Sheltowee Questions

[wornoutboots]

I live in KY & I feel the need to Thru-hike our long trail. Anyone have any info on what to know & what to look out for? I've kinda put this hike off due to what I've heard about some confusing road walking & blazing that I'm hoping is straightened out by now? Thanks

[Dogwood]

I encountered no confusing road walks or blazing this fall basically doing a SOBO. Grab Scott Ward's (TABA) ST Guidebook, the printable on line ST maps, and perhaps separate trail maps of Red River Gorge(call them they'll send you a free tail map), a Nat Geo TI Big South Fork Nat Rec Area map, and be aware of any reroutes(like the most recent one near Eagle Lake - what a better and safer route than Bluestone Rd!) and you should be good. The Sheltowee Trace should be looked upon as a different trail than the AT. In other words, folks should really cease expecting all hikes logistically or other wise to be exactly like the AT. The AT is not the standard by which all other trails need be compared. The ST is a worthy trail for anyone to hike in sections or thru-hike on its own terms! It's a great Kentucky walk.

To me, based on what I've learned about you Wornoutboots, IMHO you'll do just fine finding your way on the ST.

http://www.sheltoweetrace.org/trading-post.html

The glossy fold out maps are plenty good enough too. TIP: I contacted(I called) the Daniel Boone Nat Forest Office requesting Sheltowee Trace info and they generously, kindly, and freely sent me a packet of info including maps of Red River Gorge, Laurel and Cave Run lake Areas, Big South Fork NRRA, Cumberland Falls, and a separate Sheltowee Trace National Recreational Trail pamphlet which includes an overview of the entire trail and the various Rangers' Districts and their contact info.

Lots of great folks in KY. Lots of really great folks working to make the ST all it is and can be.

Some very good ST info was shared on WB threads rather recently too.

[jawnzee]

I have hiked the northernmost 20 miles and about 40 miles in the vicinity of Red River Gorge. On my northern 20 out-and-back in May I had no fewer than 80 ticks on me that one day (walk 5 minutes, pick off 5 ticks, repeat...), and stinging nettle teamed up with thorns to burn my bloody bare legs, and an angry turkey mom hysterically chased me down the trail. Got lost a few times, mostly from not looking too hard at the printed free topo maps and from being distracted on a date with a recently-met ultramarathoner lady.

Fun trail. I recommend. I would like to thru hike it one day, myself. The area around the Gorge holds lots of excellent surprises, as does the rest of the trail I suspect.

[Ox97GaMe]

I thru hiked this trail 15 years ago. The only place that I had issues with markings were between Cumberland Lake and I-75 where it went through a 4WD off roading area. It took me two days to meander through this stretch. I have heard that the trail has been relocated in this area and is not hard to follow now.

My girlfriend attempted to do a 30 mile hike from the southern terminus in 2012. They had been a recent forest fire in that area and the blazes had been destroyed. This has been corrected now.

Great trail with lots of great camping sites. Enjoy.

[4shot]

I just came off a very short trip there yesterday...was intending it to be a 3 day/2 night hike but cut it short 1 day due to falling into a creek and getting myself (and a lot of my stuff) soaking wet yesterday when it was maybe 36*. I started near the southern terminus and was going to do a loop. Unbelievably beautiful and like the BMT, you will have solitude. It is fairly well blazed but I would carry maps...in terms of blazing it is more like the BMT than the AT. Lots (emphasis on the word "lots" here) of creek crossings in the southern end which would be fun in warmer weather but due to recent rains, it was quite a chore in the winter. I will definitely go back and finish the trail. The BSF is one of my favorite places to backpack.

[Dogwood]

FWIW, and since I know these glossy ST maps are sometimes hard to find or currently out of print, at the Chevron Station inside the convenience store, in Slade KY, located at the junction of Campton Rd(Hwy 15) and Hwy 11 right next to Bert T Combs Hwy(Hwy 33) across from the Shell Station/Subway and closed Hotel on the hill across Campton St near the cash register I saw 3-4 full sets(north and south) of ST glassy fold out maps.

[Siestita]

Beginning in the late 1980s, over the course of about 12 years I section hiked all of the ST as it existed then, perhaps 270 miles. I hiked solo, doing slow weekend 'out and back' hikes, and during many of the trips I sometimes fished. I was not a 'speed demon', but I found the ST gave my weekend hiking a focus. The ST grew on me. After initially planning to hike only the southern section, I then did the rest of the ST before hiking some trails in the Tennessee portion of the Big South Fork (BSF), including the 'John Muir Trail' located there.

I would not have been able to do those hikes, or many others on connecting trails nearby, without three "Forest Service Visitor Maps", specifically their 'North Section Forest Map', 'Central Section Forest Map', and 'South Section Forest Map'. Those helpful maps currently sell for $9 each. They show the ST, other hiking trails maintained by the Forest Service, Forest Service and public roads, recreational facilities such as campgrounds, picnic areas, boat ramps, established trail heads, and (important for me), all persisting (year round) streams.
Those wide area maps don't contain any typographic lines, but for me those lines are not needed to hike in ST country. I quickly learned that places on the maps that are located away from/between major streams are almost always ridges located steeply up 300 to 500 vertical feet above the streams, which are often in narrow gorges.

What the Forest Service maps frequently do not show (and newer special ST maps may not necessarily convey either) is the many 'use trails' and old logging roads that intersect the ST. So, it’s possible to 'lose the trail' occasionally. In two places I found myself accidentally hiking a parallel path (equal distance or longer) for several miles, rather than the official ST route. And, once or twice I failed to spot blazes indicating direction changes. But, after noticing soon that my route was no longer 'Turtle blazed', I back tracked and found the ST again.

Here are links to the D. B. Forest's maps sales web site. Of course, to completely hike the ST these days, in its expanded form, people also should have a trail map for the Big South Fork N.R.A. It is my understanding that the southern terminus of ST is currently Leatherwood Ford in the BSF.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5290275.pdf

[Duramax22]

After a stop in BSF on our way home from smokies hike we decided it was a pretty cool place. Were Planning a ST hike from leatherwood ford to cumberland falls for late winter to early spring. Does anyone have a rough idea of how mph on AT transfer to ST?? We normally cover 2-3mph on AT. I cant see this trail being as physically challenging with lack of major elevation changes.

[4shot]

After a stop in BSF on our way home from smokies hike we decided it was a pretty cool place. Were Planning a ST hike from leatherwood ford to cumberland falls for late winter to early spring. Does anyone have a rough idea of how mph on AT transfer to ST?? We normally cover 2-3mph on AT. I cant see this trail being as physically challenging with lack of major elevation changes.

your assumptions are correct....less elevation changes so your mph will be = to or > than your AT mph. On my recent overnight trip I lost a little time here and there looking for the next blaze (trail is not as obvious and blazed as the AT is but, of course, what trails are?). In the stretch I was in there were also numerous creek crossings which slow you down (or in my case, end the trip a bit early when I fell in). Sometimes it does pay to just take off the boots and wade across rather than try to hop from boulder to boulder.

[Siestita]

Plan on having about the same hiking speed on the southern section of the ST as would be the case most places on the AT. No, their aren't large climbs on the ST, but there's lots of smaller ones, little drops and climbs that don't necessarily show up on maps. Much of the ST follows/parallels major stream courses. So, you usually have to "dip and then climb" a bit every time you cross a little side stream or gully that descends from the ridge to the main stream.

[handlebar]

Wornoutboots, here are a couple of planning suggestions to supplement what Dogwood posted.

Get in touch with the Sheltowee Trace Trail association. They have a Facebook page and they sponsor a series of section hikes of the whole trail. They might also put you in touch with resources for shuttles and car storage if that's an issue.

i thruhiked the ST nobo spring of 2014 and have a journal on Trailjournals,com. It will give you a taste for a spring thru. I started mid March and had snow a couple days including the last day. There were also a few days with rain. On the other hand, the temperature was mostly ideal for backpacking and the views were great since the trees had not yet leafed out. The natural arches and rock houses along the trail were easy to view. There was one night of very heavy rain that let up the following mid morning which made flood conditions at a couple of the fords and forced me to to take a road walk alternate (very little traffic).

Suggest you call to confirm that services you count on are still there. Post office at Heidelberg had been converted to a private home. One of the general stores listed along the way had closed.

Be prepared to encounter ATVs and trail motorcycles on the weekends.

[Taba]

The Thru-Hiker's Manual for the Sheltowee Trace details the trail to the hundredth of a mile and all of your resources are listed whether deep in the forest or in town for resupply. Check it out at www.thruhikersmanual.com

[wornoutboots]

Thanks everyone!!

[10-K]

I'm starting my 2nd Sheltowee thru hike this Thursday (the 22nd).

[10-K]

The folks at outrageGIS have just released an updated and complete GPX file of the entire Sheltowee Trace Trail, including the Morehead reroute and new Burnt Mill southern terminus.

If you use a GPS it would be fairly impossible to get lost even for a minute with this....

[Sirsnappy09]

Get the thru hikers guide tabla mentioned and the db forest maps mentioned above e and you will be fine. It's a great hike but as previously stated, can be tricky when there is a lot of rain. Have fun.

[10-K]

One thing about the maps from the forest service... They're paper and self-destruct instantly at the first sign of moisture.

Been there, done that.

[Lyle]

Just wondering if you Sheltowee Trace regulars are aware that about 30 miles or so of the trail was a part of the hike that was the precursor to the American Discovery Trail. The section we hiked was from Highway 80 (just being constructed - we had to dodge earth movers and wade through thigh deep mud) south to Cumberland Falls. A bit of history you may not have known.

[Siestita]

Lyle--The section you describe, in the London area a bit north and east of Cumberland Fall, may have been included some of the last trail segments of the original ST to be completed, or at least to be effectively blazed.

As a high school student in the late 1970s my brother, Tony Daniel thru hiked the ST, possibly being the first person to do so. He took that hike earlier in the same summer that the Forest Service formally announced the ST's opening. Tony could not find any trail in parts of the aforementioned area and instead took long detours on paved roads there. His route finding difficulties may occurred within the environmentally devastated wasteland (illegal ATV playground) that is located immediately southbound from where the ST crosses I-75. Fortunately, when I later (1990s) section hiked from mouth of the Laurel north to I-75 almost that entire route, both trail and forest road segments, was well blazed.

My father, Paul Daniel, was active in the Buckeye Trail Association. He represented Ohio within the American Discovery Trail's national organization for many years after having personally plotted the ADT's route through Ohio.

None of the ADT has ever passed anywhere remotely close to Cumberland Falls, KY. So, perhaps the "precursor" trail that you have in mind was instead the Moonbow Trail that connects Cumberland Falls to mouth of the Laurel. I believe the Forest Service built the Moonbow Trail before it began to develop the Sheltowee Trace. Most of the ST has been patched together from preexisting trails and back roads. Chris Daniel

[Dogwood]

Anyone know why none of the ST was included as part of the KY section of the Great Eastern Tr being developed.