Mapping the Sheltowee

drkolpek · cub Joined: 14 Jun 2011 Posts: 3

Hi,
I'm new to this forum but not new to backpacking. I'm in the process of trying to put together a program for the Bluegrass Council Boy Scouts to enable scouts to hike the entire Sheltowee Trace over a series of trips. We considered creating this program on the Appalachia Trail, but really would like to do the ST if possible (certainly it would be closer and would cost less). These would likely be 5-6 day trips that would be executed once or twice a year over a period of years to complete the whole trail (hopefully around 5 years). The long term goal of developing this program is to have an ongoing repeatable program where each year scouts could hike the sections that they need towards completing the whole trail.
I've browsed this site some, and looked at the maps some, but I'm looking for some veteran backpackers that might have some ideas how to break up the trail into nice logical chunks identifying good start/stop points, camping spots, water sources, potential food drops, logistics, navigation info- gps, maps, etc). I'm familiar with the Gorge area but have no information about how really 'backpackable' is the rest of the trail for groups of 7-12 backpackers. Anything you can do to point me towards, websites, books, maps, and especially people that I could talk with a little... would be wonderful. Thanks for any help.

drkolpek · cub Joined: 14 Jun 2011 Posts: 3

...Also, if you would, please let me know if there are some posts that I should be looking at that are kind of related to sectional hiking of the trail. Thanks again.

Tommy - The Tank · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:09 pm Post subject:

I would advise getting the Thru-hiker manual of the Sheltowee Trace by Scot "Taba" Ward to start off with very helpful. This manual has everything from water sources, supply stops, trail direction and landmarks, and much more. I would also contact Steve Barbour Ex Dir. The STA, his name is Trail Dust on here. He can answer any and all questions you might have about the trail. Also he has the Thru- hiker manual's as well. I would encourage you to also post on Sheltowee Trace "group" page on Facebook. We have over 300 members in the group. The group does the trail work as well so you can get up to date info on trail conditons as well. Hope this helps you out and look forward to seeing you on the trail.

Walkin'man · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:55 pm Post subject:

Drkolpek,

Kudos to you for doing this, not only for the Scouts, which I think is awesome (I'm a vet of Troop 165!), but also for the Sheltowee itself! The more people we have out and enjoying this great trail, the better.

There's a lot of information on this site about different sections of the trail. I've been hiking it in sections for the last two years, mostly on weekends, and I've posted several trip reports. There's also a section for through hikers that have posted their trip reports, and another section with downloadable PDF's of the entire trail. The forum is searchable, too.

Over in the map section, there's a link to the KY Adventure Tourism Map (http://kygeonet.ky.gov/kyadventure/), which is interactive and shows not only the Sheltowee, but most of the other trails in KY. I think the best feature is the drawing tools, which let you trace the trail and it'll give you mileage.

The best resource on this site, however, is the people. Ask any question, and you'll usually get an quick answer.

I'm only about halfway through the trail, but in my opinion what you're thinking about doing is entirely possible. There are some long sections of road walk, both asphalt along narrow roads that can be dangerous, and along gravel forest service roads that are fine to walk with in a group. You'll need to plan accordingly.

The hardest part for you will be to find area's to camp in with that many people. There are a few campgrounds along the trail (Clear Creek, Turkeyfoot and S-Tree to name some), and there are a few nice clear spots out in the woods that will do nicely, but there are some sections that are rough and hilly that won't do for a group campground, so you'll need to plan your sections from spot to spot. It's probably not as hard as I'm making it out to be, but just be aware.

The trail crosses many roads, so there are a lot of potential drop offs for start/stop, food/water caches, etc. As The Tank posted, there's ton's of info in the Thru-hiker manual on water sources and resupply points (http://www.sheltoweetrace.org/Trading_Post.html).

Another resource I like to use is the Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer. It's a road map showing all the back roads in KY, and it has the entire trail clearly marked. You can pick it up at Walmart.

One other resource I'll mention is the Forest Rangers. I've always gotten good info from them and you might find they'd be happy to help you plan and execute this program.

PM me if you'd like my phone number. I'm always willing to talk about the Sheltowee.

- Jeff

jbd · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:30 pm Post subject:

I agree with the suggestion to get the thru hikers guide mentioned by the other respondents. It lists water sources along with possible campsites and other pertinent information.

Water is available at Dry Branch Rd via a water hydrant compliments of the property owner. Water is available at Holly Fork creek but needs to be treated and filtered or use an EPA approved purifier. Then there will be no water available until you get to restaurants or stores on KY 32 near I-64. Next water is at Triplett Creek just off US 60. As I recall there is water near Clear Creek. There is water form a creek the crisscrosses the trail which is on Clifton Rd. You end up carrying water for fairly long stretches before you can resupply.

From the NT to Morehead there are some pretty steep long climbs which can make for some slow travel.

There aren't any shelters or designated campsites between the NT and Natural Bridge SP. You will pass in and out of private property and FS property throughout this section of the Sheltowee Trace.

Also there is a map of the southern half of the trail that you can buy from the home page. Link is at the top of the page on the right of center. The map is $14. We are awaiting the release of the northern half map somtetime later this year.

Tim York · cub Joined: 09 Aug 2009 Posts: 11 Location: Winchester

I would like to get in on this endeavor of working with the Boy Scouts. I never was a scout but regretfully, all boys don not have the father to provide the opportunity of being outdoors that I did. I live in Winchester and would love to get involved with scouting as a way to improve the ST. I have walked all of the "woods" trail from Natural Bridge to Corner Ridge and an ready to head on to Clear Creek and on to Cave Run Dam.

Walkin'man · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject:

There is one campsite between the NT and NB; Clear Creek on the south side of Cave Run. It's a pay site, and usually has a host. No showers, but a there's a pit toilet and water in the campground, picnic tables, fire pits, and lantern poles on each site. It's just a few hundred yard off the trail on Clear Creek Rd.

Another one is Koomer Ridge in the RRG. It's a detour from the trail, but a easily accessible via trails an/or road. May be an option for a stop/start point.

Tommy - The Tank · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:25 pm Post subject:

You will also want to note that some of these areas you have to have a permit to park or camp. Such as Cave Run and Red River Gorge area. I would keep that in mind as well.

Traildust · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:39 am Post subject:

The STA has worked and continues to work with several scout troops. We totally support this idea and will do what we can to help. While there are currently no organized campsites other than the shelters and places where folks have stopped off the trail, this might be a way for the Sheltowee Trace to see some primitive sites developed for groups like yours. Primitive meaning a cleared, sort of flat space with trees for hammock hangers, and maybe some nearby source of water.

Give me a call if I can help in anyway.

Steve Barbour "traildust"
Ex Direction - The STA
606-584-7744
director@sheltoweetrace.org

Benutzer · cub Joined: 02 Sep 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Ohio

I've been doing a similar section hike southbound, with sections in the 45-55 mile range. So far they've been do-able on a 2-4 day weekend, depending upon your abilities.

The first section I've done was NT to Morehead, parking at the NT trailhead and at WalMart. The next section was Morehead to Natural Bridge, parking at WM and Natural Bridge (need to get a free parking permit at the lodge there). The section I'm doing this weekend is Natural Bridge to Turkey Foot, parking at NB and Turkey Foot.

Guest · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:10 am Post subject:

If you have planned something like that which is necessary thinking of how it can be working is a way that keeps us well and surely because we have a planned thing we can get better at these things. Surely you are going to enjoy it if all goes according to your expectations.