KT trip planning

“I have not hiked any of it yet but am hoping to get in a couple sections soon. If for no better reason than to go get maps and check out parking lots etc. It will be great to have an authority along with us. Just how ambitious do you think the itinerary is? I mean you must think it is doable since you signed up, but do you think this is a murderous pace, or just difficult? Especially if no one has any need of carying more than 2 liters of water at a time then we should be able to stay light enough that we aren't spending all our energy on carrying gear instead of making miles. There wont be any need of actually caching water as Windigrrl is definately going to run support for us. She is going to meet us at a road crossing near where we think we will be camping and we will then load up on water from her car, hike a mile or so in to a legal campsite and she will go back to her car the next morning, and we will do it all over again. She had even mentioned that folks could slackpack it if they wanted and she may be able to haul their gear. That is not my plan but to each his own, if someone else wanted to do it that way.”

“MG,

It will definitely be a challenge, but it can be done. The key is to start early, and just hike your hike.

Salem”

“ya, I'm thinking dawn will find me pulling my pack on and heading north.

Come to think of it, now that we have support, we could do it in either direction. Does it really matter? If everyone is coming down from Indy or Chicago then it would make more sense to be southbounders wouldn't it?

Mohawkman is from somewhere in IL, and I cant remember where you are coming from Salem, but everyone else will be coming from the North.

So what does everyone think?”

“MG,

I'm from Northern Indiana, and I live in a town that I'm sure no one has heard of before. :-) I would suggest that we start hiking from the southern end, because the southern half is more difficult.”

“i am coming in from southern illinois,so any direction is ok with me.it will be cool to know we have Windigrrl for support.i probably won't slackpack.”

“Sounds good to me HiknMachine. Maybe it would still be best to try to leave all of the cars at the northern end and shuttle to the south. If we could do it all with Windi's car then we wouldn't have to go back to get any cars at the end of the hike. That would be nice. We would all be able to get home sooner on Tuesday night.

Saturday night will be a late one for me, as I won't get off work till 8:00 pm then have to drive down from the airport, so it will be about 9:00 before I am at the northern TH. Looks like I will get some night hiking in.”

“Yall to make sure you tip Windigrrl. She's really making it easy for ya: Butler, valet, chaffeur, water girl, errand girl.”

“chearleader, groupie...


LMAO!
Don't you worry. She will be paid well, I'm sure.”

“what % do i tip? or is it by the mile?”

“I'm sure that we will come up with something. If we could each kick in a couple bucks for her gas it would be nice. She will be doing quite a bit of driving, and gas sure doesn't come free these days.”

“If ya treat me right, I might even bring some steaks one night to cook over a fire.”

“Mmmmmmmm....
I'll be needin some protein about that time too. Over a fire'll be perfect too. Nice and rare.

You'll be paid well Windi. Don't you worry about that. My only worry is that I'll get all stuffed and lethargic and Randall will have to roll me down the trail the next day. LOL!”

“lol. There will be plenty of hills to roll you down. We might need to add some carbs in with the protein. The idea of being the support crew is getting better and better.”

“Hobo tater is the carbs. Ooh or a hobo sweet tater, even better!”

“There ya go, and I might be persuaded to have a cooler in the vehicle with some nice cold "drinks" in it. I think hikers could carry what they want maybe a mile to the camping site, or drink it on the way. lol.
I need to get Spirit Coyote and Stomper to join me.
last edited: 8/11/07 3:35:56 PM”

“Mmmmm... steak taters and beer. What more could one possibly ask for?

Beer is carb and water replacement you know. Just ask Birch. He told me so. ;-)”

“Well if Birch said so, then it's gotta be true!!!”

“Windigrrl,

That's awesome! That sure beats the heck out of what I usually eat when I'm backpacking. LOL”

“yup. way better than cold ramen and warm water huh?! LOL!”

“Hey, if you're putting down those kind of miles, a good meal is just the icing on the cake or is that steak.”

“no icing on my steak thanks, maybe a few floating ashes, but that is it.”

“MG,

My daughter has a band competition on Saturday the 13, so I'm probably not going to be there until 8 or 9.”

“hikin machine, are you really a hiking machine, or in truth, are you really just an occasional hiking bipedal organism?”

“Hey HM, That's cool cuz I'm coming in pretty late too. Maybe we can meet in the parking lot and hike in together. Don't pay any attention to Crash. He's just jealous, and knows that he couldn't handle this one.”

“CB,

I'm offended that you would say such a thing. LOL I guess I'll find out in a couple of months if I'm a hiknmachine, or not!”

“MG,

Yeah, we'll have to coordinate this when it get's closer. I know there's some nice flat spots to camp not too far in for Saturday, so that'll be nice.”

“I just got an e-mail from Dale Brier regarding the fastest hike from Deam Lake to Delaney Park. Check this shlt out: He knows a guy on the Hoosier Hikers Council that does the whole freakin' thing in one day. 43.5 miles. That's a haul! I wonder if he has someone bringing him water etc. He must just carry a camel back with some power gel, and that's it.”

“Bump!!
last edited: 8/18/07 8:50:49 PM”

“Hey Randall,

Are you going to make this one? We would be cool to have you along for the ride!”

“Ya, Randall! You know you want to see just what you are capable of. Come down and watch me break myself. LOL! I think I have our newest member interested in hiking this one. Come along Mariposa! I'm sure you can do it.”

“Yeah, Mariposa. There needs to be a female on this trip that can keep up with this guys. I know I'm not the one to do it. lol. I'll be there for support.”

“Don't know if I can get off work for this so I'm a maybe. Not to mention I'm not 100% sure of myself of being able to do it. I really think I could if I go light enough and work my a** off between now and then. Eek!”

“LOL! That's my plan. It's gonna be all about getting up in the morning and intentionally doing that to yourself again. Hee hee! It's a mental thing. Don't forget that Windi will be there to bail you out if you have trouble. No one would say anything about a person deciding to get a ride It's not failure, it's a matter of safety. If you're wasted, and can't do any more it's better to admit it than to make someone carry you out cause you got hurt. Having Windi along for this will be key.”

“Windi...sure I'd dig being the token girl who can hang...but...if I "girl" out, can I join the support team???? :) I'm not too proud.

And, yow! I didn't read all the posts before I signed up. Steaks! Sweet! I'm with MG, no icing...ashes only please!”

“You're gonna fit in around here really well...



and of course you can be support crew!”

“Of Course! I'll take all the help I can get. We will be the ones having fun!”

“Windigrrl,

We'll be having fun too in a painful, tiring sort of way. :-)”

“Meangreen would you be interested in getting together some Monday and heading down to the KT and check out some of the areas where you might be camping? Let me know.”

“I think that is a great idea Windi. Infact I have been trying to figure out when I could do that exact thing. It will probably take most of the day to do it right. A Monday would be ideal for me. I'll look at my calendar and call you tonight or tomorrow. I'm trying to decide on a September trip too. Damn, this is getting difficult!”

“This sounds like insanity to me! :-)~”

“Hee Hee! SHE thinks we're insane?!”

“Let's do it as a dayhike”

“It's been done. Come down and I'll try it with you.”

“What is the offical length of the trail. I know there was either talk or they did lengthen it. 47 miles is my guess.

I would be up for it.”

“47 miles in a day??? BS!!!”

“The DNR lists it as 48 miles from the Deamlake TH to Delaney park. but there is a little loop trail at the north end. I believe it is 43.5 miles when done as a thru hike. There is a guy on the Hoosier hikers council who has done it in a day, or so the feller from the DNR tells me.
WK if you are serious then you need to know that I was not. There is no phuking way I could do that right now. You are still welcome to join us though. It will be a challenging hike for the strong hiker, and at least a fun one for the ultra fast hiker. Come on down and we'll have a crack at it, but I'm not promisin to hump your pack or anything. LOL!”

“It is 45.5 miles if you do the whole thing via the shorter loop and you go all the way to Delaney Creek Park.
last edited: 8/22/07 6:11:35 PM”

“I would however I am hiking the next weekend. Cannot do 2 in a row.

I was somewhat serious about making it a dayhike.”

“Wounded Knee - come and do as much as you want for a day hike. Myself and hopefully a few others will be providing support and supplies. We will get you back to your car when you are finished.”

“A good site to read about the trail

http://www.indianaoutfitters.com/Destinations/Knobstone_trail.htm”