Night Hike on the Knobstone Trail

It was a beautiful, clear night with a large, bright last quarter moon hung low in the eastern sky. Rain was predicted for early morning, but there was no sign of it. The trail starts out along the north side of Spurgeon Hollow lake, heading east, so I had some nice views of the moon over the lake. The lake and the trail were frozen. Due to recent rain, snow, and cold, the trail consisted of mud, ice, snow, and wet areas, but I made good time. So good, in fact, that I wasn't paying much attention. The Knobstone trail follows an escarpment which is a knobby bunch of ridges that stand 300-400 feet above the surrounding area. The trail goes up and down these knobs, alternating between steep 300 foot ascents and steep 300 foot descents. After ascending the first knob, hiking briefly along the ridge top while enjoying views of the moon and the dark abyss below, and descending once again, it occurred to me that I should have come to a fork in the trail before that first climb. At that fork, I should have turned left! A quick look at my map confirmed my new found memory. Yep, I'd hiked an extra mile out of my way, climbed a huge hill, and hiked down the other side in the process. With that hill to climb again, I turned around and decided this hike was a 7 mile out and back hike instead of an 8 mile loop! Still, I made it home by 5:15am and had no trouble sleeping. Of course, waking up was a different matter!

• Route: From Spurgeon Hollow Trailhead out to mile marker 40 and back
  
• Type: Out and Back
  
• Distance: 7 miles
  
• Terrain: rolling with 2 steep climbs of approximately 300 feet
  
• Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
  
• Weather: Clear, breezy, about 30 degrees Fahrenheit
  
• Time of Day: Night, third quarter moon
  
• Elevation: 500 - 900 feet above sea level
  
• Highlights: Bright last quarter moon, Spurgeon Hollow lake, Ridge top hiking
  

The Knobstone Trail, often referred to as the "KT", is a 58 mile hiking trail that runs in a general north-south direction through southern Indiana. The trail passes through several state forests encompassing more than 42,000 acres of rugged forest. The trail extends from Deam at the south end to Delaney Park (near Salem, IN) at the north end. The trail is a point-to-point trail with two loops at the north end that allow you to make loops of about 6, 8, or 13 miles.The trail has 8 trail heads so you can hike it in sections or tackle the whole trail at once.

To date, I have hiked the southern most 26 miles of the trail and 13 miles at the north end consisting of the Delaney Park Loop and the Spurgeon Hollow Loop. The trail is very rugged. It follows the Knobstone escarpment, a knobby slope between the Norman Upland and the Scottsburg Lowland, two of Indiana's most scenic areas. In Winter, the Knobstone Escarpment offers some great views of the surrounding area as it rises about 300 feet above the surrounding farmland. In Summer, many of these views are obscured by the forest. Over the length of the trail, there is approximately 10,000 feet of elevation gain and 10,000 feet of elevation loss. As you hike the trail, expect 300 to 400 foot climbs, mostly steep and without switchbacks, followed by pleasant hiking on forested ridge tops, followed by a descent, followed by another steep climb. If you don't want to climb hills, this trail is not for you!

For more information about the Knobstone trail, check out the Official DNR Site, the Hoosier Hiker's Council, and this Wikipedia entry.