Well, I’ve done it now...

 I signed up for the Sheltowee Trace hiker challenge. 

I’ve had the idea of hiking the ST in the back of my mind since it was created in 1979 because it passes within 5 miles of my childhood home and I remember when the trail marker appeared along KY 52 while I was still in high school. Over the years I have done a lot of car/boat camping, and several nights of walking into the woods and sleeping while in HS, but the first thing I’ve done that I would consider “real” backpacking didn’t happen until 2005 when my wife and I hiked the Little River Trail in the Smokies. My longest ever trip has been two nights. My upcoming Grand Canyon hike will more than double that, although I will have the luxury of being able to buy food at Phantom Ranch and will be sleeping in a developed campsite each night.

The ST hiker challenge isn’t a thru hike. For most people it’s one weekend a month where participants hike around 30 miles. By the end of the year you cover the entire 323 miles, but that means in some cases you have to walk 15-18 mile days. I don’t know that I’m up for that...but the good news for 2021 is that I don’t have to. This year they are offering a three day option where the hikers start on Friday and the sections are broken up over three days instead of two. I think I might be able to handle that, so I signed up for the three day team. The only thing I don’t love is that they are going northbound this year and I would have preferred to start at the northern terminus near Morehead, but that’s a minor gripe. If all goes well then I can just do it again in 2022 when they go southbound again.

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