Outdoor in Indiana: Ouabache State Park

It’s that time of the semester: everyone on campus is walking around with a preoccupied expression, an outward manifestation of their daunting to-do list that is likely at the forefront of their attention, and questions regarding how someone is doing are invariably answered with a simple, one word reply: “Busy.”

I confess that I was taken in by this frantic state of mind. Luckily, I remembered my own advice from my “Outdoors in Indiana” articles from last year, and I knew just what I had to do: retreat to the wilderness for a bit of peace and quiet. Within just a few hours of the end of my classes on Friday, November 7th, my van was loaded and I was on the road, heading towards Ouabache State Park.

“Ouabache” is derived from French and Native American languages. It is a word indicating a thing which is bright, light, and/or natural; the anglicized version of this name is the more widely-recognized “Wabash.” Although it is pronounced by modern-day speakers as “Wah’-bash,” it was originally pronounced “Wah-ba’-che.”
Ouabache State Park is located just outside of Bluffton, at 4930 E State Road 201. It is just barely over an hour’s drive from campus.

The park offers 47 primitive and 77 electric camping sites; fishing; tennis, basketball and volleyball courts; boating; five hiking trails; cross-country ski trails; a nature center; a paved bike trail; swimming (during the warmer months); a nature center; a fire tower and shelters that can be reserved for picnics or events. Although there is boat and canoe rental available, they do not offer ski rental; so, if you want to hit the cross-country ski trails, make sure you bring your own skis.

I chose to stay overnight at one of the primitive campsites. Although there were plenty of people at the electric campground, I was the only person in the entire primitive campsite area, a situation which suited me just fine.



For one thing, I could take my pick of the campsites. After all, some sites were not as large as others, or else had rocky, uneven ground. I chose one that was at a higher elevation (important if there is precipitation in the forecast, which there was) with a large, flat area that was relatively free from roots and rocks.

Secondly, it was quiet and very conducive to contemplation. My only companions were the forest animals and the campfire; after I finished setting up my tent, I was able to truly relax, free from the distractions that are all too pervasive within the world-at-large. I watched my campfire burn down to embers before retreating into the warm comfort provided by my tent.



And, yes, it was cold that night: the low was 35 degrees, and there were light, drizzly showers. However, I stayed toasty and cozy with my hoodie, Under-Armour and arctic mummy sleeping bag.



I suppose that many people could find a situation in which being warm requires such effort to be rather distasteful, but there is an important lesson to be learned from such experiences: it becomes patently obvious that the best place in the world where you could be is right where you are. Such complete contentment with things as they are can be hard to come by in day-to-day life.



The next day, after I ate a hearty breakfast and packed up my campsite, I set off on a hike. The park’s hiking trails range from one to six miles in length; all are rated as either “easy” or “moderate” in difficulty. I hiked trail four, a three-mile-long trail that wound around Kunkel Lake, through the forest, and around a “Wildlife Exhibit” of live bison.



The shorter trails are extraordinarily easy to hike on: the paths are wide and flat, and could be easily hiked by children and individuals in poor physical shape. However, they do not get very far from the buildings and campgrounds, and don’t provide the “lost in the wilderness” feel that I like so much. For this reason, I would recommend that anyone planning to hike in Ouabache State Park take either trail four or trail five, which meander the most deeply through the woods.



I drove back to Manchester in higher spirits than I’ve been in since the first week of classes. I had done some reading for my assignments and gotten a good night of sleep, it’s true: but more than that, I had been out in nature, active and attentive within the simplicity of the outdoors. It is amazing how little it takes for us to put all the complications of life back into perspective: all we have to do is decide that it’s important that we do so.

Remember: the world is right outside the door. Let’s go!


















(This article originally appeared in the November 14 issue of The Oak Leaves)

Outdoors in Indiana: Chain O' Lakes State Park: How to Plan Your Perfect Adventure

My outdoor excursion this past weekend was a canoeing trip at Chain O’Lakes State Park with my friend Ally.

Those of you who have followed this series from its beginning will know that Chain O’Lakes was the first place that I wrote about, way back in the fall. So, this is not going to be yet another write-up of the benefits and beauties of the park itself: anyone who is interested in reading about that can refer to the September 14, 2007 edition of the “Oak Leaves,” or check it out in my blog’s archives.

Instead, this is going to be an exploration of some different approaches to outdoor adventures in hopes that it will help people to plan an outdoor adventure most suitable to them. Alone or with a friend? Overnight or a day trip? On or off the water? It’s all up to you, and there are benefits and complications to each option.

You see, for almost all of my trips during the fall semester, I travelled solo. I like being alone in the wilderness. It’s simple that way… I eat when I’m hungry; I sleep when I’m tired; I hike when it’s sunny; I read in my tent when it drizzles; I listen to the critters when they chirp, scurry and howl; I write when I’m inspired. Everything is at its most basic.

And, if you haven’t figured this out on your own, reading is not the same when you do it alone in the forest as it is when you do it inside the library or your dorm. Different things in the writings seem important; you will notice beautiful words and interesting ideas that you hadn’t before; you will like things that hadn’t previously made sense.

But there are a few things you can’t do when you’re alone. It’s hard to tell jokes to the forest, at least not if you expect to get a laugh. I have never yet managed to play a guitar duet while sitting alone by the campfire. And it’s easiest to canoe if you have two people; when alone, a kayak is the way to go.

I also tend to prefer overnight trips to daytrips, except that it’s hard to find the time for them during the middle of a semester. In fact, lack of time is about the only thing that will keep me from an overnight camping trip on the weekends.

However, even those lucky individuals who have way too much time on their hands should consider a few points before finding a campground.

You should either have proper gear (don’t forget a decent sleeping bag!) or enough knowledge of knots and survival skills to be alright without them. You should be willing to go without creature comforts, such as temperature control, mattresses and indoor plumbing. And you will have to have a plan for all of the meals you will need during the duration of your trip.

If you are lacking in any of these categories, this does not mean that you should waste away indoors; get out anyways! Exploration and exercise are great, even without a forest sleepover.

I am also unequivocally in favor of taking trips on canoes and kayaks whenever possible. For instance, on the canoe ride that Ally and I took this week, we saw the forest from a perspective that otherwise would have been impossible. We spotted over a dozen turtles who were sunning themselves on branches and rocks in the river, and literally dozens of couples of Canada geese bathing themselves and building their nests. These are sights that would have been denied to us if we had stayed on dry land.

Nevertheless, it is of some import that Ally and I are both good swimmers with experience on the water. We had a map of the lakes with us in the canoe, and lifejackets along in case of difficulty. I would discourage poor swimmers and people who are unfamiliar with the local waterways from heading off down a river or lake without gathering further knowledge about these two critical aspects of boating.

This is by no means to insult the great activity of hiking. Hiking offers new and constantly shifting perspectives due to changing elevation and terrain. And, because there are so incredibly many hiking trails at the parks of Indiana, there is always an element of feeling like an intrepid explorer, bravely seeing what will come next on the long and winding trail.

So, there are many ways to do the great-outdoors adventure thing. The specifics aren’t the important part; the important part is simply the doing. After all, the world is right outside the door. Let’s go!

(this article appeared in the April 25 edition of The Oak Leaves)

Outdoors in Indiana: Turkey Run State Park

On March 29th, my friend Ally O’Neill and I took our first journey to Turkey Run State Park.

It is the furthest away of the many locations I will be writing about this year. Although it is an approximately two hour drive from campus, it is well worth it if you have the time.

Turkey Run does not offer primitive campsites. However, they have over 200 electric sites that are spread out over a wide area, so we had no trouble locating one that was both beautiful and off of the beaten path, site 170.


170 sat atop a steep valley, providing a lovely overlook when we sat by the fire.

Although it was on an out-of-the-way loop of the Turkey Run campground, the park was full enough that there were campers at a few of the nearby sites. However, this became a positive situation. Some of our neighboring campers, down for the weekend from Purdue University, joined us for dinner and conversation.

It just goes to show that, even if you’ve fled to the wilderness, friends will find you in the darndest places.

The following day, Ally and I packed up our campsite, drank a couple of cups of coffee, and headed off to the main part of the park.

The only disappointing part of our trip occurred at the park’s Saddle Barn. Although Turkey Run State Park does offer guided horseback rides through the park, the employees there said that they could not take us out due to drizzling rain. So, we decided to go for a hike.


Turkey Run offers 11 hiking trails, ranging in difficulty from “Easy” to “Rugged” and in distance from 0.5 to three miles. We decided to hike down trail 2, a “Rugged” trail only one mile long that is described in the park’s brochure as a trail that “follows under cliff edges. A trail for the more adventurous. Be careful!”

We knew we had found the trail for us.


One of the highlights of our hike was the so-called “Gypsy Gulch.”

Within the gulch was one of the most unique and colorful waterfalls I have ever seen. Although much of the water flew over the side of the cliff in an expected manner, some of it simply trickled down the sides of the rock. The oxidation effect that resulted on the stone below resulted in streaks of red, green, black, brown and orange.



Because the water that poured further out from the rock was moving at a high velocity and wide angle, it was possible to stand directly underneath the brink of the cliff where the waterfall began without getting wet. The perspective of the forest offered from that vantage point was as relaxing as it was beautiful.


The ruggedness of the terrain provided Ally and me with many opportunities for climbing, scurrying, dangling, and jumping. It certainly wasn’t a trail for the faint-hearted or poorly-balanced, especially considering the slickness of the rocks and moss in the drizzle. Nevertheless, our excursion truly felt like an adventure of the highest order.


In the end, it was an experience that could not have been improved upon, and it was worth all of the time and effort that were involved.

Turkey Run State Park is located on S. R. 47, two miles east of S. R. 41.

Remember… the world is right outside the door. Let’s go!









(This article appeared in the April 4, 2008 edition of the Oak Leaves)