Mapping the Sheltowee

chuckc1971 · Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 7:24 pm Post subject:

Good evening everyone!

I am sitting in a Holiday Inn Express (does this make me an expert on trails?) near Morehead. Anyhow, Paul and I will be heading out in the morning from the Northern Terminus. Looks like the weather will be miss more than hit for the next 24-36 hours. Can only hope for best.

We will be mountain biking all the way to Whitley City. Going further will put us into Big South Fork which is not bike legal as far as the Sheltowee is concerned. So, this is our most convenient exit. If we could ride through RRG and Natural Bridge, that would be 220 miles. So, guessing from the map, our route will be slightly more depending on our exact route.

We will continue down 77 past where the Sheltowee turns off (and goes into the Red). Depending on a few factors, we might bushwhack up the hillside adjacent to the Nada tunnel (did this in the rain back in the spring) and take Tunnel Ridge Road out over and across Mountain River Parkway.

Does anyone know if trail 216 or Whittington Branch Trail from Mountain Parkway to the Natural Bridge State Park is or is not in the Red River Gorge Geologic Area? Perhaps, someone knows that info and could reply by tomorrow morning. If that is not bike legal, we will take Hwy 15 down into Slade.

We might try to call Gladie Center on Tuesday.

Thanks and wish us luck!

jbd · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:52 am Post subject:

I hope you got a dry start. We had some heavy rain with lots of thunder and lightning very early this morning. Rain was looking pretty widespread on the radar.

Looking forward to your trail report.

chuckc1971 · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:47 pm Post subject: Northern Terminus ride report

Well, we certainly got rained on....hard....twice.....That was not so bad...

Bigger problem is that we got six flats in 10 miles and could not get patches to hold despite our best attempts in the rain. My buddy walked about 3 out of those 10 miles. Lots and lots of briars growing up into the trail or hanging over. Surprising enough was that the leafy or rocky soil made it pretty easy to ride otherwise in the rain. No slipping much at all and the grades were mostly doable on a mountain bike. I would not recommend anyone ride the Northern Terminus unless they rode tubeless with lots of goop in the tires.

We exited at Dry Branch road. My buddy had no tubes holding air. We offered some guy in a pick-up some money to get a ride to Wally world on 32. I changed out my tubes to Slime tubes. Paul bought some Slime tubes. By the time we got some dinner, it was dark. I made the decision to get a hotel room.

It's supposed to be drier the rest of the week. We will start out early and hit the rest of the trail early in the a.m. tomorrow.

jbd · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject:

So this evening you are in a hotel room in Morehead. Will you go back and pick up the trail at Dry Branch or will you start at US 60 and the Triplett Creek Bridge??

BTW mountain biking was sounding interesting over the last several weeks but the reality of the flat tires---well, not so much interest Wink

chuckc1971 · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:19 am Post subject:

PR · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:28 am Post subject:

I had five flats yesterday. That's about two years worth for me. Used all my tubes, and could'nt get any patches to work in the rain. After we reached pavement, I gave a good old boy $20 to take us to wally world. Got to sit in the back of a pickup and drink a cold beer (in the sunshine, which came out late) on the way to town. I'm running two slime tubes this morning; they weigh about as much as my pack.

It's always good times on the sheltowee.

jbd · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:04 am Post subject:

The latter option sounds more reasonable given the situation. Let me know what condition you find the Triplett Creek bridge area in. I haven't been back out there since I cleared it earlier in the summer. After crossing the bridge the grass has probably overgrown quite a bit. I really hope you have no more flat tires. That just seems really frustrating to me.

Traildust · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:37 am Post subject:

Was afraid this would happen. Northern section is not hard to mountain bike, but the briars are going to be a problem. Sorry for your luck. Hope you find smoother trails and better tube luck and can get to the finish.

traildust

jennibaraka · cub Joined: 02 Sep 2009 Posts: 9

Keep up the posts! I'm enjoying the report!

I hope you find plenty of fun sections in the days to come.

chuckc1971 · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: Unfortunately, a final update

When we last visited our intrepid bikepackers, they were sitting in a hotel in Morehead near exit 137 of I-64. A soggy start to a Tuesday morning had them headed up Hwy 32. We attempted to find the trailhead after crossing the road. Despite having a nice GPS and a track from this site, we couldn't find the actual trailhead. We rode up into what appeared to be a quarry or construction site and finally found the trail after a pretty exhaustive search. Getting on the trail was met with very dense vegetation, more briars and deadfall. Backing out, we tried to follow a gas line clearing, but gave up when that too became dense vegetation.

We tried to access the trail via a neighborhood adjacent to downtown Morehead, but could never get close or find an access trail. We then decided to head down 60 and catch the trail at the Triplett Creek Bridge. I am assuming that is the swinging bridge off of 60. The vegetation was indeed thick, but it was all passable. The climb up the hill was bench cut perfectly, but the trailbed was indeed grass/weeds vs. dirt. Once, we got the Big Limestone trail, it was smooth sailing. I would say this was the best trail of anything we did all week. Perfect mountain biking trail I would do again. There were 2-3 deadfalls, but smooth sailing otherwise. If it did rain on this trail, it would be hard to tell.

We exited near Cave Run Dam and lunched at the picnic tables at the spillway. There is a water fountain by the parking lot that has enough pressure to shoot over the fountain rim to fill my Platy bag. we then started on the trails that go around Cave Run lake. Having ridden the Caney Loop trail, I had an idea what I might find and certainly did. The horses had really caused a lot of damage in places.

Just about the time we started to get out that mess, we had about four new problems. One, a pivot bolt that holds the two halves of my bike together had come loose. This necessitated removing the crank. Neither of our multi-tools could produce enough torque to accomplish this. Second, I had broken a spoke on my rear wheel. With the pack weight, multiple rocks, roots, etc., I was not sure it would hold up even with constant truing. Third, we had a thunderstorm come up on us around the south side of the Pioneer Weapons Area. Can't remember the road we bailed out on, but Zilpo sounds right. Lastly, my riding partner was pretty spent. He had a heavy backpack and a rear rack. Every incline was getting harder for him to accomplish as he fishtailed and struggled to conquer each hill. No matter how slow, it's normally easier to keep riding vs. pushing a bike.

We descended down a road and into Clear Creek Campground. For a few minutes, we sat underneath a Kiosk there trying to stay dry. A passing motorist indicated there was a thunderstorm and hail watch. She also said the Clear Creek Store was a mile up the road. We decided to ride up the road in the rain and found the place. Excellent cheeseburger and shakes were in order. Paul also knew the guy who owned the one and only bike shop in Morehead. We paid a local to haul our bikes and gear to the shop. John and Josh fixed me up on both mechanical issues and we even found a ride back to Clear Creek. Tuesday night was spent across the creek from the Iron Furnace.

We both slept well, but a heavy fog-mist was in the valley there dripped on the camp the whole morning. Paul felt much better and we decided to push on. I believe the locals refer to the next section of trail South of Clear Creek as the Iron Furnace trail. It was fairly dry up top and marked by some of the best views of the trip and neat sandstone formations. We also took a wrong turn and had to hike up a sandy-muddy climb back up to the ridgeline. That about did Paul in. I don't think he ever recovered after that. The next section of trail descended from the ridgetop into Bath County and finally Menefee (sp?) county out onto 1274. Lots of rocky, washed out descents, an occasional fireroad, a steep (not supposed to be) ATV doubletrack and a briar filled switchback to 1274 awaited. My tire slipped out on the last switchback causing me to land on a briar covered rock with my shin. Ouch! The briars exiting the roadway there were also pretty thick.

Upon our exit, Paul didn't have any water. We saw a water tap in the yard of an adjacent trailer. We knocked on the door, but no one was home. Discussing it, we decided to get some water and sit near the roadway. Paul chatted with someone who told us Frenchburg was just up the road. We road up 1274 to 36 only to be passed by a local cop with his lights on. We didn't think much about it till he passed us again on 36 at the town. Come to find out, someone had called the law on us! They saw some guys with black gloves on and decided that we didn't look right because of that. It all ended well, but we wonder how they didn't recognize our garb as being bike related given we were sitting next to mountain bikes.

After dinner at the restaurant in Frenchburg, we decided to ride toward Slade and possibly discuss what to do then. Paul's cell phone didn't work in Frenchburg and both our wives expected phone calls that day. Paul's return to the bike wasn't pretty and he called his wife (from the Sherriff's office) to come get him in Slade. He decided to seek a friend to get a ride to Slade. Given that it was close to getting dark, I argued we should keep going. He indicated he would get a ride and pick me up or follow shortly behind me. After an 1/8 mile, I had a realization that I didn't know where to meet him in Slade. Turning around, I could not find him. Seeing no other choice, I turned my bike toward Slade (460-77-15) and tried to outrun the sunset which I did. Eighteen miles on bike doesn't sound like much, but it is on a mountain bike with about 25 lbs of extra gear up at least two very sizable hills. Paul didn't find his friend and hitched a ride with a local. We met his wife in Slade and returned to my car at the Northern Terminus.

More in a minute...

chuckc1971 · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject:

Things I learned from this trip:

1. Northern Terminus south to Triplett bridge is overgrown, full of briars, has barb wire across the trail in areas and can be very hard to navigate. I would not recommend this section for biking. Not sure I would want to hike it either.

2. A GPS device is a must for this trail. Many, many trail crossings where the exact route is not clear.

3. We should have done more recon rides to understand what some of the trail conditions consisted of. Big Limestone went by in a flash, but parts of Iron Furnace trail were seriously steep. Ever try to scamper up a hill with a bike? It's not fun.

4. Tubeless tires or riding with Slime tubes is essential. Judging by my ease over the sandy areas vs. Paul, I would suggest an evenly loaded 29er to be the best for the job. Paul's heavily weighted rear tire would sink into the sand that was everywhere. Even though I had issues with my main pivot bolt, having full suspension made technical climbing much easier.

5. You will need to carry some serious water. I only drained my 3L Platy bag once and that was with riding a full day and cooking breakfast and dinner. Paul regularly finished off his 3 water bottles. Many of the sections were on ridgetops with no water available for quite a ways.

6. This is something I would not recommend anyone casually train for.

7. Camping hammocks, frame packs, lightweight alky stoves and Garmin Oregon GPS receivers really are all that.

Final thoughts: thinking back to the Biowheels article where a group did this ride in the winter from North to South Terminus is quite inspiring if not surprising. I don't know if the sections of trail are in better, worse or same shape. We had heard there is more deadfall than anyone can remember. Would I do it again? I think I will try to section ride some of the areas I missed like the last section to Clear Creek and the section after 1274 to the gorge. Then, I will go south of Natural Bridge and put together overnight rides. From this, I could do a better job of deciding how much of Sheltowee IS rideable. As of now, I can't recommend all of what I have done. Some could be rideable with minimal maintenance. Some just sucks from a bike perspective.

Thanks and feel free to correct any errors or ask any questions.

jbd · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:30 pm Post subject:

Well I certainly enjoyed reading about your adventure, even though it doesn't really sound like it was a lot of fun. I also appreciate very much that you reported on the condition of the trail. It clearly shows that much work needs to be done. Some of the problems with trail condition seem to be from lack of use i.e. the overgrowth of vegetation and the briars.

Sure wish it had all turned out better for you and Paul.

BTW the swinging bridge just off of US 60 is the Triplett Creek Bridge.

Since you are home now, will you be coming to the Sept 12th meeting? Your very recent first hand experience with the trail would be very helpful.

PR · Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject:

Here's my list:

1-I was'nt fit enough for this.

2-Not nearly enough time spent with my gear pre ride. I installed my rear rack Saturday morning.

3-Too much stuff for moi. My pack was approx 15lbs, and my rear rack added about 5lbs more. Changed my balance on my ride considerably. Should I attempt this again, I think I will definately cache some foodstuffs and water along then route.

4-Water on this section is hard to come by. Most of the route is on the ridgelines, with considerable distances between water sources. This would probably be an even greater issue for through hikers who (at least in theory) would be traveling at a slower rate.

5-I think I would recomend preriding each (and every) section before attempting the whole route too.

6-It's damn hard to patch a tire in a thunderstorm.

This section is beautiful. It reminded me of the smokies. Mast was plentiful, and we saw several turkey and deer. Under the last ridge before the Bath/Menifee line we saw fresh bear tracks. It looked like a single bear that had been eating acorns that had fallen along the trail.

The hospitality we encountered along the trip was a big plus too. People were somewhat bemused by our trip, but always helpful.

I had a big time. I think I may try a few overnight trips, and try to string some sections together.

jbd · Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:49 am Post subject:

Nice list PR. I'm hoping you and chuckc1971 will make another go of it in the future. It sounds like both of you learned a lot from this attempt and have provided useful information on trail conditions that need to be addressed.

Regarding future section rides--if you will post your plans ahead of time we might be able to focus on better maintainance of that section just before your ride. Some folks along or reasonably near the trail might be willing to help with food and water caches along the way. Or maybe provide for telephone contact when cell phones don't work.

Traildust · Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:26 am Post subject:

Sorry for your luck. Sounds like a great adventure and a real learning experience. You will certanly be better prepared the next time.

We learned lots of things about long distance hiking the two times we attempted a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.).

Hope to see you both at the Conference this Saturday. There is a spot for you both at the table.

steve