This 1.27 mile one way hike (that's 2.54 miles round trip) begins in Shades State Park (there is an entrance fee during the peak season), crosses SR 234, and ends in Pine Hills Nature Preserve. See additional waypoints for some extra information to help determine if you are up for the hike to get to the four backbone formations. For 2/3 of the hike you'll be on a mostly flat packed dirt trail. That means when it's wet, expect to get a bit muddy. The last 1/3 of the hike (and the first 1/3 on the way back) requires climbing down and up wooden stairs (169 in all) that can get slippery when wet, some abrupt elevation changes, and crossing a shallow creek. PLEASE stay on all marked trails.
The most effective route (which will still take you to all the required waypoints) is to click on the Hiking route image provided in the Image Gallery and follow the route that takes you to feature 1, 2, 3, 5, and then 4. Going to 5 first allows for a less steep ascent to the top of the Devil's Backbone. You can choose to descend this way as well or you can continue across the Devil's Backbone to find the route down to the last waypoint needed (VS4) for an elevation reading. You can still reach VS4 by going down the same way you came up, just having to backtrack a bit. Should you choose to cross Devil's Backbone, please be mindful of young children as the path is narrow and the fall would be long. For that matter, be mindful of your own actions when crossing Devil's Backbone.
To Log This EarthCache
To demonstrate the educational value of your visit, please email me the answers to the following questions: (coachstahly) or the link at the top of the cache page to reach my profile, where you will see a link to Send message)
1. Based on your 4 elevation readings (VS1-VS4), you will be able to determine the height of the Turkey Backbone as well as the Devil's Backbone. What is the height of Turkey Backbone (VS1-VS2) and what is the height of Devil's Backbone (VS3-VS4)? Which one is taller?
2. Based on what you have read AND what you have observed at each of these locations, what type of incised meander (entrenched or ingrown) is located here? What are some of the geological features you've seen that have led you to your conclusion? Please combine site specific observations and information provided in the description to support your theory.
3. Of the two main backbones (Turkey and Devil), which of the two is more likely to keep "growing"? What do you see that supports your opinion? In other words, why? If you stand at VS1 (posted coordinates) and VS3 for some observations, you will be better equipped to answer this question. Please combine site specific observations and information provided in the description to support your theory.
OPTIONAL! Please take a photo of yourself AND/OR your GPSr with the rock formations in the background. Please keep safety in mind when taking your pictures.
In order to better understand how these formations came to be, we need to start with water formations and the way in which they move across the land, particularly in this area. A meander is a river with lots of curves or turns. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the inside. The result is a snaking pattern as the stream meanders back and forth.
Most meanders follow a general pattern over time. They occur in a region of a river channel with shallow slope changes in the terrain, a well-developed floodplain, and cohesive or similar floodplain material. Deposition of sediment occurs on the inner edge because the flow of the river sweeps sand, rocks and other submerged objects across the bed of the river towards the inside edge of the river bend, creating an elevated bed of material. Erosion is therefore greater on the outside of the bend where the soil is not protected by deposits of sand and rocks. The current on the outside bend is more effective in eroding the unprotected soil, the inside bend receives steadily increasing deposits of sand and rocks, and the meander tends to grow in the direction of the outside bend.
That may have been how this area got its start, but it's not what currently exists in front of you today. When the base level or slope of the established meander is changed suddenly - due to tectonic uplift of the region, a global fall in sea-level, collapse of a moraine-dammed lake downstream, or by capture of the stream by a steeper one - the stream continues to erode downwards, its established meandering pattern remaining as a deep valley known as an incised meander. Rivers in the Colorado Plateau, the Kentucky River Palisades in central Kentucky, and streams in the Ozark Plateau are noted for these incised meanders, as is the area you are currently walking in
There are two types of incised meanders. Entrenched meanders develop following a rapid incision of the river or when the valley sides are more resistent to erosion. The speed of the river down cutting also gives less opportunity for lateral erosion, creating a symmetrical valley profile. Ingrown meanders occur when incision is slower and drawn out over a period of time. In this case the meander has time to erode both vertically and laterally, forming an asymmetrical river valley.
Information gathered from a variety of sources including Wikipedia, The British Geographer, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
