Mapping the Sheltowee

[I.B.Me]

Data for the whole trail: 273.6 trail miles hiked, 11.1 extra miles hiked, moving time 98:10, stopped time 32:15, average moving speed 2.8 mph, total average speed 2.1 mph.

Note: this data is flawed due to the GPS receiver not being able to always find a satellite due to foliage. When it does finally find a satellite, it just adds the straight-line distance from the last track. On many occasions I looked at the GPS only to see that it could not find a satellite. This error subtracted many miles from the GPS mileage. The actual trail length is something more than 273.6 and I cannot doubt that Johnny Molloy’s 281.7 is correct. If he did the trip when the leaves were gone, his mileage would be closer than mine?

Next time tips:
I failed to allow enough time to move vehicles around. Even if I had not had to take Jack home, it would have taken over 20 hours to move vehicles around three times.

Start at Northern Terminus and re-supply at Wal-mart in Morehead, Mays market in Zachariah, the 49’er at I-75 and Holley Bay Marina.

Leave Jack at home or arrange for his transport at various spots. He loves to hike as much as I do and I know I will not be able to leave him home. Just look at the big smile on his face on day one.

Allow more time to complete the hike. 12 days was a little rushed. This probably contributed to my knee injury too.

Clean up the first 14 miles before starting the hike. See another thread on this sight for details of how you can help.

Buy a lighter sleeping bag and experiment with lighter shoes and less socks. All it takes is money... I may have to sell something big.

Note on photos: The number that starts each photo ID is the date and time the photo was taken.

Update to trip report: As of 7/31/07 my left knee has an infection under the kneecap. It was numb for eleven days. From hike day six to five days after the hike was over I had very little pain. I hiked about 180 miles while it was numb. Dummy me, who hardly ever goes to the doctor, said to myself “if it’s not hurting it will be ok”. WRONG AGAIN!!! When it did thaw out it was unbearably painful. The doctor has me on a thirty day round of antibiotics and steroids and an MRI scheduled for August 6th. Hopefully I will be back in the woods by fall.
Update as of 8/7/07 Good news no long term damage. The numbness is Meralgia Parestetica or in layman's terms a piched nerve at the hip bone from wearing my pack too tight for too long. It is more common with contruction workers wearing heavy tool belts. Hikers should know the term and know if you pinch this nerve it takes about three months for the numbness to go away completely. No medication will speed the process so once the infection is gone the numbness will still be there. The numbness is dead center above the knee cap radiating straight up the thigh.

All-in-all I am still glad I did it while I was able.

Thanks for reading my trip report. Sign in and let me know what you thought about it.

Check back on this thread and I will update other next time tips as I think of them.

[csargent]

I enjoyed reading your journal of the trip a lot. It reminds me of some of the overnighters I have done on the Trace. Great pictures and dialogue. Happy trails.