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Joan at the official halfway point. Photo by David Snoek
By Joan Young, MCP Contributing Writer
I’m actually a bit more than halfway done with a hike of the Sheltowee Trace (say shell-TOW-ee) in Kentucky and Tennessee, mostly through the Daniel Boone National Forest.
The entire trail is more than 350 miles long, but there are 16 miles near the middle that were devastated by a tornado last year, and that section is still not open. I’ve officially walked 187.2 miles and am just south of the unwalkable portion. The association is awarding patches even if you can’t walk those miles, so assuming I walk to the southern terminus, I’m good!
Several friends are taking turns hiking with me and supporting me on this adventure. At 78, I’ve decided I probably shouldn’t be doing long trails alone. So far, the worst that’s happened is one fall from which, as usual, I bounced right back up. Still, I’m trying not to be stupid. My younger companion fell four times during those same days.
Except for my recent end-to-end hike of the North Country Trail, this is the longest single hike I’ve attempted. The next closest was the Midland to Mackinaw Trail in 2018. I can hardly believe that was eight years ago, and I was only 70 years old then.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been blessed to be in remarkable physical condition at my age, but the aches get a little louder every year.
The trail’s northern terminus is north of Morehead, Kentucky, and it heads south through the college town that is home to Morehead State University — a different MSU than Michiganders are used to!
David standing on Falls City “Road.” Photo by Joan Young.
The trail sections are connected by road walks. Road walks vary from state highways to rugged ATV trails that bear the misnomer of “road.”
I discovered this trail in 2019 while visiting the Red River Gorge Geological Area. A high number of natural stone arches are found in that region. Incidentally, Kentucky has the most natural arches of any state. The trail goes directly under Indian Arch, which is not on the more popular paths of the Red River Gorge Geological Area. It was great fun to “find” a new-to-me arch.
The biggest personal challenge has been the days with high humidity. There were even a couple of days with temperatures in the 90s. My energy drops off exponentially as the heat and humidity go up.
The limited daylight is now becoming a factor. I’m not backpacking but am doing the trail as a series of day hikes. Having a campsite with electricity has become important as our days both start and end in the dark.
It takes more time to be spotted each day rather than backpacking, but the method relieves me of carrying a full pack and making camp each night. In fact, the area is so dry right now that I’m not sure one could backpack the trail. Some days, we’ve seen only one water source and none at all on a few days.
Indian Arch. Photo by Joan Young.
Although the marked halfway point is at Hazel Patch, a region named for abundant hazelnuts, a more recognizable landmark would be to say that I’m now south of I-75.
I love following historic routes such as the Wilderness Road, a pathway authorized by Kentucky in 1775. Many settlers moved into the area along this route west from Cumberland Gap. In fact, the Wilderness Road was such an important transportation route that it was fought over during the Civil War on Wildcat Mountain. Other famous routes in the area include Boone’s Trace and Skagg’s Trace.
Daniel Boone is famous in Kentucky. Sheltowee means “Big Turtle” in Shawnee. This was the name given to Boone by the tribe. “Wildcat” and “Sheltowee” are common inclusions in the names of many businesses.
Today was a day off, a rest day to let legs and joints have a well-deserved break. Not to mention that I could lie in my sleeping bag until the sun was fully up. I hate getting up early, and we must do so every hiking day.
Tomorrow, I’ll be back on the trail with my current hiking companion, David.
I’m blogging each evening, so if you want to read more, you can follow the journey at myqualityday.blogspot.com.
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