The Salamonie and Mississiniwa Dams/Reservoirs were built for flood control. They are both tributaries of the Wabash River which drains most of Indiana and flows southwest to the Ohio. The Salamonie is the middle of the three on this stylized map, and I was hiking on the south side of the lake.
I hiked part of the Bloodroot Trail which documentation says is a 13 mile loop, but the ranger said it's only 11. Either way, I did not have time to hike it all today. There were many places to cut across from one side to the other, and my loop was 6.6 miles. The ranger said the other end is prettier, but I didn't want to spend the time to drive there. I just hiked the west half. I'll come back sometime to do the other half. Hopefully in a prettier season.
It was mostly flat (it's northern Indiana), but not entirely. You can see some topography here. The first half was pretty muddy, and included edges of fields. However the return was higher and drier with more woods.
It does come close to the Salamonie Reservoir on the return side. On a sunny day, this would be beautiful.
"Salamonie" comes from the Miami Indian word for bloodroot, or the juice of the bloodroot which they used to paint their faces.
At the interpretive center, they have various displays and educational information. This is a stuffed albino raccoon.
I also liked this carving showing the relative sizes of several birds.
And... they have a patch for the Bloodroot Trail. Yippie!
I'm surprisingly tired. Trail acquaintances took me in tonight. Ester has Covid. One more hike tomorrow, then home! I've learned of several more places with a good number of trail miles in northern Indiana. There's a good chance I might check some of those out in the future.
Total miles hiked in 2024: 71.3 of which 1.2 is North Country Trail.
Bloodroot Trail, Salamonie Reservoir, IN. Western half. 6.6 miles
 | See David, and Koteewi |
2 comments:
That bird carving is very cool
Ann- I really liked it too
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