Tag: Indiana Fall

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 15 – Hoosier National Forest

While examining a digital satellite map image of the forested area near my operational base in Indiana, I noted one area designated as a wilderness, so I decided to drive into that area and check it out.

All of the photos in this post are via my iPhone.

Almost Peak Color

I pulled off of the forest road through the Hoosier National Forest on my way to check out the Charles C. Deam Wilderness area at a camping/picnic area to look around.  There were restroom facilities, shelters, picnic areas and a few visitors.  I noted a hiking trail that went into the forest from here, but I did not take time to check it out.  There were a few colorful trees in near peak fall color, so I made a few iPhone images, with the one above the best.

I continued down the forest roadway, spotting a number of “No Parking” signs along the way.

Steep Fine, Gentle Hillside

This roadway is narrow, so parking along it would impede traffic and probably would create a danger, since visibility over hills and around curves is limited and one could easily crash into a parked vehicle that appears suddenly in the narrow roadway.  The $80 fine seems steep, but maybe necessary to discourage parking here.

I found a parking lot just off of this roadway at an old fire lookout tower that is no longer in use, but open for visitors to climb.

Descriptive Sign, Hoosier National Forest, Oct 2021

Apparently, there were farmlands in this area at one time, but those have been taken over by the forest, after this area was designated a wilderness area.

An old fire lookout tower, Hoosier National Forest, Indiana, Fall 2021

I chose to climb the 133 steps to the top to get an overview of this area.  As I started up the first flight of stairs, I had second thoughts about my choice as the stairs wobbled with each step.  After a brief hesitation, I continued the climb.

Note on stair rail

Near the top of the tower, I noted that someone else had the same reaction as I did to the wobbly stairs.

A view from an old lookout tower, Hoosier National Forest, Fall 2021

I shot a few iPhone photos from the observation floor of the tower.  Being above treetop level, I had a good overview of the vast forest around the tower.

A view from an old lookout tower, Hoosier National Forest, Fall 2021
A view from an old lookout tower, Hoosier National Forest, Fall 2021
A panoramic view from an old lookout tower, Hoosier National Forest, Indiana, Fall. 2021
Top flight of stairs of lookout tower

After enjoying the view, it was time to descend the “sketchy” stairs and get my feet back on firm ground.

Wilderness Marker

I saw a trailhead marker near the tower, so I walked over to check it out.  I was not prepared to hike in this wilderness today, but I decided to come back another day for more exploration.

Near a trailhead into the Charles C. Deam Wilderness, Indiana, Fall 2021
Information Sign, Hoosier National Forest, Indiana, Fall 2021

There was an old road beginning at the end of the tower parking lot that was blocked off with a steel gate.  I walked over to take a look down the roadway and found this sign about an old cemetery that was apparently here prior to the wilderness designation.  There was no indication of how far it was to the cemetery, but I decided to walk the roadway, hoping to find something interesting.

I found remnants of old structures that were mentioned in the information sign at the tower and continued to walk the roadway for awhile.  I never found any indication of how far it was to the cemetery and I eventually turned back, since I did not see any noteworthy reason to continue.

A view into the Wilderness

This final image, looking into the wilderness woodland, was taken somewhere along the route.

Until next time,

Ken

 

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 11 – Yellowwood State Forest

In the afternoon, after my morning shoot at Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park, I decided to go to Yellowwood State Forest, where I had shot last year and see how it looked this year.

I hiked the same trail that I had taken the previous fall, but this year I went a little further along the trail.  Recent rains had muddied the trail, requiring some minor off trail work to bypass the worst of the mud.

On the opposite side of the lake from my starting point, I encountered a lone, barefoot female hiker, carrying her muddy hiking boots.  It appeared that she had walked through some deep mud somewhere along her hike and maybe it was more comfortable to hike barefoot than to suffer in the mud invaded boots.  She seemed to be carefully picking her way along, which was good, since there were plenty of natural things on the trail to stick, poke and gouge bare feet.  I did not encounter her on my hike back to the parking lot, so I have to assume she made it out.

The lack of good peak fall color in the forest resulted in a disappointing photo shoot in the forest.  Even though I was late for the previous year’s peak, the previous year’s shoot seemed more satisfying than this one.

Early Fall Forest, Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana
Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

I stood in a small stream crossing to get the shot above, which is about where I turned back last year on my first hike in this forest.

Through the Tree

There were no really good places to get to the lake shoreline from the forest trail, so I had to shoot through trees towards the opposite shoreline.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to push through some brush to get near enough to the shoreline to get the image below.  I still had to carefully zoom and position the camera to avoid much distracting parts of stray limbs and bushes intruding into the edges of this composition.

Yellowwood Lake and State Forest, Indiana
Yellowwood State Forest, Indiana

On the hike out, at a bridge crossing of a shallow creek, I encountered a photographer and a young couple, apparently getting engagement photos.  The environment at this location and time did not look great for such photos, but I’m not that kind of photographer, so what do I know about that?

Maybe a quarter of a mile from the parking lot, I stopped at a short section of the trail that had been bridged over by a low wooden section.

Leads Darkly

As I finished a shooting here, the young couple and their photographer approached from behind.  We exchanged greetings again and I continued to my vehicle.

When I arrived at my vehicle, I was not at all satisfied with this photographic outing, so I decided to hang around on a small, narrow, concrete boat dock until near sunset and hope to get something more interesting for my efforts today.

Stay tuned for more,

Ken

 

 

Indiana, Fall 2021, Part 1

Early in our stay in Indiana in late October, 2021, I looked out the window and saw that it was a foggy morning.  I walked to the roadway in front of the cabin to check out the scene.

Foggy Roadway

I only had my iPhone with me, so I used it to snap a few images in the early morning fog.

Morning Fog and Sun Rays
Fall Fog
Diffraction
Morning Forest Fog
Morning Fog and Sun Rays

Just a reminder that all of the images in this post are via an older iPhone, so if that is all you have with you, use it!

Later,

Ken