Lake Salamonie, Indiana - A Remarkable Wilderness Experience
Trip Report - Bloodroot Trail, Lake Salamonie
Andrews, IN
Sometimes I take a group to the wilderness for the views, the experience, or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We go to exotic locations, traverse difficult trails, and find views and a pay-off that is amazing. This was not the case with my recent trip to camp on the Bloodroot Trail near Lake Salamonie. To be clear, I was not looking for an exotic, once-in-a-lifetime kind of hiking experience. Instead, I was looking for a back-country context, a backpacking experience that would not demand much. I got what I was looking for and more.
I was leading a group of youth from Chicago for leadership training. The goal of the trip was not to hike big miles or to find the amazing vistas, but instead to have opportunities to learn leadership skills, learn how to work in a camp setting, and how to work with children. Each day we would do some hiking but would also be having lessons on managing children in a camp setting, role-playing, making up games, and overall preparing for camp the next week.
The hike from the trailhead to the campsite was a little more than a mile which was just right for the group. You can (and should) reserve the sites ahead of time to be sure that it is going to open for you. The site I reserved had two big areas for tents, cooking, and other activities. It was perfect for our group. There was also access to the lake, albeit a little steep. There was a fire ring as well as either a picnic table. There were no bathroom facilities, but plenty of space in the forest to dig a hole. There are 6 different camping sites along the Bloodroot Trail which is wide and well groomed.
The forest around Lake Salamonie is open and expansive. The trees were primarily hardwood and reached up to the sky without any branches for at least twenty feet or more. The giant trees and the openness of the forest created for me a sense of ease and relaxation. I did not feel clustered or trapped in any way, but instead enjoyed being able to wander and still see where the site was. While the lake allows motorized boats there were still plenty of beautiful water fowl and fantastic sunsets.
As I said, it is not a remarkable trail. It is not a forest that people will drive for hours to visit. From my own experience, it was just another forest with a lake that was pretty but not breath-taking. From my own experience. I was not looking for something that would be life-changing or awe-inspiring so was satisfied with the site. But I should have been awed. I should have been impressed with the site as I was reminded by the folks that were there with me. I had forgotten that the majority of the participants were not used to being in the wilderness for an extended amount of time. I had forgotten that to just sit by a lake and watch the sunset is awe-inspiring. I had forgotten that to be in the woods for multiple days is life-changing. It was a beautiful space. It was a remarkable trail. It was the wilderness which is always something to be in awe of. I missed the remarkable nature of the trail because I was looking down on it, judging the location of Indiana as a place that is less then and that would not have anything of powerful beauty. Yet there it was before me, if I could only open my eyes. I was looking for something that would be accessible and easy, and found something that became profound and good.