PHOTO ARCHIVE: Charles C. Deam Wilderness -- Hayes Trail

After writing the story of Roscoe Hayes’s life in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness – he ended up living in a hollow beech tree – I decided to return to the Hayes Trail, one of my favorite Hoosier National Forest treks.

While it was a perfect day for a wilderness walk, Hayes wasn’t quite brimming with photo opps. A few tiny violets, chickweeds, and seasonal waterfalls provided the only color and action, which left plenty of time for sitting on downed trees and an afternoon of deep thought in the deep woods.

That was best, as I’d just transferred photo albums from Hayes between 2016 and 2019 to the IU Archives and decided to create this online Hayes Photo Archive of images through the years.

Hayes is a relatively obscure, 5-mile round trip hike through the Charles C. Deam Wilderness’s northwestern edge. No signs on the nearest road announce the trailhead.

Named after the pioneer family that settled today’s Deam from the early 19th to early 20th centuries, Hayes connects with the 12-mile Grubb Ridge loop.

As the photos from a decade ago illustrate, spring is a little slow this year, so the Hayes Trail and valley will soon be bursting with spring wildflowers.

– 4/12/26

Note: With credit to my buddy Tom Zeller, I’m a philosopher and not a naturalist. Any misidentifications here are easily corrected if pointed out thru the Contact Page.

Revisiting the Deam: Roscoe Hayes and Other Human
Tales from the Indiana Wilderness

by Steven Higgs, Limestone Post, April 7, 2026