ABOUT THE PARK:
Shades State Park - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Pine Hills Nature Preserve - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 39.936661, -87.075629
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| Hickory Parking Lot |
TRAIL MAPS:
Shades State Park - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Pine Hills Nature Preserve - Indiana Department of Natural Resources
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HIKE DISTANCE: 9.9 miles
THE HIKE:
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| From the parking lot we headed towards trails 7 and 8. We needed to avoid 4 and 5 since those have ladders Brodie would not be able to climb. |
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| We'd be seeing many, many, many more steps during this hike. |
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| Not too rugged looking yet. |
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| Descending into the rugged part. |
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| Yes, the creek IS the trail and it was wet and slimy and slippery. Many times I had to sit on a slimy rock and slide down. I was quite a filthy mess when we got through the canyon but it was gorgeous and a lot of fun. |
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| Coming out of Shawnee Canyon. |
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| Trail 8 follows along Sugar Creek for a bit. |
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| Back on Trail 7. |
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| Trail 7 brought us back out to the parking lot where we turned left towards the Hickory Shelter. |
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| Trail 1 is flat and easy and also pretty busy since that is where most people go. |
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| Inspiration Point might only be inspiring in the winter. |
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| Since Prospect Point was being guarded by another dog, I hooked Brodie to the fence and went to take a peak by myself. |
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| Sugar Creek from Prospect Point. |
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| Down into the Devil's Punchbowl. |
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| Coming off Trail 1 we stayed left to Trail 2 but first a short out and back to Lover's Leap. |
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| A little bit of a view of Sugar Creek from Lover's Leap. |
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| We retraced then took Trail 2. |
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| This area was a huge muddy mess and some other hikers had mentioned this trail might not be doable for Brodie so we turned back. We did end up doing it from a different direction later in the hike and it was not near as challenging as Trail 8 so Brodie was fine with it. |
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| Coming off of Trail 2 and heading to Trail 10. |
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| Trail 10 connects to the Pine Hills Nature Preserve in about a mile. |
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| Here is another way to Trail 2 which is not on the map. We would take this coming back after the nature preserve. |
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| The trail is smooth and flat for quite a while until ... |
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| Turkey Backbone |
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| Clifty Creek |
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| Crossing Clifty Creek |
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| On the Devil's Backbone |
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| Looking up to where we had been on top of Devil's Backbone after a tricky scramble down. |
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| Crossing back over Clifty Creek. |
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| On to the Mill Cut/Slide Loop. |
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| After climbing back up all of the steps, crossing Turkey Backbone. |
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| And retracing back to Trail 10. |
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| We turned right on Trail 2 where we had seen the post earlier. |
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| Another gorgeous canyon where the trail is the creek but this one was not as difficult as Trail 8. |
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| Maidenhair Falls |
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| Pearl Ravine |
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| Coming up out of the canyon ... |
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| ... on more steps. |
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| Right would have taken us into that mud pit from earlier so we continued looping around on 2 which brought us to a side trail on the right back to Trail 10. |
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| Back on Trail 10. |
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| Instead of heading straight back to the parking lot, we veered left to ... |
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| ... the pond then right on ... |
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| ... Trail 6. |
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| Then back to the car. |
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| Another 4 hours of driving to Columbus, OH where Brodie passed out for the night. |
