Author’s note: I begin each trip report with an explanation of the section’s route, followed by a breakdown of each day.

The Route: Northern Terminus to Town

This first section started at the Northern terminus and headed south for 26 miles to the eastern Kentucky town of Morehead. Within the first eight-tenths of a mile, the trail climbed 300 feet to the top of the ridge and the next 8 miles were hiking along the ridge. The trail is what you would expect following along the top of a ridge. Around 9 miles the trail descended 200 feet into a valley area and came out of the woods onto private property. The property owners are very supportive of the Sheltowee Trace and hospitable to all hikers and Challenge participants. They have a small lot that is available to hikers to set up tents, a small fire pit, a water spigot, and a pavilion with picnic tables to relax in! This “park” would serve as one possible campsite for the night.

After this property, the trail climbed 200 feet right back up to the top of the ridge and then went back down to the next valley. After following along a small creek, the trail came to the second campsite for the night. The trail then crossed an older suspension bridge and wove back and forth along another creek bed for about a mile before climbing back up to the next ridge. The trail crossed over Interstate 64 and started the first road walk along the Trace – a 6-mile gravel forest service road. At the end of this forest service road, the trail turned back into a single track through the woods – and the real fun began. The last four miles of this section are what one Sheltowee Trace Association Board member and multi-year Hiker Challenge participant calls “bunny hops”. The trail stayed up on the ridge and went from one top to the next with very little recovery in between.  The trail was not flat during this section and was a constant rollercoaster of small hills.

Finally, the trail descended into the city of Morehead, coming out of the woods near a lake on the Morehead State University campus. After walking through the campus, the trail reached Main Street and then went straight to the shuttle pick-up point where my car was parked.

The Hike – Day 1: Crushing Hills to Beat the Rain

I have to give an acknowledgment to the Sheltowee Trace Association and the director, Steve Barbour. They organize all of the hikes and he takes care of the shuttles, providing endless hours of support during each hike. To accommodate all participants, each hike will have two different shuttle times with the first one starting at 6 AM or 7 AM. Depending on the location, the shuttles could be 13-person passenger vans or school buses used by local adventure companies. The shuttle time to the trailhead is usually 15-45 minutes.

This section’s shuttle pick-up point was just a little over an hour from my house, so I opted to take the early shuttle at 7 AM. I am always early to events anytime I go somewhere, and I arrived a little after 6:30 AM. I checked the weather on my phone and was surprised to see that the rain would hold off until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. The temperature was in the 40’s, so I expected a good day of hiking. All participants showed up on time, and after loading packs into a small U-haul, we were off to the trailhead. Once we arrived, there was the normal milling around getting packs and getting ready to go hiking. After the requisite group picture, it was time to start hiking!

I am not a speed demon when it comes to hiking, and I am not trying to be. I don’t want to “beat” anyone to camp or set any speed records. However, I am always eager to get started when we get to the trailhead and I will usually get going right after the group picture. This means that I am usually in the front of the pack when we start out hiking and generally stay there. It usually works out that hikers space out based on their hiking speed. With all the chaos of normal life, I need the trail time to decompress and solve all the world’s problems by hiking alone. I love spending time with hikers at camp, but during the actual hike, I prefer to trudge along solo.

With the expected rain coming, I decided to let that set my pace for this first section. The two campsites were 10 and 12 miles away and I planned to stay at the second campsite so that the next day would be a 14-mile day instead of 16. I made great time up the first climb and continued that momentum over the next 10 miles. I arrived at the first campsite around 11:15, and after a 30-minute lunch break, I was ready to finish out the final 2 miles. After the hill climb, it felt like that last mile to camp took forever! I eventually arrived a little before 1 and had just enough time to set up my tent before the rain started. I rested in the tent for the next 2+ hours, listening to the rain and enjoying a relaxing afternoon nap!

The rain stopped around 4 PM and I woke up and checked out the fire pit. Some other Challenge hikers were there and one of them started a fire with the Duraflame log that Steve dropped off for us. The chapter that manages this northern part of the trail is very active in trail maintenance and support for all hikers. During the Challenge, you can always count on this chapter to supply some trail magic on the first hike! And that is exactly what happened. A chapter representative showed up around 5 with a big pot of chili, some cornbread, and lots of cookies.

After enjoying a hearty meal, a group of us hung out around the fire talking. A father is hiking with his teenage son and his son’s friend, and they are going to provide comic relief for the Challenge this year. They were climbing trees at the shuttle pickup, at lunch, and then at camp. There was a drain culvert near the camp, and they went exploring in there as well. I look forward to their further shenanigans!

Steve will usually check on everyone at camp and spends time talking with us and discussing the next day’s hike and what to expect the next month on the next section. These talks are always worth staying up for and I find them to be very informative, even when it does start to rain and I just want to go back to my tent!

I eventually turned into my tent around 7 and spent the next two hours reading on my Kindle. I had just enough cell service to check on the UK basketball game (Go Big Blue!) and was happy to see that they pulled out a win. After the third time the Kindle fell on my face, I decided that it was time to go to bed and was asleep around 9, with the nearby creek and rain providing the perfect soundtrack.

The Hike – Day 2: Hopping into Town

One great thing about the Hiker Challenge is that you get to experience all kinds of firsts during the hikes. And the previous night was no different! I had slept in my tent in the rain before, but I had never slept in the tent during a bad thunderstorm. Around 10:30 I woke up to heavy rain and lightning and thunder! If I were camping by myself I would have been more nervous, but being with the crowd helped ease my nerves a lot. While the lightning was bright, the thunder was distant enough to not concern me as much. I was able to fall back to sleep soon and had a good stretch of sleep until about 2 AM. I tossed and turned the rest of the night, but overall felt rested when I woke up at 6:15.

I checked the weather and was surprised to find that I might be able to miss most of the rain again! The temperature was again in the 40’s and felt great overall. After a hearty breakfast of two packages of peanut butter crackers, Jack Links beef and cheese sticks, and fruit snacks, I was ready to start packing up around 6:40. I wasn’t in a big hurry, but at the same time, when I am up, I am up and ready to get started. I was hiking out of camp around 7:15 but only had to hike in the dark for about 20 minutes.

Out of camp, the trail crossed a country road, then went through a field to an old suspension bridge. With the age of the bridge and the recent rain, it was a very slick and treacherous adventure to get across, but I made it without falling or injuring myself. I count that as a win! I then followed a creek that was flowing well because of the recent rain, crossing it numerous times. By the time the trail climbed to the top of the ridge, I was more than ready for this early challenge. This climb had a couple of false summits, and I was really glad to reach the top!

I made the mistake of not putting on my rain jacket at the start of my hike, and that caught up to me at the end of the road walk. It wasn’t sprinkling, and it was more of a mist so I didn’t feel like I needed the jacket. Throughout the morning, this mist soaked into my long sleeve mid-layer and I got chilly when I stopped for a quick break. I set up my camp chair and was relaxing when the rain turned into more of a sprinkle. Unfortunately, this meant that I didn’t get to enjoy my break as much as I wanted and had to get back to hiking to warm up. I did put on my rain jacket at that point and warmed up quickly once I started hiking.

The last 5 miles of “bunny hops” were what I expected, and I was really happy to see the start of the switchbacks that headed downhill into Morehead. Just like the day before, that last mile to my car seemed to take forever! I took a few minutes to warm up in my car and then went to the local Dairy Queen to enjoy a post-hike cheeseburger and milkshake! On the way home, I got off the interstate early and took some back roads, driving past the house I lived in during middle school – well lot now since the house has been torn down :(. That road took me through my small hometown and then on to the big city and current home. I was home by 4PM and had a relaxing end to the day.

The next section

Due to the snow and having to postpone this first section for a week, there is a quick turnaround for the next section a week from now. The Challenge offers two opportunities to hike each section, which is awesome for navigating around all of life’s adventures. As it happens, I have something planned during the second opportunity for the next section, so I will be hiking with the first group next week. You can expect another trip report around Valentine’s Day.