Land Between the Lakes in March

“I'm still in. If you guys decide to start hiking on Friday, let me know. I will modify where I start on Saturday. I am trying to see if I can leave work earlier on Friday, but am not sure yet. I am also hoping to get my car to the North Station Welcome center, so no one has to wait on me at the end.
NGB-are you going? You're not going to let me be the only female on this trip are you?
last edited: 3/10/08 7:22:29 PM”

“Cool.

We are camping Friday night at Gatlin Point.

Coyote's car will be at North Ranger Station and we have to come south for my vehicle, so best logistics involves you having your vehicle at South Ranger Station.

Any questions?”

“The plan sounds good. Thanks for posting that map chili.
-Chin sorry you cant make it, but good luck to your boy.
Attila”

“I suppose there will be trail maps at the welcome centers?”

“Yes. No charge.”

“Friday, Mar 14
High: 64 �F RealFeel�: 62 �F
Considerable cloudinessFriday Night, Mar 14
Low: 43 �F RealFeel�: 35 �F
Cold with a soaking rain; breezy

Saturday, Mar 15
High: 54 �F RealFeel�: 46 �F
Windy and cooler with rain and a thunderstorm
Saturday Night, Mar 15
Low: 35 �F RealFeel�: 22 �F
Considerable cloudiness with a couple of showers; breezy and cold

Sunday, Mar 16
High: 53 �F RealFeel�: 53 �F
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Sunday Night, Mar 16
Low: 35 �F RealFeel�: 23 �F
Mostly cloudyForecast Details

Monday, Mar 17
High: 59 �F RealFeel�: 53 �F
Mostly cloudyMonday Night, Mar 17
Low: 45 �F RealFeel�: 35 �F
Overcast and windyForecast Details

Tuesday, Mar 18
High: 59 �F RealFeel�: 55 �F
Mostly cloudyTuesday Night, Mar 18
Low: 28 �F RealFeel�: 25 �F
Partly cloudy and cold”

“Hopefully, we won't see any more rain after Saturday. If it doesn't rain up there until then, I doubt we will have any problems with creek/ditch crossings.”

“I am leaving Knoxville around noon on Friday. I should be at LBL around 3:30.

If it looks like rain, I will try to get a piece of tyvek strung up for a tarp.”

“Dammitt,
I can't go now!! I'm made of sh#% and I'll just melt!!
Gee, it has rained on the last five hikes I've been on!!
Oh well, sounds like spring ta me!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“Attila
You better get you a decent rain suit dude,
Here is what I ordered;

http://www.graniteoutdoors.com/id48.html

But it is out of stock until later, oh well
See ya later.
Randall”

“rAiN!? Attila fears no stinkin rain! but the mud, ooh icky!

randall the tecumseh trail was'nt rainy, it was just icey-snow packed to an incredibly hard crust that was hard as hell to hike on! :-)
later
Attila”

“ChinMusic inquired about the mud the other day.

This mud will NOT be like you Indiana hikers are used to. It is not heavy clay that sticks to your boots like glue. Most of what we will see is a silty loam with some clay mixed in.

Don't get me wrong, it will be sloppy, but we wont have 5 pounds per boot by end of day.”

“So it"s a good MUD.

Randall your look like a bottle of mustard in that suit.”

“I still need to get the 5 pounds of dirt off my boots from the last time I was out. lol”

“I did;nt get the yeller suit!! I ordered the Forest green.
See ya later.
Randall”

“So instead of looking like a bottle of mustard, he will look like a leprechan.”

“Rain!!!!
“Dammitt,
I can't go now!! I'm made of sh#% and I'll just melt!!
Gee, it has rained on the last five hikes I've been on!!
Oh well, sounds like spring ta me!!
See ya later.
Randall”
Randall
4:30:27 PM
3/11/08

...note to self....
do NOT hike with Randall
and if you do....take a rain suit!!!

... sugar melts....sh1t floats!!!

..lol...have a GREAT hike!!!”

“Randall quits #&%!$in and whining when he hits the trail. After that it is all business.

He balks a little at the cliff passages though. A couple times on the Cumberland Trail, he was heard to say "we aren't going over that, are we?".”

“Attila,
Freezing rain is still rain!!and it snowed as well!
Well if Sh#% floats at least I won't drown!!
My wife says I'm really not made of that stuff, just full of it, lol
Damm, I'm a funny guy!!
Oh yeah Chili, there were some parts o that trail that could have used a reroute!! I wish I had not lost all the pics!! Still it was good trip!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“Looks like we could get a hard rain on Friday night.

Later this evening, when I get time, I am going to get some information on the camping shelters at Piney. That might be a better bet for Friday.

I will make that decision by end of today. Until I post anything different, the rally point is still at Gatling Point for Friday.”

“I may sleep on my car on Friday night if I get there late. That way I don't have to worry about packing up a wet tent.”

“I swapped a few emails with walkindude on this. He did the trail in 3 days a few years ago, including 27 miles on the second day.

He indicated the shelters are about 4' high and 12 feet deep and could sleep four.

I am looking at my map and it doesn't show a shelter at Saturday night's campsite. I will call the rangers to clarify. If there is one there, I am not bringing a tent. I will take a chance on the shelters.

Water shouldn't be a problem given all the rain/snow over the last few weeks. Walkindude indicated the south part of the trail will follow some jeep trails before we cross to the east side of the Trace.

Woo Hoo, almost time!”

“If you want to drop off whatever you would want to resupply with and I'll make sure it gets in Randall's car for Sunday.”

“Hey Girlfriend!!

�I may sleep on my car on Friday night if I get there late. That way I don't have to worry about packing up a wet tent.�

It might be better for you to sleep in your car than on it!!
Just a thought!!

Accuweather is giving 2.53 inches of rain possible over the 13th, 14th, and 15th
That�s gonna make those stream crossings very interesting!! Kinda reminds me of a Knobstone Trail trip we tried to make a while back.


Hers the TR, its a good read!!!


�Yo Indiana!! Get Off Yo Wet Butts And Pack Up Yo Wet Gear And Get Yo Wet Selves To Cracker Barrel!!!!!
A Soaking Wet Trip Report, Kinda!!

Wow, so here it is, the report you all been waiting for!!!!
Ok, So I got there around 5:30 PM an found Chin music caching his food and water. He was also planning on taking some more water to The Pixley knob trial head. We talked for a while and then I headed to the Campsite and met Thrifty waiting for Chin, they had already met up earlier, set up their stuff . TH guided me to the campsite and I got setup, as campsites go it was alright, no great views or anything like that, but it did have a huge advantage that we would not appreciate until later, it was high in the middle and had Watersheds on three sides (Thank god!!!) I got everything squared away and put on my gaiters and my high dollar rain jacket (Colombia). That's about the time it started raining. Just a slight drizzle and I was not worried, not yet anyway!! TH and I went up to the trailhead parking lot and met back up with Chin, Crash and Stomper
OK , lets go hiking!!! We headed back to the site and Crash hit the trail, (literally) That was just the first hill!!! He was alright, just slightly muddy. When we got back to the site it was raining harder.

The Wise Sage and The Unnecessary Tarp!!

Stomper had the foresight to bring a good size trap, (a 12 X 12 I think!!) Thrifty carried it for her (what a guy!!) but kept questioning the necessity of such a large, heavy tarp. Do we really need this??? Oh man, we did!!!!!! Crash started sitting up and Chin and Mugsy took a seat to watch all the action, Chin actually carried a nice big folding canvas lawn chair down to the site with plans on taking it back up the next morning!! Another good move, wish I had done the same!! Not only did he have a place to sit that was not in the mud, but from his vantage point he could provide us with plenty of verbal support and the benefit of his vast array of woodsmen advice, (Don;t put your poles in the air right now!!!!) Bamm, Bammm Bamm, Boom!! One after another, thunder and lighting, Chin started counting the seconds so that we would all know just how close we were from being killed and possibly when we could expect it!! The rain began to increase and Stomper decided to wisely wait it out and setup after it was over!! She had to wait almost two hours!!!! TH and I got to work setting up the trap. Never done it before, let alone in the dark and in a thunderstorm!! We took longer that most would have, but we finally got the thing up. Chin and Mugsy really enjoyed the whole process and now had a place to watch us from and not get rained on!!! Everyone crowded in, or under I guess, and it was tight, but not unbearable. That tarp really worked wonders!! The amount of rain, wind, thunder and lighting had now reached a sustained level that made it hard to talk over without shouting. Wow, A real frog strangler that's for sure. Th got his stove going and made dinner, Crash ate a sandwich and Stomper had some food as well.

The Braggart And His Fire!!

Now I had been bragging that I had always been able to start a fire, no matter the situation, (Something I learned as a Civil War reenactor). So I was on the spot, I gathered bunch of small twigs and picked a spot about 8 foot from the tarp to build our salvation. The trick here is to get the starter material off the ground and shelter it with other sticks on top. I got some starter going but it wasn't that good. Chin decided to get up and help. In his defense here, Chin was trying very hard to keep the Mugster from getting too cold and the poor dog did look a tad uncomfortable. At this point, Crash took over as Camp Morale director and worked very hard at keeping everyone laughing and not worrying about our almost certain doom!! Stomper was really looking worried and made sure we knew it!! Luckily, Chin had some better fire starter and that stuff, plus what I had did the trick. The fire gradually got bigger and bigger, Thank you God!! The whole process took close to an hour and in the end, everyone pitched in and we were victors!!! A roaring fire in the middle of a thunderstorm!!! Yes, man (and one woman) had beat the elements!! I demanded my recognition as a professional fire starter was rewarded with a merger round of applause. (Wadda want for nutin!!)

Ahh, The Ambiance And The Radio

Ye Haw!!!!!! time to kick back tell jokes, eat and drink, the best part of any trip!! Well, the weather had other ideas!!! It was about his time that Stomper got the weather radio up and working.
That did not turn out to be the big morale booster that we needed. Oh crap!!! It sounded bad out there!!!! Wait a minute; were out there!!!! The news was not good and it sounded like Kentucky was getting slammed hard. Me and Crash did our best to cover up the bad news with the usual camp batter and jocularity (Nice try anyway Crash!!!) but Chin heard that we could expect ankle size hail (yep, ankle sized). The good news continued with flash flood warnings, Tornado watches and high wind advisories. What else could be coming??? Mudslides??? Earth quakes??? Global Killers in the form of rouge comets?? Bring it on!!!! We gat a tarp dammit!!! Stomper began to get a little more concerned as her parents told her that it was a bad idea to be in the woods tonight!! Hmm, really, they were jus over reacting!! She was worried that they and her husband were composing her eulogy as we spoke. Th was'nt saying much at all, he just kicked back with a cigar and enjoyed the experience, sitting on his ultra light rain jacket in the mud!! I should mention that everybody but me had their Crocs/Wallies on. Crash and TH were in shorts!! I think they were wet, but they never complained!!! What men!!!

Baileys Creme, Whiskey and Wine!!!

I decided to get drunk!!! If your gonna die, ya might as well go happy!!!
I mixed up some lemonade and whiskey, Crash passed around a full bottle of Baileys Creme and Stomper had a bottle of some type of wine. Gee, I think it's slacken off!!! Our sprits rose perceptively as the bottles emptied and the fire continued to defy the downpour, yep things are getting better!!! Hey what ever ya gotta tell yourselves!!! The rain almost came to and end and Stompers opportunity had come, lets get that tent set up!!!
I am guessing that this was a new tent to her as she had more questions than I had on how the thing worked! We struggled with it and found the fly to be the most challenging part of the assembly. (No, I was not drunk yet!!) Thirty came to our rescue and we finally figured it out!! You have to see the tent to understand it. Back to the tarp and all the fun!! I ended up losing my cup in the dark and had to resort to straight whisky!! What a bummer!! The campsite took on a wonderful glow as Crash and Thrifty built the fire up to about four feet. No problems now!!! We got it beat!!! I might get to cook something!!! Life is good!!
That's when the big one came!!

The Death Of Fire And Optimism Or That Which Burns Bright Last's Half As Long

It started as a low rumbling to the southwest. We had heard that all night, another thunderstorm, not a concern, we already beat the worst!!
This one was different. The wind came in with a velocity that was unmatched up to this point. The front of this storm has huge! Chin (Again, The wise sage) had already retired with Mugsy to their tent. Stomper, Crash Thrifty and myself were under the trap when it hit and had to hold the tarp down to prevent it from blowing away!! The rain was as hard as I have ever seen!!! I fully expected the campsite to be hit with falling trees, but did not bring that up instead I just shouted that this was a microburst and that it would not last long. I have only been out in one storm that was worse than this! The fire fought bravely, but died in a matter of minutes. We held out under the “unnecessary” tarp and the storm eventually moved on! That was it, time for bed!! We all climbed in out tents and hoped for the best!! I think it was close to 10:30 PM

The Long, Long Night!

It rained all night long, never stopping and increasing in severity and then backing off. Thank god the wind never picked up as it had earlier. I slept, if that's what you could call it, but not much. Stupidly, I had left my earplugs in my drybag under the tarp. I was too sorry to get them and suffered. Around 4:30 am, a large branch fell and made a pretty good noise that woke everyone who was not asleep. We crawled out by ones and twos, defiantly, but the worse for wear. As we made breakfast, Thirty’s wife came walking in through the drizzle with his son in arm. She was sick and needed him to come home. He got them back to the car and when he returned to pack up, he had Hubcap with him. Now Hub was supposed to hike in during the night and we all had anxiously awaited his arrival. Well, he slept in his car at the trailhead!! Smart!!! We were discussing what the plan was when he informed us that our brave and noble leader, Indiana John, had bailed. Man you could hear that camel’s back break two miles away!! About that time two hikers came sloshing down the trail and Chin asked about the conditions that we might expect!! They didn’t even have to answer. One look at them was all we needed. W decided to go to Cracker Barrel in Scottsburg and eat!!
I drove 315 miles from Chicago for that and now I am driving back!!
See ya later.
Randall

See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 3/12/08 1:49:03 PM”

“Question? It I leave stuff in Randall car, how would I get it? I'm sure they will be long gone before I manage to get there.”

“do you have trouble with the proper use and spelling of two letter words?”

“lol......thanks for the trip report.....enjoyable!!!

....ya'll have a GREAT hike!!!!”

“Windi that is a good question they will probally beat me there I'm sure we can work something out I thought a would put 2 days of food and some fuel up.I am going to be in and out of here today but there should be someone here tonight.I am going to put Logan on the bus and then head out and stop in Evansville and see some friends and go to Top Spot Outdoors on the way down.”

“Question for windigrrl
�do you have trouble with the proper use and spelling of two letter words?�
Yeah, I can't spell anything that has 2 letters in it.”

“Could you send me your cell number?”

“No problem on retreiving things from Randall's vehicle. I can hike out with them, get your resupply packages and hike them over to Brush Arbor Camp OR meet you at intersection of N/S trail and US 68.

Logistics on this are easily solved and we will confirm and verify Sunday morning.”

“WG, ygm.

Also, for those meeting up on Friday afternoon, we will meet at Gatlin Point if we don't manage to have cell coverage. I should be there no later than 430 Central.”

“Ok, I just got off the phone with a ranger at LBL and have been advised that the N/S trail between Forest RD 205 and the Trace is closed due to Tornado damage.

Of course, Prospectors Place (1st night's camp) is in that section.

Our reroute is as follows.

Leave the N/S trail at 205, cut west over to the trace and hit the water spigot at The Homeplace TH. The ranger said we will find several places in and around there or along 205 to camp.

Actually, this works to our advantage IF stomper is going to meet us Saturday night as that will make a great rally point.

Leaving there, we wil have a mile and a half road hike to pick up the N/S trail again.

I don't see an appreciable difference in mileage on this, so it should be a problem.

Stomper! Will we see you this weekend?”

“Didn't get any mail yet”

“Let me check.”

“I got Coyote820's email with cell phone number, but nothing else.”

“Well, boys and girls, it doesn't look like we will freeze to death, but we ARE going to get wet.

I have a couple pieces of tyvek I am bringing to string up some type of shelter with. I am bringing a tent but Sun, Mon nights we will have the benefit of a shelter to store gear in.”

“Hey folks!!
Attila and I are still planning on leaving Indy close to 10:30 AM on 3/14/08. If all goes well, we should be at Gatlin Poiint around 4:00 Pm local time. That may be wrong plus or minus a whole hour as we are driving out of one time zone then into another then driving back into the original time zone. Er, sumpin like that (Chicago to Indy, Indy to Louisville, Louisville to LBL) Oh my aching butt!! Whatever!! We will be there Friday evening come hell and most likely high water!!

As I understand the plan it goes like this:

1. Attila and Randall meet Chili at Golden Pond Friday PM. (Coyote as well?)
2. Cache some stuff in Attila�s van and leave it at Golden Pond Visitor Center.
3. Attila and Randall drive with Chili to Gatlin Point and make Camp.
4. Meet up with Coyote and Windigirl at Gatlin Point Campsite (Windi will be coming late and sleeping in her car)
5. Drink our selves into an alcoholic stupor to better withstand the impeding torrential rains and probable tornadoes (sounds like western KAN �TUC- KAY ta me)
6. Wake up late with wet sleeping bags, bad hangovers, and even worse attitudes (That�s the way I always start my best hikes!!)
7. Hike 9 to 10 miles as fast as we can through knee deep mud and brave several treacherous stream crossings while fending off the wild hogs!!.
8. Stop fer lunch and seriously reconsider the possibility of permanent injury or death while at the same time wondering why we actually enjoy this kinda stuff!
9. Hike the additional 5 miles and camp Saturday night somewhere along a road so that we can call Stomper to beg her to come and bail us out or at the least, bring us more alcohol!! (Remember Stomper, I bought you a coat!!)
10. Wake up Sunday and pray that it does not rain anymore!!
11. Hike like mad until Attila and Randall make Golden Pond, resupply Chili , Windigirl and Coyote!
12. Transport Randall to nearest Emergency Room for three days intravenous morphine drip and parasite removal procedures.
13. Chili, Windigirl and Coyote continue to North Visitor Station where they are then transported to same Emergency Room as Randall!
14. Attila drives home and swears he�ll never go hiking with that bunch again!!

Remember this is supposed to be funny!!! (well sorta!)
I can�t wait!!! Yee Haw!!

Chili. I do have your cell number and will try to call when we get close!
See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 3/13/08 2:37:27 PM”

“Looks like you pretty well summed it up.

BEST CASE scenario is we are walking along 205 and see a big tarp with a keg and dinner on the grill with Stomper waving us over for the festivities.....


....it never hurts to have a dream.”

“I am a go I will try and be there somethime around 4 4:30 as soon as I figure out what time Central Time is hour ahead same time or 1 behind.Is there a Shelter House in the Campground we could get for Friday Night or would a big tarp be handy.I have some dry wood just don't know how dry it will be after the drive.

Black Chevy Truck see you there.

I'll check in the morning again and see if anything changes I'm leavin at 8:02 as soon as the bus gets here.
last edited: 3/13/08 3:32:22 PM”

“Randall...I think you about covered it all!lol
I've heard from Stomper and she wanted me to let you That
"I'm going to do my damndest to be there this weekend! I'm going to do my damndest to be there this weekend! Fifthmaster and I may come down to see you guys on Friday night, even if we don't stay the night."

Sounds like she might have to work a lot this weekend? :(
I have a light weight nylon tarp, should I bring it?”

“Friday
High: 64 �F RealFeel�: 64 �F Considerable cloudiness
Friday Night
Low: 48 �F RealFeel�: 44 �F Strong late-night thunderstorms; otherwise, rather cloudy and breezy

Saturday, Mar 15
High: 54 �F RealFeel�: 45 �F
Watch for strong thunderstorms; mostly cloudy and windy
Saturday Night,
Low: 30 �F RealFeel�: 18 �F Partly cloudy, breezy and very cold

Sunday, Mar 16
High: 53 �F RealFeel�: 54 �F
Sunshine and patchy clouds
Sunday Night,
Low: 35 �F RealFeel�: 25 �F Mostly cloudy

Monday, Mar 17
High: 61 �F RealFeel�: 54 �F
Mostly cloudy and breezy
Monday Night,
Low: 48 �F RealFeel�: 40 �F Windy with rain

Tuesday, Mar 18
High: 67 �F RealFeel�: 64 �F
Cloudy and breezy with a chance for gusty thunderstorms
Tuesday Night,
Low: 43 �F RealFeel�: 35 �F Breezy with rain”

“LAST CHANCE to bail on this trip and head over to W Virginny's North Fork Mt Trail trip.
BAIL NOW and enjoy yurseves with total expert camping with full service on meals and libations. Scenery will be includes with all the fixins. Rain or Shine , I will have the later for sure.
this message was indorsed by the fridge and is not a paid advertisement for the DEM party.”

“Man, fridge must be getting desparate for people to hike with him.”

“Never have i been desperate....just love the party.
Actually you have several i have never met so i need to get my butt over to there neck of those woods real soon....yall have fun now ya here.”

“hey chili , If I am desperate , what does that make you? if i am asking you.? must think your easy hu....na your not easy just been too busy with that cell phone on vibrate.”

“Fridge needs leave his trip and come join us. Our weather is looking better.”

“Yeah, sometimes I just call myself.”

“yea windigrrl , the dang weather is getting better there because your dang rain is headed to us here buster....and chili, my wife has officially asked me to call her 8 times a day.....just like you, your my hero.”

“Come and join us Fridge and bring your satilite phone. That way we can be sure we can call Stomper to bring "supplies". lol”