LBL 2026

[KySongDog]

I was originally going to LBL with Weedwalker but then he had a family situation and couldn't make the trip. So I went alone even though I knew the weather had socked LBL with snow and ice. The back country roads were barely passable if you had a 4x4. Wranglers was shut down. The Trace was clean as it had been plowed. But the back country forest roads were dangerous. I almost went in to a ditch twice. But the really bad part was the hunting situation.  The woods were deep in ice covered snow. It was impossible to be quiet. Sort of like walking on corn flakes. Plus ice and Muck boots aren't too compatible and the 18 degree temps on Thursday didn't help any. I slipped and fell a couple of times but didn't hurt anything but my pride.  Finally I decided this wasn't worth it. I was either going to slide in to a ditch on some back road and have to walk out or fall and break something in the woods and lay there until someone finds me during spring turkey season.

I only saw one other truck the whole time I was there. I packed up and headed home today. The weather was supposed to get warmer but then the ice and snow would turn to mud.  I made a few stands but never saw anything. There was nothing moving in the woods, birds, squirrels, nothing. I saw a few deer who were hanging on the roads in order to be able to walk I'm guessing. 

The LBL hunt is just about down to nothing. But at least I can say I was the last man standing. 

[weedwalker]

I was hoping to be there crunching and sliding with you. But it didn't work out.   

[Okanagan]

Good to read the report.  Bad conditions!!

FWIW, Kahtoola micro spikes are superb in such conditions.  At my age and agility, I wear them 100% of the time in snow or icy conditions when hunting or off road walking.  In our slick wet rainforest, I wear them when doing anything in our woods, even when picking berries in summer.

[nastygunz]

Def use the spikes here in the winter.

[KySongDog]

Good to read the report.  Bad conditions!!

FWIW, Kahtoola micro spikes are superb in such conditions.  At my age and agility, I wear them 100% of the time in snow or icy conditions when hunting or off road walking.  In our slick wet rainforest, I wear them when doing anything in our woods, even when picking berries in summer.

Good to know. I'll definitely keep those in mind.  I'm advanced in age also and not as spry as I once was. Spikes would help.

[FinsnFur]

break something in the woods and lay there until someone finds me during spring turkey season.

  THAT would be a messy find.
Glad ya got out unscathed Johnny
Yah my spikes pretty much never come off my Sorel boots, unless I'm replacing them.

[nastygunz]

Take a look at this, THE BEAST OF THE LBL!, on Monsterquest

https://youtu.be/aYHwDAbcRek?si=4HX3pbrixOdGvR0m

[nastygunz]

Several missing persons and unsolved murder cases are associated with the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) National Recreation Area, which spans the Kentucky and Tennessee border. Due to its remote, 170,000-acre forested nature, LBL has been the site of, or dumping ground for, several cases over the decades.

Key Missing Person and Unsolved Cases in LBL
Carla Atkins and Vickie Stout (1980): In September 1980, these two half-sisters went missing from Dover, Tennessee. Their bodies were discovered 18 days later in the LBL area by hikers. They had died from shotgun wounds to the head. As of 2024, this case remains unsolved, though the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) have recently become more involved.
Shelia Bradford (1992): Following a meeting with law enforcement regarding a separate murder investigation, Shelia Bradford disappeared on September 21, 1992, and has never been found.
"Beast of LBL" Lore: The area has a long-standing legend known as the "Beast of LBL" or "LBL Dogman," a purported seven-foot-tall creature blamed in local folklore for various disappearances, animal killings, and aggressive encounters, particularly in the 1970s and 80s. While these are largely considered local legends, they have fueled numerous, albeit unsubstantiated, reports of violent encounters in the woods.

[nastygunz]

https://daroberts.net/2021/07/31/land-between-the-lakes-a-retrospective/#:~:text=Even%20if%20the%20locals%20want,strange%20deaths%20associated%20with%20LBL.