Sheltowee Trace National Recreational Trail

[Dogwood]

Anyone know where I can get a ST North trail map? Can anyone put me in touch with anyone who has thrued the ST NOBO then continued NOBO into Ohio on the Wiley(?) trail? THX

[Siestita]

You may be looking for the Daniel Boone National Forest's "Visitor Map" of the Forest's northern section. That's currently available mail order for $9, plus $3.50 postage and handling. I don't have the current versions of those "South", "Central", and "North" D.B. Forest section maps but presumably they are still just as great as their predecessor versions were. Those maps show the Trace, the other 'maintained' trails, the numbered F.S. roads, and all recreational facilities such as trail head parking areas and campgrounds. A few small ponds are not shown, but other potential water sources are indicated, such as lakes and all of the reliably flowing creeks, the ones that run all year long.

Those large area forest service maps are all that I have ever needed to backpack on the Trace and other F.S. trails in Kentucky, doing so on long weekends for the past twenty-five years. They are not topo maps, but adding elevation markings to them would be, for my purposes, superfluous. Every major stream is down low and nearly all of the places between the streams are steep ridges rising two to four hundred vertical feet higher. It's that way all the way from Tennessee to the northern terminus.

To get maps from the D. B. Nat. Forest, look up their web site. Here is a link to that site's map ordering page:

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

[Siestita]

Dogwood--You asked about walking up to Ohio on the Jenny Wiley Trail. As the Sheltowee Trace was being completed in the late 1970s by the Forest Service, my brother, then a high school student from Oxford, Ohio,thru hiked from Portsmith, Ohio down to Tennessee following the Jenny Wiley Trail, the Simon Kenton Trail (an east-west connector path), and then the Trace. The Jenny Wiley and Simon Kenton trails were , unlike the Trace, both constructed mostly on private land. So, they've not received any publicly funded maintenance, nor are the volunteers who constructed them necessarily any longer alive. Attempting to recreate my brother's hike from the Ohio River south to the Sheltowee Trace could be challenging. Today you might encounter some "No Trespassing" signs as you bushwacked along that route. It could be more practical to walk instead from the Trace to Ohio entirely along country roads these days.

[Siestita]

I erred above. The Jenny Wiley Trail did receive some public funding, but its status has changed over the years. This article about the Jenny Wiley Trail, which I recall originally reading some years ago, is the most recent information that I can find:

http://www.americantrails.org/resour...ennyWiley.html

[Rain Man]

Anyone know where I can get a ST North trail map?

"Traildust" runs the STC and is the OP of this thread. I contacted him when I hiked a portion of the ST. He's a good fellow and he'll be glad to help you, too.

Rain Man

.

[Bati]

Siestita has a very good suggestion.
Hiking the Sheltowee should be do-able, but if you succeed in following the Simon Kenton/Jenny Wiley trail for long, it would be well worth documenting. It's been years since I was on them, but as you approach Ohio, the trail seemed to disappear and the roadwalks increased to the point where we decided to call an end to our hike. On the Southern/Eastern side the hiking was much better, though there wasn't much foot traffic and there were obvious private land issues. I'm not sure how well these portions are faring today.

So if your goal is to walk across Kentucky, I would suggest either planning on some serious road walking at the Northern end as Siestita suggested, or making plans to possibly bail if the trail disappears past the connecter. But whatever you plan on, don't miss the Sheltowee Trace! Yes, there's quite a bit of road walking, but many of the roads are dirt and you'll probably not encounter any vehicles on the high-clearance stretches. And if you like cliffs, overhangs, waterfalls, and arches, you'll like the Sheltowee.

[Cookerhiker]

Traildust, I am a forestry student at UK and I am interested in participating in some section hikes. I am the forestry club president and I know there are several other club members that are interested. Do you have any details on the 2013 schedule yet?

The 2013 Trail Challenge is listed here on the STA website. I expect Traildust will respond to the above threads. He and I and 3 others spent the last 2 days blazing a new section of the Sheltowee in Big South Fork. You'll find more info about this effort on the STA website.

And since you're a UK student, feel free to contact me as I live in Lexington.

[Cookerhiker]

... But whatever you plan on, don't miss the Sheltowee Trace! Yes, there's quite a bit of road walking, but many of the roads are dirt and you'll probably not encounter any vehicles on the high-clearance stretches. And if you like cliffs, overhangs, waterfalls, and arches, you'll like the Sheltowee.

Bingo! I've never seen the variety of rock formations (overhangs, rock houses) and certainly not arches anywhere else in the East. This is why I recommend that a Sheltowee Trace thruhike begin around the Spring equinox or up to April 1. The weather is a little warmer and early flowers are up but you can still see the rock formations before the trees are leafed-out.

[traildust]

The January Hiker Challenge is the third weekend - Jan 19 -20 . It is a 26 mile hike from North Terminus to Rt 32 in Morehead, Ky. Camp Saturday night is at Holly Fork. Each month thereafter, usually on the third weekend we will do the next section so that in November you will have hiked the entire Trace one weekend a month. If work or personal schedule conflict with our schedule you can miss our hike make it up on your time and come back for our next hike. This year we are adding the 25 miles of trail in the Big South Fork that we just blazed this past Sun, Mon, Tue making the Trace 300 miles of trail.

If you are looking for a little less demanding hike, we offer a 10 mile overnight the last weekend of Jan from Dog Slaughter Falls to Laurel Dam with the overnight at Bark Camp Creek Shelter.

Effective 1 January, the southern terminus of the Trace will be moved to the Leatherwood Ford Trail Head in the Big South Fork. This extension of the Trace adds 25 miles to the Trace. The current southern terminus at Pickett SP remains open for all hikers as it is a great place to connect to multiple trails in the Park, State Forest and Big South Fork.

[traildust]

The Jenny Wiley Trail is closed for the moment. Right it went 99% on private land and the state abandoned the trail some years ago. There are a few blazes still on trees but I would not recommend you even attempt to find it now. Best to hike across Ky on the old county roads from Portsmouth. The old Northern Terminus of the JWT was bulldozed under to make room for a widen Ky 27 highway. To get to the trail start point now you have to walk up tower hill. Sad and we are working on trying to do some things to reopen but it will be years at best. Lesson learned is don't trust government to always be there to protect trails - volunteer groups are the check and balance of the trail system. If the JWT Conference had been able to build a large volunteer base back in the 1980's it would still be alive today.

[Dogwood]

THX everyone. To Traildust, I know the ST southen map covering from the Pickett SP TH to 150 miles north is available, I didn't see a north map available at the ST website. Can I use the the DB NF maps as Siestita says? Any advantage having a north ST map?

[Tree Nerd]

Cookerhiker, thanks for the info and link......come stop by McConnell Springs sometime, I work there usually Friday-Monday.

You guys can count on some forestry students being at the some of the 2013 challenge. I will bring this up at the next meeting and see who is interested. I'll be there for January if my work schedule allows.

[Cookerhiker]

THX everyone. To Traildust, I know the ST southen map covering from the Pickett SP TH to 150 miles north is available, I didn't see a north map available at the ST website. Can I use the the DB NF maps as Siestita says? Any advantage having a north ST map?

The same company that publishes the maps for the southern half of the Sheltowee - OutrageGIS, a small company based in Lexington - also publishes a map set for the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge State Park. Although this only covers about 20 miles of the Sheltowee, it's very useful for any side trails you'd like to take in the Gorge to see the fascinating arches and natural bridges.

My understanding is that OutrageGIS has planned to publish a northern half map but haven't delivered yet.

[traildust]

I have added some more detailed info on the ST extension in the Big South Fork to our webpage www.sheltoweetrace.org. The FS maps are a good alternative. We hope that you will be able to just follow the blazes. To be honest, we think you can walk the Trace with the Trail Guide we sell but maps are always a great backup.

To register for the Challenge in January click this link https://events.r20.constantcontact.c...q=a009gjhq5ob6

[Rain Man]

I have added some more detailed info on the ST extension in the Big South Fork to our webpage www.sheltoweetrace.org. The FS maps are a good alternative. We hope that you will be able to just follow the blazes. To be honest, we think you can walk the Trace with the Trail Guide we sell but maps are always a great backup.

I hiked a section of the ST last year, starting at Pickett State Park in Tennessee and through a portion of the BSF, with no real problems following the trail, but we had maps and the guide too. There was one junction along a stream, that was used obviously as a camping area, with lots of footpaths, that needed an extra blaze or two, but we found our way.

It's a good trail!

Rain Man

.

[Tree Nerd]

What does the $15 fee cover? One of my fellow forestry students want to do the complete challenge and was wondering.

[traildust]

The majority of the monthly fees covers the shuttle we arrange. Then there the STA cost of promotion and administrative cost. Pretty cheap if we go as a group. Individual shuttles can cost $50.00 to $75.00 or more depending on distance of shuttle.

[Dogwood]

THX again all.

[traildust]

ST founder, visionary, Verne Orndorff is 97 years old today. 34 years ago he go this trail going, hiked the whole thing with volunteers marking the route. He is alive and active, living alone in his home in Winchester. We send him written updates periodically on what the Sheltowee Trace Association is doing and talk with him on the phone from time to time.


Happy Birthday Verne.

[Dogwood]

THX to Cooker hiker for the side trail info. You must know my hiking philosophy by now.