Indy Lady Hikers: 2008 Peninsula Trail at Lake Monroe (October)

On October 4th we met at 8 and headed south towards Nashville, Indiana. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery on SR46 and SR446 was beautiful.We stopped at the Cracker Barrel at Edinburgh and arrived at the trailhead inside Blackwell Horseman Camp about 11:00.

We shouldered our packs (after an emergency repair by Pat) and I tried to remember what all the straps were for (it's been a while since we hiked with our large packs). The camp was clean and quiet and we set off along the Grubb Ridge Trail.

We mapped out an 8 mile hike to the Peninsula and the day was delightful. Some of the trail was also a horse trail, so we stepped carefully. The horses we passed were skittish and afraid of us - the owners said it was from the shape of the pack and for us to continue talking so that they would recognize us as people. The terrain was mostly level. We stopped a couple of times, once for lunch and another time for a quick break (just to take the pack off for a few minutes). We arrived at the tip of the peninsula about 3:00 and scouted out the campsites. The first one we saw had the promised fire ring and a level place for tents, but also had an unexpected picnic table! We immediately claimed that site with our backpacks and set off for an exploration of the area.

The shoreline as far as we could see was trees, trees, trees with just a hint of fall color. The sun was shining and it was quiet and secluded. We saw a couple of other camp sites inhabited, but they are so far apart that it's like being there alone. We explored for a bit and then returned to camp to set up the tents and get our gear organized. We got water from the lake and gathered firewood for later. Pat made us coffee (and tea), we wrestled our thermarests into the chair covers and moved down to the shore. We relaxed there for an hour or more, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

shoreline of lake monroe

relaxing on the shoreline of lake monroe

self pic!

flowers along shoreline

Back at the campsite, we prepared for dinner. Durena brought cheese and crackers for the appetizer, Pat made bratwurst on buns with coleslaw for dinner and I brought dessert (s'mores of course!). We enjoyed a peaceful evening sitting around the fire, watching a spectacular sunset, trading hiking stories, gazing at the stars, and roasting marshmallows, venturing further away each time for more firewood.

sunset over lake monroe

our campsite overlooking the lake

The temperature dropped overnight and we boiled water and started another fire as soon as we got up (firewood much easier to find in the daylight!). We were not in any hurry and spent a couple of hours over breakfast and coffee, discussing future planned and possible trips.

Eventually we broke camp, packed up and headed back along the Peninsula Trail. We took a slightly different route back, along the rest of the Grubb Trail loop. We had an option to make it an 11 mile day, but kept it to 8 as it was getting late and we still had a 2 hour drive back home. We stopped for lunch once at a great clearing (with logs to sit on!) and talked to some fellow hikers.