Y'all ready to get eclipsed? Countdown is on, just three and a half days until the last solar total eclipse that'll be visible in the Lower 48 for the next twenty years. Better git while the gitting's good.
If you ain't got reservations already, you're likely shit out of luck unless you want to drop a month's pay on lodging. Well, for the sorts of places that take reservations. Luckily there's another way, for the low, low price of free. That's dispersed camping on US Forest Service land. National Forests are a lot more common west of the Mississippi River but Hoosier National Forest is just an hour's drive from Louisville, so we're headed there.
These photos are all from when I camped in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming for the total eclipse back in 2017. For dispersed camping on federal land you usually have to stay a little ways away from trails and roads but in some places there's old roadside campsites that you can use. You want to try and reuse old campsites rather than making new ones but there's usually plenty to be found.
Other than that, leave no trace and don't burn the forest down are the main considerations. The place I camped in 2017 was next to an area that'd burned recently. Was kind of convenient, there was an electric fence that kept the free range cattle out, came in handy when you needed a bit of privacy.
Unfortunately, nothing will save you from having squirrels gawk at you while you use the bathroom in the woods. Best not to think about it overmuch. Or bring a shotgun.
Best way to find a good spot to camp is go into the ranger station for that area and ask. Tried just calling instead today but all I got was hung up on, so we're just going to wing it. Think I've found a few likely candidates from the sat map, but we'll see how many other people have the same idea when we get there. If nothing else, there's always the 'ask the locals' route.
We're going up the day before the eclipse and camping for two nights, that way we can dodge the worst of the traffic. Plus it gives you time to take in your surroundings and explore. Or just watch the evening light play over the landscape.
Got there a couple days early in 2017, so I had plenty of time to wander. It seemed wild to me, on the drive in I passed people paying $100 USD a night for "dry camping" when they could camp for free just a mile up the road. Don't know if people just don't know about dispersed camping or what but it's the way to go when you're trying to keep it on the cheap, or throw something together last minute. Usually it's both for me, has come in rather handy on more than a few (non-eclipse) occasions.
So who has plans for the eclipse? Thinking about making plans? I first experienced totality in 2017 and it is something that defies words, but you have to see it if you ever get the chance. This is a map with the path of totality, if you are anywhere near I recommend calling in sick or having a teenager swat your place of employment and heading for totality.
My back tried to stop working yesterday (hooray snowboarding) so I'm going to lay low for the next could days and hope it holds together long enough to get camp set up. After that, I don't care as long as I'm there, I'll crawl out of the woods if I have to. In the meantime, this website has lots of information about the upcoming eclipse, check it out if you're interested.
