A Hiker's Path: Pine Hills Nature Preserve features awesome rock formations

I am one of those people who love to hike in the winter.

I recently had my sights set on hiking at the Pine Hills Nature Preserve up at Shades State Park.

So I layered myself up from the winter cold and made my way north to my destination.

Pine Hills Nature Preserve was one of the first nature preserves in Indiana dedicated by the Nature Conservancy.

It became a preserve in 1969 but was also dedicated as a National Natural Landmark before that in 1968. The preserve consists of 470 acres. The trail that runs through the preserve is about 3.5 miles in length and is an out and back trail. The trailhead begins in the parking lot for trail No. 10 in Shades State Park.

The trail is described as difficult in ease of hiking and if you ever get to hike there, you will see why.

Sugar Creek and Indian Creek, (a tributary of Sugar Creek) along with Clifty Creek, pass through the preserve.

There are some significant rock formations and other unique features found in the preserve.

Thus, why it was named as a National Landmark. The winter air was a bit chilly on the day I hiked at this preserve.

After I arrived at the trailhead, I started walking down the worn, dirt path. I noted some leftover snow on the sides of the trail and a bit of mud and snow in places on the trail itself.

I could hear the sound of my feet with each step I took on the forest path. Otherwise it was very quiet in the woods.

The beginning of the trail took me through some beautiful hardwood trees, now only recognizable by their bark. I am getting better at recognizing some of them, but it just takes practice.

As I hiked along, I soon crossed the road and entered into the nature preserve. There, I started to see evergreen trees: white pines and Eastern cedars.

The beautiful green branches of these trees, set against the backdrop of the earth tone colors of the hardwoods, made for a beautiful palette of color.

I love the Indiana forests this time of year. The cold weather, not so much. But the landscape lends itself to a sense of tranquility. Eventually I made my way to the “Turkey Backbone.” This is a high, narrow ridge surrounded by native Eastern hemlock trees.

On the backside of this part of the trail I descended into a stand of hemlock trees. The Eastern hemlock is one of my favorite trees. Perhaps it’s due to their ability to adapt to harsh, winter conditions. Other evergreens have this adaptability built in as well. But the hemlock tree has a certain stately elegance about it. Its lacy branches appear dainty and soft but this tree stands firm against the fierce, winter winds. I felt at home standing in the midst of these beautiful trees on this cold winter’s day.

I finally continued my hike and soon descended down a wooden staircase and into the creek bottom. I followed the trail to head to my next stop, the “Devil’s Backbone.”

I would have to cross the creek to continue my hike as the trail cuts right through it.

The backbone is another narrow, high cliff, 100 feet high and 6 feet across.

It can be intimidating to cross over it but it’s an adventure as well.

There are old carvings in the rock, some dating back to the 1800s.

The climb up wasn’t bad and I did not spend too much time getting across the cliff. Looking down over the side, the view was awesome!

Then it was a quick descent through some more hemlock trees down a slope. I decided I would continue on and followed where my adventurous nature led back along the wooded path. I passed by some awesome rock formations, “the Honeycomb rock” and “the slide.”

These are just some more of the reasons to visit this beautiful preserve.

The day soon ended and I made it back to my car.

The preserve is located in Montgomery County on Ind. 234. Access this and other great trails inside of Shades State Park. A map can be found at the gatehouse. A bit of poetry for your week: “And ‘neath the Hemlock whose thick branches bent, Beneath it’s bright cold burden, and kept dry, A circle on the earth of withered leaves, The partridge found a shelter …” — William Cullen Bryant, American poet, journalist and editor, 1794-1878 

Until the next trail, Susan

This article originally appeared on Evening World: Visiting Pine Hills Nature Preserve's rock formations in Indiana