[ihc] Land Between the Lakes trail report

["Ryan Moore" <baradium@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

When we went to land between the lakes over the weekend (backpacking, we
ended up doing around 20 miles), I saw plenty of Loadstars etc, a lot of
older ones.  I also saw a single D series pickup, I think it may have been a
1 ton, but didn't get too good of a look at it.  Thought about stopping, but
didn't really have the time to. If I go out that way again I think I may
have to drop in just to say hey.

Found out they have an OHV area at that park so might have to try a trip for
that too (areas for ditbikes, fourwheelers and 4x4s).  They also have a lot
of tertiary roads that  go throughout the area that you can drive on.  From
what I saw of them from hiking they are perfect for taking a scout on a
family camping trip.  Complete with campsites along them in areas with some
nice views, and I bet you can find some areas on those roads that aren't
heavily traveled by vehicles.  I'm thinking it'd be perfect for a
combination trip with some regular camping followed by a little
backpacking...   btw, anyone planning on hiking in the area *needs* to have
a hiking trail map.  We went over a mile at one point without seeing a trail
marker and having a map helped us determine that we were still in the
correct area.  It was a lightly traveled trail so it's maintainance is not
as high as many of the other ones.  We came across a few small stream
crossings which were not bridged as well.

From looking at the map there are miles of maintained gravel roads as well
as the tertiary roads which are legal for public vehicles.  Looks like it's
possible to go through most of the park (it's fairly large) while coming
into contact with minimal amounts of paved road.

They do have a webpage for the park with maps availible for download if you
do a search for it (don't have the URL handy).  The welcome centers have
various maps availible (some are concentrated on hiking, some on legal roads
some on fishing etc) for free.  A backcountry camping permit costs $5 for 3
nights or $15 per year.  The full campgrounds have fees as well (I count
five of those, there are also a few group specific campgrounds), I'm
assuming they have basic hookups, but they may be limited to parking spots
with simply fresh water availible.

I'm thinking I may have just found a reason to stay up here for spring break
instead of stopping by GA.

-Ryan



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