys (NOT ANYONE FROM THE HIKE – real turkeys!! LOL!)

The ambiance, food and company were good. We put our waitress through hell (this again relates to Crazy Mike. WE LUV YA, CMB!! Hehee). And then gary galore showed up and gave us a treat. Gotta like porn stars. :-)

E1 and I went back to get my Jeep. I then headed to a few other places in the forest to hike, like that trail junction that was confusing. I came home going north along the Mississippi River and was checking out the boondock locations of some southern Minnesota forest units. (Do I smell another hike in the future?? Wait!! I need a shower and that’s what I smell!!)

gforce, prosecutor, hubcap and thelorax all were headed east from there. T Mac also would head east, but needed a Cabela’s fix first (what'd ya get, huh huh??). mhh headed north through Wisconsin.

Thank you all for coming. Hope you had fun!! We’ll need to do this again. :-)”

“great trip report lizs, sounds like a good time! :)

now where are the pictures!
LOL...”

“Good Trip Report. Lizs is just too modest. She sent multiple emails and phone calls to the Rangers for firewood and asked to have them put in a bridge so we wouldn't have to wade across an ankle deep stream going out on Sunday. I can just see them scurrying around worry about bad press with a local newspaper editor arranging a group hike. The Rangers did place three face cords of cut dry firewood at each of our campsites. The five day notice was too short for them to construct a bridge, but don't feel bad Lizs.

Lizs is a great organizer. She got us loads of firewood. She got us great weather. She hauled in so much beer into each campsite, the group couldn't finish it. A first for me.

I spent $30 on an out-of-state three day fishing license, trout stamp, and nightcrawlers, and got in several hours of fishing Thursday around sunset. Lots of bites, but I couldn't hook any trout. A fisherman did stop and give me a big trout he wanted to release, but it was too deeply hooked to have a good chance on surviving. T-Mac said he would show Thursday night at 10:00 p.m., but he managed to arrive at the Little Paint Creek campgrounds 2 minutes early. The next morning we ate omlet muffins sandwiches with a side of fresh caugth trout. Then T-Mac and I went hiking the two Effigy National Park Trails totaling 12 miles. T-Mac is a strong hiker, and kept up a good pace. The south trail had lots of ancient Indian mounds shaped like animals. The north trails had more overlooks of the Mississippi River. At 3:30 p.m. we went back to the Yellow River State Forest parking lot, and hiked the several miles into the first campsite where me met MataHariHiker and later Lizs setting up their tents.

Also, special thanks to G-force who gave us a personal update on Storm Bringers AT Thru hike start, and G-Force bought everyone lunch Sunday at a nifty place call Fort Mulligans in Prairie du Chein. Thank you G-force.

The rest of the trip went just like Lizs said.”

“nice SHORT report there lizs! lol!

These are a few of the shots I took . . . and I know lizs has LOTS more.

Yellow River State Forest Trip Pics”

“Yellow River State Forest is a really cool place to hike, and it's especially great for TT gatherings. Hope everyone has the chance to go hike Iowa with Lizs. She did a fantastic job of organizing and pampering us every step of the way!

Knowing that I would arrive well after dark, I was a little nervous about driving 360 mi. to someplace I've never been, then hiking 1.5 mi. in the DARK to the campsite to meet up with everyone. But the directions from lizs were right ON! GOOD JOB!

The hike to camp Friday night (early Sat. AM) was fantastic with the full moon. I didn't even use my headlamp except to rock hop across a stream. Only wish it would have been a longer hike in since it was such a fantastic night.

It was really great to meet EVERYONE on this trip . . . I had a fantastic time . . . thanks to all!

So is YRSF 2005 on the trips page yet lizs??????”

“Nice butt pic there gforce! ;-)
Who did it belong too?”

“Now SS, if I told ya . . . I'd have to eliminate ya . . . but she really did like the knew stove you sent her . . . lol!!!”

“oooops knew = new . . . lol . . . ok, it's late!”

“After I met Lizs late getting towards the camp site on Friday evening, I felt obligated to staying up at least an while to see if gforce would show up. I stoked the fire a little and sat back to get a “moon-tan”. I didn’t wait long until gforce showed up. He couldn’t stop gushing about how great his moon-light hike was, (I’ll admit, it was great). We both retired to a ground cloth and our bags. The moon was almost too bright to sleep comfortably. More comments to come…”

“Lizs pampered the men like she was their mother. She planned the hike with a near full moon in the sky and cloudless night time weather for those arriving late. On Friday afternoon, Lizs flagged the two mile trail into the campsite with surveyor's tape for those arriving after dark on Friday, and put glow sticks to mark the right turn off at the junction, and then walked back down the trail after every one else went to sleep to show the night hikers the way in.

Any other TT do that for you?”

“And then there was the slaughter.. errr, martyrdom of the Peeps. LOL!”

“!”

“Oops! Forgot to close the italics!

I'll have many more photos to post, maybe tonight, for sure by Tuesday night.

We'll have to get your butt back here for low elevation hiking, Aero. lololol”

“I'll probably hyperventilate!”

“Hey, I might actually get back there for my _0th High School reunion this summer. Haven't decided yet.”

“ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

the -0th, huh? LOL!

No wait! The _0th! There, that's better.

Freedom said she might be back here sometime this summer. Who knows, maybe the cosmic stars would line that all up to coincide??!?”

“Great report by lizs. She doesn't give herself nearly enough credit for what she put together. :)

The Lorax and Prosecutor are both outstanding cooks. Thanks for breakfast, Pros. Nothing like real food to make Mountain House less than appealing. My new mission for this year is to learn better backwoods cooking techniques.

Since M*** didn't even flinch at being called Violin, I think we were right. :)

Most of my knowledge of backpacking comes from trial-and-error on solo trips. I learned a ton this weekend. Thanks, all.

As for "what did I get from Cabelas?" - mainly stares. Me thinks the trail funk was strong. I might have killed people if I didn't change into fresh clothes before going in. I bought a smaller fuel tank for my Simmerlite after seeing what gforce (I think) was using.

I'll post pics to webshots later today.”

“Oh, and I might need a hammock after seeing three in action. No way would I use one in subfreezing like MataHari, hubcap and the Lorax did, but boy does that look comfortable.

MataHari - how do you like your Byer compared to the Hennessey?”

“Yeah, everyone should detail their home away from home. It felt odd being one of only two backpackers on the trip with a tent! >8-O

I had the Eureka Zeus Exo for one Friday night. Even though I have my own adaptation for staking it out that allows more air in the side vents, it still had a ton of condensation Sat. morning.

And elementary1 and I used the 2-person Sierra Designs Nightwatch Saturday night. It's bulletproof. Winds were gusting up around 30 MPH Saturday and it remained in its spot, no worse for the wear (or wind) when we arrived at camp Saturday afternoon.

The hammocks are interesting. I got to try thelorax's Sunday morning and can see where it would be mighty comfy!! Of course, if you fall out of it flat onto your stomach on the ground like he did Sunday a.m. -- SUPPOSEDLY for our entertainment -- LOL! -- well, that might get old!! LOLOL!”

“What? Surely you don't think the lorax would fall out like that unless he meant to! ;-)

I still like the bivy for cold nights, but condensation sucks in damp weather.”

“Here are my pictures:

Yellow River

If I mislabeled anything, let me know.

Prosecutor: The Golite pack I mentioned is smaller than I thought. My bad. Here's the link:

Dawn”

“Lizs set a high standard for arranging a group trip...I think she managed to account for everyone's needs as the above posts indicate..I found LLBean had correctly rated their 32F bag..it was in the 20's and I was cold even after dropping my hammock to the ground! I left before seeing Lizs latest weather report so both the temperature and the wind surprised me...

This was my first adventure with a group and I recommend it. I enjoyed the camradery, new cooking recipes (even though it took my mouth 20 minutes to forgive me for taking a tiny taste of Prosecutor's Thai dish), trip experiences, trying out The Lorax's Hennessy and meeting folks I had hitherto only known by their posts. They were kind not to mock me for my total lack of stamina..I was more a walk-in camper than a backpacker on this trip..

Seeing the Yellow River forest at this time of year allows you to see the hills and many of the rock ascarpments which are all over. Once the trees leaf out this will disappear. Animal highlights? I surprised, 20F away, an adult bald eagle and had to stop and wait for a woodchuck crossing the road..then, there was the 1 1/2 inch long beetle that appeared under my therm-a-rest when I went to roll it up..

It was the people that made this trip so special..thanks everyone, it was great meeting you all..thanks for lunch, gforce and Lizs, a special hug to you for taking so much care to make this
trip such a pleasure..from beer, wood and Peeps, you did a great job..

Now, let's see if I can get this pictures to come up properly!

Yellow River S.F. 2004”

“great pictures everyone!

nice shots there mataharihiker - especially the moon one and the birds. :)”

“the Hennessy gives you alot more space and a flatter bed surface in comparison to my Moskito..still, I'm a side sleeper and have no problems. In cold weather the Moskito, which folds up around you, prevents drafts when using a thermarest and foil sheet. You can also sit easily in the Moskito with your feet on the ground without any special adjustments...this is very useful in heavy downpours..I've sat in the hammock and cooked on the ground below my feet keeping dry and protected from the wind by tying my GoLight Cave close to the ground..can't do that with the Hennesssy. That said, the netting Byer uses is moskito and not no-see-um and prone to tear where it meets the zipper..I solved that by stitching the zipper on both ends 1/2 inch in from the ends. The netting also tends to hang in your face which irritates me. I'm still working on curing that little bug. The Hennessy hangs quicker..less fussing as the tarp adjusts easily. I'm thinking I'd prefer the Hennessy when the weather is hot..it was much easier getting in than I expected (although, as the Lorax so kindly showed us, exiting can be exciting!) and I'm much more inclined to consider buying one now than before..things I don't like about it..the tarp..looks like it wouldn't be useful in a heavy, windblown rain or for living under..hammocks are the way to go..I should've stayed in mine the second night..wouldn't have been any colder than I was on the ground and wouldn't have received a shower of ice crystals exiting, I'm thinkin'”

“Thanks for the comparison. The Byer is so much cheaper that I was considering it, but I prefer noseeum netting. I agree about the tarp - I wonder if I can buy a Hennessey w/o the tarp and use my siltarp... I need to watch my trails and campsites over the next few months for potential hammock spots.”

“Byer told me they were going to improve the Moskito with no-see-um mesh..that said, I spray my hammock bottom and siltarp with Permithrin and have never had problems with no-see-ums so far..maybe consider starting with the Moskito to see how you like hammock camping..that way you can use your present tarp..it's so cheap it wouldn't set you back much and maybe you could come up with a system to get that netting away from my face..my best bet so far has been branch spreaders..”

“mataharihiker, which way did you hike out of Brown's Hollow to come across that little cave in the rock?”

“on the way back to my car from the campground!..you see, I amble, I wander and, in this case, I dropped my bloody pack and scrambled up to check it out..here are some more pictures I took coming and going to our adventure..
Mississippi river scenes”

“I posted a thread referring to this trip report on backpacker. I called it "Yellow River Trip Report / See the banned Prosecutor"


LOL!”

“Good pix.
Good times.

I wish the kids and I coulda joined youn's!”

“I still snicker ever time I see your posting name 'over there'.”

“I don't know if Woodswoman should see these pics......LOL!”

“Great trip reports, all. I wish I could have been there, too.

And now I have been reminded that it was thelorax that I also met when I caught up with mataharihiker at Canoecopia, so I can add him to my "Who have you met?" list. MHH, I found the pic of us on your Webshots album list.

Hennessy has made the rain fly larger on its current models, though experience by other TTers (Sgt. Rock, etc) with the original fly has shown that careful positioning keeps you dry even in big storms. Looking forward to getting mine into the woods this year.”

“Nice reports. Prosecutor is always the man for gourmet tail food.”

“Those that are fans of Thai food will love his latest creation.”

“You people had a great time thats great!!!


8)


So when do we get pictures?”

“Check the thread dude.”

“we have avery special pic just for you that sums up OUR feelings about your past comments about YRSF. "In a nutshell" you might say we gave your report a finger up . . . . lol!

. . . and just in case you forgot about YOUR trip report on YRSF:

Yellow River State Forest.
"Hello TT'ers whats going Well me and Evergreen went to Yellow River State Forest in Iowa.

This is going to be a very short Trip report in a nutshell the place SUCKED!!!!!!!!

Most of the trails there were two tracks and there was no eye candy to look at!I MEAN NONE!!!!!!

Well on a better note me and Evergreen got too meet Lizs.She is very cool and she stayed the first night with us.

There was also another cool place to go and check out in the area called Effigy Mounds National Monument.Now that is a must see!

So how was everyones 3 day weekend?

8D"
Crazy Mike Backpacks
06:20:59 PM
09/02/02

Many of the trails in YRSF are what appear to be two-track . . . since many, not all, are MULTI-USE trails . . . so they have to be wide to accomodate horses, snowmobiles, cross country . . .

Also, there's LOTS of eye candy in YRSF! The views from the bluffs overlooking Paint Creek far below were fantastic . . . better than anything you're going to see in HNF.

Go back, visit YRSF, and open your eyes! . . . lol! 8)”

“I showed up at camp...someone hit me over the head with a log. I woke up 3 days later, everyone was gone and all my gear was missing.”

“I want to say thanks for the invite and thanks again for an awesome time. A lot of "firsts" for me on this trip. My first group trip,first TT trip First trip to Iowa, and first time meeting a lot of really great people that frequent here at TT. It's so good to get out and see everyone playing with thier gear (knowing the extreme joy in that!), Preparing thier meals, watching everyones rythym in setting up, packing up, breaking down and getting ready to eat more miles. The conversations were fun, informative and I really got to know what others get out of the experience of backpacking. I should really thank everyone on the trip, because after only 14 months of living in the Midwest, I can already see that I'm in good hands here. It's going to be a blast!”

“It was nice to meet you all... G - the quiet one. Lorax- the not quiet one. Pros. - Entertaining. Tmac - smartiepants. Hub - kindhearted. MHH - Great story teller. Liz - Awesome trip planner! This was my first ever overnighter, and I'm hooked. Yes Liz, I'm addicted to hiking, and thanks to your invite, I think I've found another passion! Thanks for the intro into backpacking!”

“Welcome to TT elementary1!

Put on your iron underpants and I hope you stay awhile.
If gforce and lizs say you are OK, that's all I need. ;-)”

“oooooooooh...

segue into that smoothness that is known as Stovestomper..... LOL!”