Men’s Hike 2014
Ten guys from our church (myself included) headed out to hike 15 miles through Indian Cave State Park in southeast Nebraska. I just hiked this trail 2 weeks ago. We had a great hike. For me this was my last shake down hike before my 95-mile hike on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail next month.
We started our hike on Trail 8 at about 11:30 or so.
We quickly took the 8A trail and hiked along the Missouri River before we turned West towards the Trail 6 trailhead. We stopped in a grassy spot for lunch. We walked down the road towards the Trail 5 trailhead but we took a slight detour. We heard gunfire when we were eating lunch and while walking down the road we saw where it was coming from. There was a fire range, where a small group of people were shooting front-loading muskets. At the road in front of the range was a sign that said “Bake Sale.” They were selling baked goods and “ice cold pop.” They even had Diet Dr. Pepper!
We continued down the road to Trail 5 (also called the Hardwood Trail). We enjoyed the hike with sunny skies and temps around 80 degrees. We took the 5A trail which took us through a large open meadow. We took a break in the shade to get out of the sun for a moment.
We made it to camp by about 4 PM, which gave us plenty of time to set up camp and collect firewood. I set up my hammock and rested for a little bit.
After supper, a few of us played pitch in the shelter until it got too dark. After 9 PM we roasted marshmallows and then played “Werewolves,” a role-playing game my son Wesley introduced us to. We enjoyed it and ended up playing for about an hour and a half. It was a perfect campfire game. By 10:30 we were all ready for bed.
With overnight lows in the 50s, I thought I could get away with just my 40 degree down sleeping bag. I was wrong! I haven’t bought an underquilt yet and I have successfully slept in my hammock with temps in the low 50s by putting a sleeping bag underneath the bag I was sleeping in but on top of the hammock. On this trip I thought I would try sleeping in the hammock with just my sleeping bag and with no insulation. BIG MISTAKE!
With the cool air blowing underneath me, I woke up cold at about midnight. I watched some Seinfeld episodes on my phone and listened to music before falling back to sleep about 2:00 or so. At 3:00 AM I woke up cold AND I had to pee. As I got up to “use the facilities” I saw someone had stoked up the fire. I walked over and found Robert warming himself by the fire. He too got up to pee and was cold so he decided to get warm before getting back in his tent. We stood there talking and looking at the brilliant night sky when we heard the zipper open on another hammock camper. We watched as Chris got up to do the same thing we had to do then he stumbled toward the fire to get warm. The three of us talked until 3:30, when we each decided to get some sleep. I got back in my hammock and dosed off to sleep.
At 5:30 AM I woke up this time shivering in my sleeping bag. I could see that it was dawn and the birds had begun their morning medley. I got up and grabbed my sleeping bag, stove, and food bag. I stoked up the fire, wrapped myself in my sleeping bag, and started boiling water for coffee. It didn’t take long to warm up. The rest of the guys started waking up as the sun was rising above the bluff overlooking our camp.
After breakfast we packed up. I led us in a brief worship service, as it was Sunday morning. I prayed the Psalm for the Day (Psalm 124) and read Scriptures from Ephesians 4. I talked about the things that build up the church, reminding the guys that church is not the build but the church is the gathering of the baptized, those who gather to worship Jesus, pray the prayers, read Scripture, and celebrate the Eucharist. I read the prayer for the week and then led the Prayer of Confession before communion. We said our amens and headed out.
The rest of the Hardwood Trail had a lot more ups and downs. I loved it. I treated every uphill climb as a way to train for the North Georgia Mountains on the AT. I normally was the first up the hill or the first one to the bottom which put me in a good position to take a few pictures.
We intended on hiking to the “cave,” but we made a last minute decision to skip the cave and hike up to the best view in the park, a campsite on top of a bluff overlooking the rolling bluffs along the Missouri River.
From there it was a short hike down to the parking lot. We all changed shirts, drove down to the cave, and then headed out for lunch, an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Overall it was a great hike, minus the chilly night! I am now ready for the AT! Can’t wait to start my section hike in about a month.
Here is a video of the trip:
Here are some more pictures:
