Charles C Deam Wilderness

I went out to Charles Deam Wilderness area last Saturday with a few friends for a short day hike. I've been camping at Deam many times and it is one of my favorite place to get outdoors in Indiana. The wilderness areas borders the south side of Lake Monroe and has many miles of hiking and horse trails that wind through an area of ridges and ravines. A gravel road, Fire Tower Road, runs through the middle of the park. We parked at the Fire Tower and hiked the only trail designated for foot travel only. The Sycamore Loop is a six mile trail that takes out along a ridge, down into a creekbed, and then follows the stream through an area with many pines until winding back up the ridge. We didn't get on the trail until about 3:00, which normally would have gotten us back by dark. However, we decided to stop several times and pound some beers and whiskey. It was in the 20's, but the sun was out and it was a very nice day to be out.