INLC Winter Campout 2024 (1 Viewer)

[Josey1972]

Good Afternoon All,

January 20 and 21.

Here are the details of this years event. I believe we did one last year and it was a great time. As long you prepare properly winter camping is a blast.

Before anything else there is one caveat to this trip: Hoosier National Forest does not have reservations for dispersed camping sites. So we will drive down, find a site hopefully, and camp it up. If we cant find a site? Well, we will deal with that if it happens. Adventures are never fun while they are unfolding…

Who?: YOU, and your Toyota. Bring your offspring or significant other. We are capping this at 6 or so trucks Because that about all a campsite can hold. Please let Eric and I know ASAP if you are in.
What?: Camping in Hoosier National Forest. Libations and meat will be consumed. If you have never been, look on the map for Fire Tower Road not to far after you cross over Lake Monroe.
Where?: Meet up at Ed Martin Toyota (south lot) at by 2pm. The group will leave PROMPTLY at 2:30. We will have camp pitched by 4:30 and before dark.
When?: The caravan leaves promptly at 2:30pm From Ed Martin Toyota.
Why?: Because being outdoors in your Toyota 4x4 is good for you.

What to Bring: Bring some firewood if you can. A blazing fire on a cold night makes a big difference. Libations of your choice. Dinner can be discussed….

Communications: GMRS is how we talk to each other. Eric and I have some extra handHeld’s for others to use. Midland has many sales so we suggest making an investment.

Sunday morning will be a breakfast and then everyone can go about their merry way. Jim is always up for a little touring on the way home. He's about as expert as it gets on the area.

If there are any questions send Eric or I a message.

tj@inlc.org
eric@inlc.org

Looking forward to seeing everyone and Happy New Year!

TJ

 

[7schulz]

Did I miss the date or is that still up for discussion?

 

[Josey1972]

Did I miss the date or is that still up for discussion?

Thanks Lee, I thought I had put the date in the header. Updated.

 

[Higgin]

Well that is good timing, my new hot tent just came in today. I won't know my weekend work schedule for another few days, so not committing to the trip yet, but I will try my best to make it. Winter is my absolute favorite time to camp!

 

[Josey1972]

We have closed the list for the trip. As I mentioned on the Facebook posts the campsite in Hoosier National are generally small so its not a people issue, its a vehicle issue. Since we try to keep the group together we hope to get the bigger site we know of. If you are an expert on HNF please feel free to let us know thoughts on options.

We hope that we figure out a good way of doing these trips as Indiana is limited on dispersed camping.

Thanks

TJ and Eric

 

[94SRUNNER]

This looks like it will be a good time for all involved!

Need to get a few projects done on my LX before any road trips, but hope to catch one the Indiana LC events in 2024!

 

[Higgin]

I had some spare time today (Sunday) and wanted to get outside, so I decided to take a little drive down to HNF to checkout potential camping spots for next weekend. I took a few pictures and will post them up here. For those going, would like to get opinions on site selection. Also, curious what everyone will be camping/sleeping in (tent, RTT, truck, etc). This will help in choosing a site, as most sites in HNF are pretty small and not really meant for groups.

Eric gave me the location of one spot that was suggested by someone in the group, so I headed there first. Its located a couple miles due south of Story.

First pic is where the camping area would have to be. One thing I realized looking through these pics is I used wide angle on the first picture. The area looks much bigger in the pic than it was in real life. All other pics in the post are taken with standard lens. The second pic is the same area, but just looking a little to the south at the small pond. May be easier to judge campsite size from that picture since its not wide angle. Third pic is drive in from road (about 1/4 mile), fourth pic is small tree blocking the way in (I didn't have my saw, so I just walked from there - Many trees down in this area), and fifth pic is just beyond the camping area and would probably be where people would have to park. Pluses for this site are it is pretty far off the road - about a 1/4 mile, so its pretty secluded. It also has a small pond to the south. Lots of downed trees for firewood. Negatives - Camping area itself did not seem very large for a group. It is more long and skinny and somewhat sloped to the north (to the left in first pic). Would probably have to park vehicles past the camping area on the little 2-track that goes a little farther back. This could make it difficult if people are showing up/leaving at different times as you would have to go through the camping area to park or leave.

 

[Higgin]

After finding the first site, decided to poke around and see if I could find any other sites with some room. Typically I camp south of the Hickory Ridge Lookout tower and was much more familiar with that area, so I headed over there.

Second site is located at 38.995812, -86.304179 About a half mile north of the Hickory Grove Church. Pretty standard site. Positives - Had a moderately sized, pretty round and mostly flat area where tents could all be set up. There is kind of a second drive coming in so a few trucks could park there and be out of the way. Other trucks could park off to the left in the pic. Negatives - I think its more room than the first site, but still not a ton for a group. Circle area vs long and thin like the first. Parking seemed like it would be ok between the secondary driveway and parking where I was standing when I took the picture. Negatives - Site is close to the road. There is a large stump right in the middle of the camp area. Site is in what I would consider a "More Used" area of HNF. Everyone would have to set up tents pretty close together (could be + or - depending on how close you like to be to others lol)

Third site I found is located at 38.989655, -86.273450 This one is located a couple miles East of the Hickory Grove Church. Its in a Pine Grove. Positives - The camping area seemed pretty flat is kind of spread out amongst the trees. Could get tents spread out in many areas here, with a central fire pit. Area just looked nicer with the green topped pine trees vs all dull and gray in the other two spots. There was a decent amount of wood already chopped up, so I assume plenty of fire wood in the area, but I'm sure more of it is pine than the other 2 spots. Negatives - Again, this site is close to the road. I'm not super familiar with the area, but judging by the tracks in the snow, this road seemed less traveled than the road by the second site. I'm not sure how much this will matter now in the middle of winter. I only saw 1 other car in the 3-4 hours I was exploring the area. Parking at this site is not ideal, but I don't think it would be too big of a problem.

Those of you going, lets hear opinions. If you know of any other super secret spots around the area that would fit a group, speak up. Also, if you are already RSVP'd and still planning to attend, let us know what you will be sleeping in (tent, RTT, truck, etc). Keep in mind, high temp for Saturday looks to be about 14 degrees with a low of 5 degrees at night. Please make sure you have proper gear for these temps (for just hanging out and for sleeping). Personally, I will have my hot tent with a small camping wood stove inside along with a cot, insulated sleeping pad, 10 degree bag and a couple extra wool blankets just in case. I've been using the stove for years in my old tee-pee tent, but this will be my first time using my new dome hot tent. Not trying to scare anyone away, just want to make sure everyone coming is properly prepared. Its gonna be a cold one. I plan on getting to whichever site we choose hopefully around noon to get set up, gather and chop some fire wood, get a fire going and chill. I can't wait!

 

[Josey1972]

Thanks for taking the time to post! I’ll put a link on the page for this post. In my ind I think we should stick to the first one and maybe add the coordinates as the back up? The group has already gotten smaller by quite a bit so we can be more flexible EXCEPT we have at least one guy coming late (Jimmy) so we will need to stick to some sort of single location since we may or may not be able to get info to him the day of.

 

[Jeremy9A]

If you guys need firewood somewhat close to HNF check out Gerald's wood shed. He's on Swartz rd on the way out of Bloomington.
Good prices, good quality, and the wood is certified. I'd recommend calling first but he does have a drop box for payment and clear prices for the stacks.

 

[Josey1972]

If you guys need firewood somewhat close to HNF check out Gerald's wood shed. He's on Swartz rd on the way out of Bloomington.
Good prices, good quality, and the wood is certified. I'd recommend calling first but he does have a drop box for payment and clear prices for the stacks.

Thanks for the imput. I think I have bought wood there before. I suspect we will need plenty of it this weekend! Test the boundaries of those sleeping bags.