Hiker's Path: Hiking on the Three Lakes Trail in Morgan-Monroe State Forest
I recently had the chance to hike at the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. It was the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend and the weather was cooperating with this hiker- beautiful sunny sky and warm temperatures.
I decided to hike a section of the Three Lake Trail. It had been a year since I had hiked on this trail. It is 10.4 miles in length and is a loop trail. It’s considered rugged in ease of hiking. The trail is named after the three lakes which it passes. One of the lakes was drained due to a dam failure on Bean Blossom Lake. The other two lakes are still intact!
One of the trailheads is located across the road from Cherry Lake, which is very near the forest office. I found a small parking lot there, which was almost full but I managed to find a place to park. I took off down the trail, anticipating what the day might bring.
The forest has become like a second home. I am familiar with its ways. And on this day, I was hoping for some inspiration, a bit of nature to soak up. I had recently injured my knee and had to stick to hiking smaller trails. It felt good to be out on a longer trail. The knee was healing but still wasn’t ready for ten miles.
The beginning of the trail was full of light but soon I found myself crossing a wooden plank bridge and into a deeper part of the woods. The shade from the canopy of trees overhead covered me like a blanket. I was in my element with the creek, the sounds of the forest and the scent of damp wood.
The trail twisted and turned around trees but it followed the creek for a while.
Before long, I found myself crossing the creek again. No bridge this time. It wasn’t deep. There were a lot of rocks covering the bed of the creek. It was a kaleidoscope of earth-tone colors with shades of reds and browns. My grandpa used to call it “Brown County” stone. My grandfather said it had to do with the color of the stone. The kind you find in this area. That research is for another day.
The woods were full of movement and sound: a chipmunk scurrying across a log; a hawk flying through the trees; a deer, startled by my presence, running off into the brush. Nature was busy.
I crossed over a ridge that had a deep gully on my right. I could see the creek below and I would guess it was at least 100 feet down from where I stood. Soon I was ascending a rather large hill. It was doable, not too steep.
I was having a good day. Soon it was time to go back. I had passed a few people along the trail, but it was a day of solitude for the most part.
You get to know the woods as well as you do yourself. Maybe sometimes more. It had been another good hike and a good day. The trail as I mentioned before is in the Morgan-Monroe state forest.
The forest encompasses more than 24,000 acres in Morgan and Monroe counties in south-central Indiana.
To find this place, the address is 6220 Forest Road, Martinsville, Indiana. It's located off of SR 37/69 North of Bloomington.
A quote for your week: “The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before," Albert Einstein
This article originally appeared on Evening World: Morgan-Monroe State Forest: A hike along the Three Lakes Trail
