Adena Trace Info

“Hello,

I was wanting to do an overnight hike of the Wolf Creek section of the Adena Trace Trail, on the west side of Brookville Lake. Due to my job, I have to plan on hiking it during the week.

I was wondering what the permit requirements are for hiking the trail and about parking overnight at the dam area and/or the Wolf Creek trailhead off Fairfield Causeway? It seem to be cross jurisdictions between Indiana DNR and Army Corp of Engineers.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great day!

Dan”

“no permits needed for parking, but technically, i believe camping is not allowed (though thats not really enforced that i know of), so just camp a good ways from the road”

“I am heading out there this weekend and have hiked it many times.
Check out this trip and there is tons of good stuff about the trail, including a map

http://www.thebackpacker.com/trips/trip/1178.php

See ya later.
Randall”

“Be prepared for spiderwebs. They happen to be my favorite part of the Adena.”

“Thanks, everybody for your responses. Randall, thanks for the link to your trip. It's a lot faster than having to search for it. Lots of good stuff!

Crashbang, is this supposed to be a day hiking trail or a backpacking trail?

Mariposa, I'll remember to bring my "spider stick".

Dan”

“The legal position is that there is no camping on the trial. We do it all the time anyway!! The boaters camp on the shore all the time as well. Some people have maps from the Hoosier Hiking Council that say you can camp on the west side, but the authorities will tell you that is not correct. That’s the rub, you just gotta take your chances.
See ya later.
Randall”

“My wife and I drove over to Brookville Lake a few weeks ago, equipped with the map I had just received from the Hoosiers Hikers Council. We walked across the dam and back, after locating the south Wolf Creek trailhead, then we drove up to the north trailhead and hiked in about 1/2 mile on that end of the trail. I did a bit of light trail maintenance, too.

We then drove to one of the park offices, by the overlook. I believe it was the Indiana DNR office. I talked to a ranger about backpacking overnight on the Wolf Creek Trail. I was given the name of one IDNR manager to call and two ACE managers to call. The ranger sounded confident that I might receive permission to camp overnight on the west side of the lake, provided it wasn't on the lake front/shoreline. One of my concerns was coming out of the woods the following weekday afternoon only to find that my truck had been towed away for parking overnight illegally. I would most likely be parking at the north Wolf Creek Trailhead. If I can find a midweek hiking partner, then another vehicle would be parked at the dam or tailwater area.

I posted here to find out what you all do when you have one of your Wolf Creek Trail trips.

I gather from all I've heard so far, is that backcountry camping is tolerated by several staff members but not by all. I guess, if I don't call and ask them for permission, they can't refuse me. Sooo, I guess I just go and take my chances. The trip wouldn't be until November, anyway.

Have you/others parked overnight at either end of the Wold Creek Trail?

Dan”

“yep!! many, many times.
I am gonna do the west side this weekend and I will park on the west side of Fairfield Causeway, Never had a problem and have also parked at all the trailheads overnight. Sometimes for three days.
I hitting the road now.
See ya later.
Randall”

“Have a great trip this weekend! My thanks for your comments!

Dan”

“One other thing, November is probably a bad time to go because of Deer Gun Season!!! It starts the second Saturday of November and lasts the rest of the month. You will not want to be there as the amount of Gun Hunters and the corresponding salvos can be positively amazing. I hunt there every year and have counted more than 150 shots per hour on opening day!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“Randall, you are just a fountain of information! I appreciate the heads up about hunting season. I guess I'll be rethinking the time frame for my trip. Maybe we'll have a mild December. I've been out in the woods on opening day a couple of times myself, but for muzzle loader season.

Thanks again for all our helpful info.

Dan”

“Camperdan -

Here is a profile for all of Adena Trace. The profile is pretty accurate but the elevations may be off a tad (I'm not sure I adjusted for barometric changes over the 3 days).

”

“Hello, Chin. Let me know if I am reading this right. I see elevations for a 25 mile trip, ranging form ~720 feet to ~1000 feet.

Where did you start? Did you hike clockwise or counter clockwise? And, which part of the chart might be for the Wolf creek Trail section? Also, where did you park your vehicles? I am also wondering how frequently your unit updates itself and how fast you hike, to get such dramatic elevation changes?

My thanks, Dan”

“I'm sorry, I should have added that part.

The elevation chart starts at the Bonwell Hill Boat Ramp (near the dam) and goes counter-clockwise.

edit: Also, do not use the actual elevation numbers as gospel. They may be off a bit from fluctuating baro. The gist of the profile is accurate.
last edited: 10/01/07 7:29:01 AM”

“The profile shows all 26 miles. If it were spread out it would not look as severe. Wolf Creek would start at about mile 13 to ~24.5. The rest would be walking over the dam and getting back to Bonwell Hill Boat Ramp.

It is not as severe in elevation changes as the compressed data would lead you to think. The data on my GPS updates frequently and could have been much less so and not affected the graph. There are 1000 data points on the graph I posted. That was compressed down from the over 6000 recorded. The compression does not affect the look of the graph to any significant degree. I would say our "moving average" was just over 2 mph. The trail is very well-blazed but does have a few VERY, VERY easy turns to miss. If you don't see a blaze for 100 feet you are OFF the trail. Do NOT go on. I will try to post the nasty turns once I go home and look at my data.

I hope the spiders are down for you trip.
last edited: 10/01/07 7:57:07 AM”

“Hey Dr!!
What kinda software are you using that does this stuff??? Do you have a new GPS??? My TOPO won't do anything like this. Can you dowload a GPS route to this page???
See ya later.
Randall”

“It's just MapSource (6.13.2) from Garmin. I use the "print screen" key to copy the data over to Photoshop as Garmin does not have a function to save it directly. I just save it as a jpeg.”

“This isn't a true hike unless you scale the dam first thing and have footpowder catfish for dinner.”

“Here is the profile of the Wolf Creek section from north to south. It only includes the area between the trailhead signs. I also included the little data points (yellow dots).



From the north, it is ~6 miles to the Midway Trial and another 5 miles to the dam.

There are several tricky turns that are super easy to miss.

Waypoints are under the WGS 86 datum.

1. N39 29 03.6 W85 01 19.1 This is a HARD right just before you get to the lake. I missed it BOTH times I hiked this section.

2. N39 29 06.0 W85 01 28.9 This one is marked well on the tree BUT it looks like the trail goes straight. The trail takes a hard left and crosses a small creek feeding the lake.

3. N39 27 05.2 W85 00 15.5 This one branches to the left with the wrong trail heading up a steep hill (I suspect to some local houses).

Again, be wary of ANY section of the trail that is not blazed. If you don't see blazes you are probably off trail. I found it blazed quite often.
last edited: 10/01/07 5:09:49 PM”

“This is much more than I had expected, as far as info goes.

I've got to hit the sack and get up in 5 hours for work. Talk at you later.

Dan”

“Say, Chin, what brand/model GPS do you have? I gather it has a altitude/barometer feature. I am looking to buy one sometime in the next month or so.

Dan”

“I have a Garmin eTrex Vista C. It is a rather old (~3 years) and there are better out there now.

windgrrl seems to be up on the newer models.”

“Hey CamperDan, what dates were you wanting to do this? There is still about 1/4 of this trail I haven't done, and may be up for a trip there in a couple weeks.”

“I wouldn't mind doing the trail again. AFTER THE SPIDERS HAVE DIED.....

I'd like to do it as a 2-dayer. It's doable. Mariposa and I could have finished in 2 days if it wasn't for her sore feet.”

“Two days would be a breeze. I need a November trip. What do you think Mr. Chin?
How does 11/10 - 12 sound?”

“I have a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx and love it. I haven't lost a signal yet and I've been out in some heavy follage.
It can be used on the trail and in the car.”

“Thanks, everybody, for your responses.

On the GPS. I'd like to get a decent GPS. Garmin has new model I found interesting, the eTrex Vista® HCx.

The trip. I'm not sure when I would be going on my Wolf Creek trip. I work in retail and generally don't get but one weekend off a month, which I save for my wife and I. But I do get two days off in a row, during the week, once a month, which I would use to take this hike. I won't take the trip until a)after the first frost, and b)after the opening day/month(?) of deer season. I have yet look to into how long the Indiana Fall deer season lasts. I figure sometime in November is when I'll be able to do this.

I only live about an hour from Brookville Lake, driving the back roads from Fairfield, Ohio.”

“Dan Dan the Camper man!!
Deer gun season starts on the 11/17/2007!!Ya otta go before that!
Yee haw!!! Bang Bang Bang. I will be in Egypt Holler at 5:00 Am waiting for the sun to rise!!! Get one there every year for the last 7 years.
See ya later.
Randall”

“camperDan!
Hey, thaty would be even better for me because I have Sun - Tues off, and sometimes Wed. Let me know what dates as it gets closer, and I may tag along if you want some company.”

“Randall, thanks for the dates on deer season. Luck on your hunt. Say, do you have any more details on that middle trail that ties in to the Wolf Creek trail? Is it off Metzger Lane?

Meangreen, I wouldn't mind the company. I have a buddy I sometimes hike with who is also interested. He hasn't done a trip in quite a few years and is past due.

I'll talk with the other assistant manager, he makes up the work schedule. He'll be back from his vacation next week. November, before deer season opens, sounds good. I'll have a better idea about possible dates late next week.

Dan”

“Sounds good! Post it up, and hopefully I can make it.”

“It is at the end of Keeler road, well almost at the end. There is a great big sign that says Brookville Reservoir Wildlife Management Unit 1 and a parking lot. The trailhead is on the north end of the parking lot. Keeler Road turns off of Reservoir road. You can catch Reservoir Road at the intersection of Indiana 121,Indiana 1 and US 52. This is just west of the dam after you cross the river on the very north end of Brookville. Head north on Reservoir Road and you will find Keeler. It turns to the right. You can ask at a gas station and they can tell you how to get to Reservoir Road. Meangreen has been there before, but he just had a couple a beers!! LOL
See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 10/06/07 10:18:41 AM”

“Is that the turn off at the sign that says Brookville bait, tackle, storage, groceries, post office, BMV, laundro-mat, gas station, weather center, medical clinic, Lotto, veterinary services, and reformed Church of the Messiah?

Ya I been there once. I think. Nearly a year ago.”

“MG!!
No, that ain'nt it.
Randall”

“LOL!
Oh, are you talkin about the one on the other side of the lake where you gave us all beer just before driving home? LOL!”

“Ding,Ding,Ding, And the game goes to MG!!!!
lol
Randall”

“can I see what's behind door number two?”

“I need to know how serious you are, or anyone else for that matter, on doing this Wolf Creek Trail section hike on November 5 & 6, that's a Monday and Tuesday.

I need to know soon, so I can ask for those days off. In fact, I have to know by this Saturday night (October 13th). My other hiking buddy has planned a trip to Vegas on the 8th and probably won't be able to go.

Thanks, Dan”

“I need to know how serious you are, or anyone else for that matter, on doing this Wolf Creek Trail section hike on November 5 & 6, that's a Monday and Tuesday.

I need to know soon, so I can ask for those days off. In fact, I have to know by this Saturday (October 13th). My other hiking buddy has planned a trip to Vegas on the 8th and probably won't be able to go.

Thanks, Dan
last edited: 10/09/07 4:22:26 PM”

“MG!!!
Looks like Camperdan is serious!! He posted twice!! LOL
See ya later.
Randall”

“I timed out on the "edit" feature and thought I could edit by using the "go back" button. It didn't quite work out, ergo, the double post. Oh, well!

But, yes, I am serious about doing this hike. I just need to know when to ask off. The deadline for requests is this Saturday. I am usually off on Thursday and Friday that week. My schedule repeats itself every three weeks.

Dan”

“If you haven't heard from meangreen, find the tread that has his name in it. He is really focused on the trip he's doing this weekend and may not check this tread out.”

“Watch this!!!!”

“It didn't work.”

“I'll take your advice and visit his trip thread.

thanks, Dan”

“yes it did!!!”

“I have not seen him post here yet.”

“what worked?”

“Hey Dan, I'm here. Sorry. I'm just at work and busy. How much of the trail are you wanting to do? The whole thing?

Honestly I'm not sure if I can make it on these dates. It's kinda close to my KT trip in regards to me being able to get a babysitter. The dilema is if you push it back a couple weeks, then you're in the middle of gun season, and closing in on the Mob-Fest. The more I look at it the more I think I need to back out. That is about the last thing I wanted to tell you, but so frequently "Life" gets in my way. Sucks.”

“Mr. MG,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Knowing gives me more planning options.

Hey, you have a great time on Mob-Fest trip, wish I could make that one, myself!

Dan”