I arrived at dawn.
October is easy that way: I can sleep in and still get almost anywhere by dawn in October. Two sports vehicles were at the boat ramp when I showed up and it was strange to see the place so crowded. One guy was fishing from shore, the other party was out in a boat somewhere, maybe downstream toward the reservoir or upstream along the horseshoe shape the river follows in this neighborhood.
It takes about ten minutes to launch, then other ten to paddle to a place I found the other month. There are illegal campfire remains there, empty snack packages, a few mosquitos, grasshoppers, and a jeep trail. This trail climbs a ridge and affords the trespasser a view of the shallows and a couple of the islands nearby.
From the ridge I saw the sun was finally on the rise.
Several forecasts predicted sunshine for today but apparently they meant "once in a while, sometimes, maybe. When the sun actually did appear this morning, it bathed the entire area in gold. It was fleeting and returned only a few times at the most. Big birds (herons & egrets) congregate on the far side of this tiny island in July and August, but now it's October and nobody is around.
Once the sun had finished showing off, there wasn't much new to see. The Purple Martins won't be back to breed until Spring, the pileated woodpecker from last May is probably in Florida by now, and the sharp shinned hawk I photographed several weeks ago was flying overhead but it's too old to be willing to pose again.
The water was low today; lower than I'd ever seen it before. Narrow sandy beaches surrounded all of the islands and entire areas I used to paddle through were dried up altogether. I actually got to walk down the old road. I could tell it was a road on my previous visits because I'd clunk my paddles or boat into it. While feeling into the water to see why I was suddenly stuck, I found a road; today I saw it, and I walked it. They built the dam here in 1970 so it's been almost 40 years since anybody drove down this road.
This entire area is normally covered with water, navigable water. The road heads back to Route 124 behind the camera, but it's all overgrown and there's no access except by foot. Ahead beyond the grasses, the road soon disappears into the water again. With the water as low as it is, this and other normally shallow places are filled with only dirt, sticks, stumps, and the one nameless road. It's okay; the kildeer are back again and enjoyng the low water. It gives them sandy places to run around and look for worms and other yummy stuff to eat.
It's always pretty quiet at Salamonie; it's not silent, but almost all sounds there come from the wilderness. People sounds are rare; human voices will make you wheel around and wonder, "What the heck was that?" Traffic sounds are distant (Route 124 only, and it's not travelled all that much), there are no lawnmowers here. A Cessna went overhead today but that was unusual. Mostly you'll just hear angry herons gronking in flight. Cormorants grunt continuously when they're around. There are woodpeckers, songbirds, unidentified crunching of twigs in the woods, crickets & cicadas, and jumping fish. Fish will jump clean out of the water here, sometimes right where you happen to be looking. The quiet is what's so annoying sometimes. You'll never know if there's something really cool up ahead to photograph because it won't call attention to itself.
Today, when I fully expected all white egrets to have disappeared for the holidays, and when I saw none from the ridge, and none in the shallows, and none in the trees all along the way, it turned out the egrets are still in town.
There were over a dozen of them all in the same place just beyond the road to nowhere. And they made no sound whatsoever.
I'll be back.
Location:
(Note: take a canoe, kayak, or other watercraft; there are no specific trails to hike here. You must become one with the water.)
If leaving from Toledo, be sure to take Route 24 West. You'll be tempted to take the turnpike over to Route 69 South but that adds about 40 minutes to the trip. Regardless of how you do it, get over to Huntington, Indiana, in Huntington County. You'll be southwest of Fort Wayne by about 30 miles.
Take Route 9 South out of Huntington for 12 miles or so until you reach the blinking light at Route 124. Turn left (east) on 124.
2.6 miles ahead on your left is a driveway at Wildlife Area #6. Turn left (north) into the driveway. After less than a mile, turn left and pass the sign that says "Road Ends in Water." Drive slowly or you'll lose your transmission on this bumpy gravel road. When the road ends and the water begins, stop. You're there.
Download a map of the Salamonie Reservoir Area from the Indiana DNR for more information
2006 Trip Reports, including more from Salamonie
2007 Trip Reports, including more from Salamonie
Please Email with corrections, comments, questions, or a map of the area from 1960