Knobstone Trail

I spent Halloween running 50 miles through southeastern Indiana on the Knobstone Trail.  With an Indianapolis business trip in store this week, we arrived a day early in order to traverse what Backpacker magazine has dubbed the Hoosier state's best hiking trail.  From what I'd read about this trail, I realized the need to rethink any misconceptions I had about Indiana and flat cornfields.  This trail is gnarly, with somewhere between 10,000 to 11,000 feet of climb!  But here's the thing:  the highest ridges top out at just over 1000 feet, so you are constantly roller coastering 100 to 400 feet over and over and over again.  Take a look at the profile:

Looks like fun, eh?    IT WAS!!  :)
.
With temps hovering around 40 degrees, we started at the southerly Deam Lake Trailhead at 5 a.m.  The first 3 hours were done by headlamp; sunrise comes very late to the area this time of year.  Chris again selflessly crewed--thanks Honey!--and was able to meet me a bunch, at roughly miles 5, 9, 11, 17, 24, 31, 37, 39, and 47.  Plus, he ran back to intercept me on the trail a few times, getting in about 17 miles himself.  The day was bright and sunny, but since the temps struggled to reach 60 degrees, I was able to go light with just one water bottle.  Perfect running weather!
.
Impeding progress a bit was the leafy trail surface--would've made better time a few weeks ago before the leaves fell!  However, the footing was pretty good, with few rocks to maneuver, and almost totally singletrack.  Woohoo!  I met about a dozen other hikers this day, including a few backpackers.  The Indiana DNR puts out a nice map for a whopping $4 and does a superb job with trail signage, blazing, and marking; in fact, there are mile markers for every mile.  To say, there were absolutely no confusing, "oh sh*t" moments as I've found on some other, less well marked trails.
.
Throughout the day the Knobstone Trail triggered memories of other trails:
.
-- Ouachita Trail (Oklahoma & Arkansas) probably the most because of the overall feel, the views, and the lack of water.  In fact, thru-hikers are advised to cache water along the way.
-- Wild Oak Trail (Virginia) because of the solitude, quiet, and gnarly steep climbs--admittedly not nearly as long but a lot more of 'em.
-- Appalachian Trail because of the many so-called PUDs (pointless ups & downs)
-- Laurel Highlands Trail (Pennsylvania) because of the mile markers.
-- Massanutten (Virginia) because the pre-sunrise views of twinkling lights in the valleys reminded me of the Edinburg-to-Woodstock Tower section of MMT.
-- Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (southern New Hampshire) because of the 3 lakes the trail skirts.
-- Barkley (Tennessee) because there were oodles of sawbriars on the sides of the trail (thankfully, unlike the Barkley course, none of which required maneuvering through).
.
Nearing the northerly terminus of the KT around mile 40.5, you can elect to go directly to Spurgeon Lake for a total of ~43.5 miles or Delaney Lake for 45.5; you can take the Spurgeon Hollow Loop for a couple miles more; OR you can take the Delaney Park Loop to Delaney Lake, then Spurgeon Lake for a full 50.  I chose the latter and got in at 7 p.m.  50 miles in 14 hours??  See, told ya it was gnarly!  (And, okay, maybe I still felt last week's 115 miles...)
.
This Knobstone Trail surpassed my expectations:  I loved it and highly recommend the KT if ever you get the opportunity.