Safety and Outdoor Ethics
Trail Safety
If a parking lot is not available, ensure your vehicle is parked well off the road where you wish to access. Many of our forest roads are very narrow with blind curves. Park in a straight stretch, off the roadbed, and do not block other roads or trails.
Many trails intersect roadways and a few may follow a road for a short period. Always be mindful of traffic.
Loose limbs and hazard trees can fall on the trail at anytime, be especially careful on windy days. We make an effort to remove hazard trees when we are aware of them, but we need your help. Please report any hazard trees or large limbs across the trail to one of the Hoosier National Forest at 812-275-5987 or 812-547-7051 or you can email us.
If you stop when hiking to camp, ensure you have a fire ring (this may be made by rocks) around your fire and 10 feet of cleared space.
Hunting on the Forest
Be aware of hunting seasons. Do not assume hunters will hear you coming even if you're riding a horse. Blaze orange colored clothing is recommended during all major firearm seasons. Outer clothing easily seen such as a hat, coat, or vest are best. We recommend wearing orange for firearm deer hunting season, muzzle-loading seasons, and turkey seasons. Do not wear white clothing as it may be mistaken for a deer's tail. Blues and reds can be mistaken for the color of a turkey's head in the spring firearm season. For more information on hunting seasons see the Indiana Department of Natural Resources webpage.
When injuries occur, the most common are from accidents involving hunting from tree stands and elevated platforms. To avoid such injuries, hunters should follow the safety tips listed below when hunting from an elevated position.
Before the hunt
- Read and understand the tree stand manufacturer’s instructions.
- Check tree stands and equipment for wear; fatigue; and cracks or loose nuts and bolts, paying particularly close attention to parts made of material other than metal.
- Pack and plan to use equipment specifically designed for hunting.
- Practice trees stand use and setup at ground level.
- Learn how to properly wear your full-body safety harness.
During the hunt
- Wear your full-body safety harness.
- Use boots with nonslip soles.
- Use a tree stand safety rope.
- Make sure to attach your harness to the tree before leaving the ground, and that it remains attached to the tree until you return to the ground.
- Maintain three points of contact during ascent and descent.
- Use a haul line to raise and lower firearms, bows and other hunting gear.
- Make sure firearms are unloaded, action is open, and safety is on before attaching them to the haul line.
When doing any kind of hunting, remember to do the following to stay safe:
- Carry a cellphone and flashlight.
- Make a plan before you hunt.
- Tell someone your plan, including where you will be hunting and when you plan to return.
- Stick to your plan.
- Identify game before pointing a firearm.
- Know your target and what is beyond it.
Trail Etiquette
In addition to vehicles, on trails, visitors must share the trail with other types of user groups.
Observe the following trail courtesy:
- Mountain bikers yield to horse riders and hikers. Make your approach known well in advance.
- Hikers yield to horse riders.
- Horse riders control your horse.
If you are a hiker/backpacker and there is a boot brush station at the trailhead. Please use the boot brushes to dirt off your shoes before hiking the trail. The mud on your shoes may include seeds from invasive plants that would have invade these natural areas.
Plants to Avoid
Visitors often ask what precautions they need to take when visiting the Hoosier National Forest. They're often surprised when they're told the most common thing that can spoil a visit to the Forest is not an encounters with bears or snakes. For those that frequent the Forest often, the most difficult thing to avoid are the "poison" plants. The rashes and discomfort can certainly ruin a visit to the Forest.
The Itch that Sticks
There are certain plants in this area that can cause skin rashes and irritations lasting a week or more. Most of the human population reacts to these plants, and sensitivity in individuals changes over time. People who have never had a reaction in the past should still avoid these plants, since toxins can build up in an immune system, and after a certain level cause a reaction. These plants have oils which cause these reactions in humans. The oil is in the stems, leaves, and berries of the plants and can be transmitted by brushing against the plant, or from secondary contact with animals or clothing. When building fires in the forest with downed wood, be careful not to use wood that has vines on it. Some vines may be poison ivy and the smoke from a burning vine can cause serious respiratory problems in some individuals.
Poison Ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans)
Found: along trails, roadsides and woodlands
Appearance: trailing, perennial vine. Can also appear as a small bush or as a ground cover.
Things to Look For: Three leaflets which alternate up the stem. Young leaves have a reddish tint and may have either smooth or jagged edges. Old vines are very hairy. In late summer and fall it will have green to white berries on the vines. A verse learned by many children to help them remember poison ivy is: "Leaves of three, let it be; berries white, poison in sight." In the fall this vine turns brilliant red. A similar-looking common vine is Virginia Creeper, but Virginia Creeper has five fan-shaped leaflets.
Treatment if Exposed: Rinse area as soon as possible with lots of cool water and soap. A soap such as Fels Natpha that removes the oils from the poison ivy plant is recommended. Avoid hot water since it opens the skin's pores more. Do not scrub the area as this will also allow the toxin to get in the pores. Generally a rash appears 12-24 hours after exposure.
Poison Oak
(Toxicodendron diversilobum)
Poison Oak is a mostly western U.S. species found in open sunny habitats. It is not found in the Hoosier National Forest.
Poison Sumac
(Toxicodendron vernix)
Found: Swamps or very wet areas. Usually in the shade.
Appearance: Shrub or small tree from 6.5 feet to 23 feet tall.
Things to Look For: Shrub with compound leaves and grayish-white berry clusters in swamps. Appears similiar to the fragrant sumac found along roadsides which has fuzzy red berries.
Treatment if Exposed: Rinse area as soon as possible with lots of cool water and soap. Skin rash and irritation will occur upon contact and can last a week or more.
Wood Nettle and Stinging Nettle
(Laportea canadensis) and (Urtica dioica)
Found: Bottomlands and along streams in shady areas.
Appearance: Perennial herb up to two feet tall with stiff hairs on the stem.
Things to Look For: Stiff hairs on the plant's stem. Each tiny hair on the stems and leaves is hollow with a jagged point at the end. A bump against the stiff hair squeezes an irritating acidic chemical through the hair and onto a passing person's skin, much like a hypodermic needle.
The acid in the hairs, formic acid, is the same substance that many ants secrete to protect themselves from predators. In the Stinging Nettle, it's pressurized so that it bursts out the instant the sharp hairs make contact with skin. The acid quickly spreads into the nearby human skin cells, causing them to swell. A rash appears on the surface of the skin and small white spots develop.
Treatment if Exposed: Apply lotions with an anti-inflammatory and cooling effects (talc, calamine). Home remedies include to rub the irritated area with juice of dock (Rumex spp.) or Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). Since the source of the irritation is an acid, it can also be neutralized by applying a base. Baking soda mixed with water works particularly well.
Human Reaction: Rash and dermatitis with an intense burning sensation due to allergic reaction.
Ticks and Lyme Disease
We don't have lions or tigers or bears on the Hoosier National Forest, but we do have ticks. Over the past 20-30 years the number of ticks on the Hoosier National Forest, especially in the area south of Interstate 64 has increased dramatically. Along with the increase in the numbers of ticks, is a growing problem with human diseases associated with ticks.
For many people, finding a tick latched onto their leg is enough to put a damper on a trip to the woods. It's like finding a mouse in the cupboard or a roach in your bed sheets, and leaves you feeling unaccountably paranoid. With recent publicity given to the threat of Lyme disease, people's fears have intensified and some are actually afraid to visit the forest.
Tick Demographics
Weather conditions seem to have the greatest effect on the density of ticks. After a mild winter tick populations are especially high. Ticks are worse in early spring when adults who have over-wintered start moving around looking for a host to feed on. Eggs from the previous year begin to hatch as well.
Ticks are not particularly choosy about their hosts. Any warm-blooded host will do. They climb up in brush and wait for a host to happen by. They attach themselves to the host and suck the host's blood, feeding only until they're full (6-13 days), then drop off and lay eggs. Incredibly, some ticks can survive up to two years between feedings. A female tick lays from 4,000-6,000 eggs. After the eggs hatch, the tiny larvae or seed ticks, find hosts and feed just as the adults do. The larvae of some types of ticks are almost invisible to the human eye but literally hundreds can feed on one person resulting in painful itching and in some people, an allergic reaction. In most species, the larvae feed only on small mammals and are not a problem for humans.
There are over 300 species of ticks. Different species carry different diseases. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease are two of the better known diseases spread by ticks. Some diseases, such as Lyme Disease may effect pets and livestock as well as people.
Avoiding Ticks
Ticks are going to congregate where they have a high chance of finding a host or where they hatch out as larvae. Any high traffic area should be avoided, including cow paths in pastures and deer paths in the woods. Also avoid tall grass and thick brush. If your pets roam into areas where they are likely to pick up ticks, routinely check them for ticks and use baths, dips, and flea and tick collars to reduce the chances of your pets bringing ticks into your home and yard.
Several commercial insect repellents work quite well. Insure the repellant has the ingredient DEET or PERMETHRIN which is most effective on ticks. In areas of high tick infestation, you'll need to apply it every 2-3 hours. Another proven method of repelling ticks is to sprinkle sulfur on your socks, boots, and pant legs. Tying or taping your pant legs tight around your ankles so the ticks can't crawl up inside your pants and tucking in your shirt is also recommended. It won't cut down on the number of ticks you might get, but it will make them easier to spot and remove. Another suggestion is to wear light colored clothing which make the ticks easier to spot. Be sure and wash all clothing promptly to kill any ticks that might remain. Visitors to recreation areas are also encouraged to stay on mowed trails where the chance of picking up ticks is much less.
Diseases carried by Ticks
Once embedded, the recommended method of removing the tick is to pull it straight out with tweezers. Grasp the tick close to its head with tweezers and pull firmly. Apply antiseptic to the bite. Removing a tick within 36 hours of when it becomes embedded will lessen the chance of disease transmission.
You may wish to keep the tick for a few weeks in a vial labeled with the date and location of the bite. If medical attention is later sought, the type of tick has some bearing on the type of disease it might be carrying. For instance, it is the deer tick, much smaller than other common ticks, which is usually associated with Lyme disease. Deer ticks are mahogany brown, oval shaped, and appear to have two separate plates on their backs. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is carried by the Lone Star tick which is a round dark brown tick with a distinctive white mark on its back.
According to some researchers, "Lyme hysteria is vastly a bigger problem than Lyme disease". This may be true, but we recommend people be aware of the disease's symptoms. Many cases have now been documented in southern Indiana. Two other diseases, ehrlichiosis and babesiosis have also been diagnosed which have symptoms similar to Lyme Disease and are easily treated. If the bite looks suspicious, you should see your local physician.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease include:
- a red or pink rash, or a bump near the area bitten which expands in size and may become as large as 10-15 inches in diameter.
- fever, chills, headache, and fatigue
- enlarged lymph nodes
- stiff joints - particularly the knees.
If these symptoms are present, a physician should be consulted immediately. Lyme disease can be confirmed by a blood test and progression of the disease can be prevented by proper treatment. For more information on Lyme Disease contact the American Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc., Mill Pond Offices, 293 Route 100, Somers, NY 10589; phone 914-277-6970 or email to inquire@aldf.com. The symptoms will likely occur 1 to 8 weeks after a person is bitten by a tick.
More Resources
Leave No Trace
As more and more people visit our forests and trails, many of our areas become overcrowded with people, and the evidence of people. Backcountry areas are places to seek solitude, and for those who value these places of escape, we ask they make a commitment to protect and preserve these areas. The Leave No Trace program has techniques that visitors can use to help reduce evidence of their presence.
In September 2014, the national Leave No Trace team came to the Hoosier National Forest and helped Forest staff and volunteers clean up sites along the lake to return them to their natural appearance. Rock "furniture" was dismantled, large fire rings were reduced to small warming fire size, and trash was collected. Below is a Youtube video, by the Leave No Trace team of the work done that day at one of the sites.
Protect the land, and lessen the sights and sounds of visitors to the Forest.
- Plan for small groups - travel with fewer than 10 people. Campsites for small groups are easier to find and harmonize better with the environment.
- Obtain information about the area , obtain a map, and plan your route. Check on local rules and regulations.
- Visit areas which are less popular, or come in the off-season.
- Repackage food, removing glass, and carry trash bags for litter pickup. The Charles C. Deam Wilderness currently bans glass and cans in that area.
- Carry a small trowel for burying human waste and digging a small firepit. Use the "cat method" for burying waste, digging a shallow hole and covering with 6-8 inches of dirt. Stay at least 200 feet from water sources.
- Leave what you find. Do not carry out artifacts, souveniers, fossils.
- Stay on trails and do not cut across switchbacks.
- Respect wildlife, view from a distance.
- Do all washing away from water sources as soap is a pollutant.
- Be prepared. Know what weather is predicted and be ready for extremes. A highly visible vest should be included in your pack for rescue in the event you become lost. Carry a signal mirror, a whistle, and warm clothing.
- Be responsible. Pack out what you pack in.
For more information, visit the Leave No Trace website at www.LNT.org