Mapping the Sheltowee

[Walkin'man]

Hi all,

Some buddies and I did the section between I-75 to Route 192 just north of Laurel Lake about three weeks ago. I've been meaning to post a trip report, but it's been too hectic around my house.

The crux of the report would've been: going southbound the trail is not marked very well in some key locations, enough that our 20 mile hike over two days turned into a 26 mile hike with six miles still left to go before we bailed out and called for someone to come pick us up.

Some of that was our fault; one for being to stubborn to turn around even after two miles of not seeing a trail marker, and two for missing one turn that should have been obvious, but there were a lot of turns that were not marked at all, and on more than one we had to walk well over a half mile before seeing one. This, of course, led to walking the right direction for 1/4 mile, turning around and going the wrong way for 1/2 mile, then finally going back the right way for a full mile before seeing a trail marker.

There are signs of vandals along this trail (one trail sign knock down, obviously on purpose as it was hidden in the woods, one turn around in an attempt to confuse), so it's likely the markers have been stolen at those key junctions.

I only had the downloadable PDF maps with me, and they are WAY out of date. I've already ordered the OutrageGIS map for the southern section, which I think will help. I'll also be packing the thru-hikers manual this next time; it was left at home in July for weight savings.

I'm not complaining because I know the trail is volunteer supported, but it was very frustrating. I'm only wanting to warn people and let anyone know that may live near and wants to correct some of the issues. There's been discussions about the plastic markers disappearing, so I'd recommend again to use paint and a template.

We're doing the next section in August, Rt 193 to Cumberland Falls. Can anyone tell me the current conditions on trail markings along this route? I'm hoping there's not as much ATV track, which should cut down on the mischief. Also, the trail looks to go along the lake and river; does that translate to less ups and downs? Twenty miles was pretty aggressive for our group in mid-July, especially with the extra miles we put in just finding the route. If this section is as aggressive as the last, I think we'll cut back on the length.

Thanks and happy trails.

[jbd]

Glad to read your trip report but sorry to hear about the problems with the trail marking. I had a very similar experience a few years ago hiking from the NT to Morehead. It is very frustrating. Hopefully we can get the trail better marked in that area as this is not the first report we have had of problems in that area fairly recently. Sounds like people are removing the markers and I agree we need to switch to painted blazes.

[Traildust]

Thanks for the update. Sorry for the confusion. Yep, this area is a constant challenge. I was the one who marked the north end of this section with two others blazing the south end of this area. The area is bad for OHV use and ATV. The situation will improve we hope in the future as the Forest Service has closed the deal to buy a large piece of the area where the
Sheltowee Trace is routed. With FS ownership, concrete steps can be taken to gate access to these folks we hope.

The route along the River and Lake is probably still got some blockages which will slow your pass. Starr Shelter and Bark Camp Shelter should be good places to consider stopping.

The Trail around Laurel Lake should be good, since we have had some volunteer bikers in there cutting some of the small stuff.

We are looking into a template for blazing the
Sheltowee Trace with paint in these areas of vandalism. Yep, FS signs are great but are subject to theft. Again thanks for the info.

[CNSTARS]

I did a weekend "up and back" from Cumberland Falls to Star shelter about mid July. You will find the trail there pretty easy to follow. The Star shelter has a fresh coat of paint but the weeds are pretty tall in the immediate area surrounding it, couldn't find where to pitch a tent. There's supposed to be a privy there but I never saw it. When you get to the State Park the trail is diverted around a slip, you'll detour .5 mi on #7 near the falls, not too bad, but up and down with some steep steps in places.

[Traildust]

[CNSTARS]

Made an effort to get back to Starr from Bark Camp with a weedeater clearing the trail if necessary on the way down. I cleared a few old trees and limbs and weedwhacked a couple of areas until I came across a major blow down just before Devil Creek. I was able to make it passable but still a climber. I notified Traildust and he will let the Forest Service know but it may be there for a while. Had to stop at the blowdown due to the thunderstorm threat. I'd like to revisit this area again but it may be a while. I'm growing more attached to this part of the trace with every visit. Give us a report on what you encounter between Devil Creek and Starr when you get a chance.

[Traildust]

Another volunteer has gone in there recently and did some weed clearing around Starr. So it is passable but this section from Cumberland Falls to Laurel Lake needs to be hit at least twice a year because of the amount of rain and sun that it gets. The trail needs to be pushed back at least four feet on both sides to stay ahead of Mother Nature.

If you live in the London-Corbin area we need your help in forming a trail crew to work one day a month on this section. To volunteer respond here or send an email to volunteer@sheltoweetrace.org

[Walkin'man]

Trip report coming, but to reply on the Starr Shelter; it was weed wacked up to and in front of the shelter (THANK YOU!), but going beyond that (headed south) meant bushwacking through briars above our heads. Luckily, one of our group uses trekking poles and he was able to knock it back enough for us to get through, but it took a lot of effort.

[Walkin'man]

Starting at the parking area on the corner Rt. 192 and 1193 last Saturday, our little group walked the full 14 miles to Bark Camp Shelter. The walk around the lake was fairly easy and well marked. Got to the picnic area on the south end of the lake just in time for lunch.

We did get a little thundershower as soon as we got finished eating, so we donned our raingear and headed out. By the time we got across the dam, it'd stopped raining.

At that point we got a taste of things to come; the trail was overgrown by the road, but it was just high grass at this point. As soon as we got into the woods the trail was clear.

The trail all the way to the Falls is well marked and, at least in the woods it's in great shape, however, there are many, many blowdowns; some that's been there for while and some quite new. After four or five of these, we started joking about the trail being an obstacle course.

It made it difficult enough that it took us until 5:30 to walk the six miles to Bark Camp Creek. Just before the Mouth of Laural boat dock, we had to walk through a huge field of what we thought was poison ivy. This was several hundred feet of nothing but the vine, and it was up to our waste in some areas. None of us broke out, though, so we're now thinking this was Kudzu. Bad news either way...

Another note for those reading this that aren't familiar with this area; it's by no means flat. You may think (and perhaps read somewhere like I did) that walking along the river should be an easy walk; you'd be wrong. Along the river where it is flat is exposed to the sun, so those areas are way overgrown. Luckily, there's not a lot of that on this section, but having the trail in the woods is a constant up and down. Not long, long uphills, but challenging none the less. We were all tired and sore by the time we reached the creek.

The bridge over Bark Camp Creek has been washed away. Luckily, it was down enough to cross it easily. We relaxed by the creek for a while, soaking our tired feet and taking in the great scenery. Eventually, we made our way to the Bark Camp Shelter.

This shelter is in great shape. Thanks very much to those who volunteered to fix this up. We enjoyed our evening sitting around the shelter and the firepit. Around 10:30 we called it a night. One of our group bought his tent, and I had my hammock up. The other two took advantage of the shelter and slept there.

As soon as we got cozy, another rather large storm blew in with lots of lightning. There were two strikes very close by; the type were you see the flash of light and hear the thunder at the same time! The light show was followed by horrendous rain, and it just kept raining for quite a while.

We hiked back the quarter mile to the creek the next morning to get wather, and found a brand new tree over the trail between the shelter and the creek. This tree was knocked down by one of the two close lightning strikes; the trunk was scorched pretty bad. Close call.

Once we got to the creek we realized how lucky we were; it was raging over the rocks and I don't think we could have crossed it had we not made it across the night before. I'm not sure if or when the bridge will be replaced, so keep that in mind if you are hiking this section and there's been recent rainfall.

Continuing on, the trail between Bark Camp and the Falls gets close to the river in several spots, and they were all overgrown with the exception of the section just before Starr Shelter, which, as I said above, had just been cleared with a weed wacker. Between bushwacking and climbing over, through, and around more blowdowns, it took us all day to walk the six or eight miles to the Falls.

We finally did get there, though, and we now have a new appreciation for those who volunteer to keep this trail clear. It's a beautiful section of the trace and well worth the walk, but don't go in the middle of summer expecting a nice easy walk! It seems like it'd be impossible to keep it clear during the summer months without a large team working many hours.

My wife meet us at the lodge, and I shuttled the other guys back to the lake. I had made reservations at the lodge so we could catch the 'Moonbow', and we weren't disappointed. The sky was clear enough, and the moon full enough, that we got to see it in all it's glory. It's a neat thing to witness if you haven't seen it, and Cumberland Falls may very well be the last place on earth that you can see it consistently. I understand there's been some earthquakes in Africa that's altered Victoria Falls to the point that you can no longer see the moonbow on a regular basis.

Overall it was a great weekend and good, but difficult, hike. Thanks again to those who sacrifice their time and effort to work on this trail. Your efforts do not go without notice and gratitude.

[Traildust]

Thanks for the report. Excellent. As posted here, we are looking for volutneers to work this section on Sep 24 a Saturday. Forest Service will send out chainsaw crew but we need volunteers to work the trail, cutting back those weeds and invasive species. Power equipment needed. No string weedeaters because these weeds will just waste the string.

Respond to the other posting here. Part of National Public Lands Day.

[Packy]

Thought I'd share a report on this section from our trip NOBO Leg 4 Cumberland Falls to KY-192 Section - Memorial Day Weekend 2013. We discovered along the way that were following another group of Section Hikers. I have included their input as well.

Cumberland Falls to Dog Slaughter - The trail from the falls to Dog Slaughter was great, open, and well-marked. Hiker's Note: if you take the spur down to the lower lookout and then take the continuing spur back up to Moonbow Trail, you actually bypass the ST split, but it is clearly marked. The beach areas are in wonderful/clean shape. Beautiful break spot!

Dog Slaughter to Devil Creek - The section for the 1/2 mile before Star Shelter and most of the way to Devil's Creek was nearly impassable. There is a good 300 yards (immediately before the balanced boulder) that has 6-10 foot briar patches and no trail to speak of. We had to bushwhack this section, sometimes hiking backwards through brush, and got turned around in the growth more than once. Star Shelter itself, while accessible, is fairly covered up with weeds. No open space around the shelter.

Devil Creek Crossing - NOT MARKED - We think someone (Boaters/ATVers?) has removed all the ST blazes from this area. There is a junction of 4 paths 200 yards before the creek crossing that got us turned around for about 2 hours searching for the ST. One path went left and down to the river where someone had recently been boat-camping (trash and oil containers scattered about.) After we hiked incorrectly down several routes to try to find it (including climbing down the other side of the creek bed, and up a dry creek bed) we backtracked and finally found that the ST had been barricaded by about 5 feet of brush. It looked like someone had done it purposely. We knocked away as much of that brush as we could and tried to clearly indicate passage for hikers, but painted blazes are definitely needed here.

Bark Camp Creek to Boat Ramp - Bark Camp Shelter and the accompanying tent spaces are open and in wonderful shape. Passage over Bark Camp Creek was difficult but doable. Required some climbing. Once back down into the River Valley, the blowdown was tough. Some of it looked brand new. It required between 30-40 log hops and 5-10 diversions from the trail. It is also somewhat overgrown. A considerable portion of the trail is about a foot wide. Some are completely overgrown. Very slow going. We did see 3 small black and yellow snakes here. And someone had created a great campsite down on the River about a half mile before Whitman Creek.

Whitman Creek to Dam - Great ridge walk, trail is in great shape, very wide and passable. Saw a 5' black snake resting in the sun on the trail, on top of the ridge. Only one recent tree blowdown to mention, it was easy to divert around.

Dam to Marina - Fantastic.

#BOCO

[Traildust]

Thanks Packy for the trail update. Volunteers are scheduled to head down on this coming Friday to clear from Dog Slaughter to Starr Shelter and around the shelter. It will be clear by next weekend.

Volunteers will be heading down later in June with chainsaw crew to clear blowdowns and clear trail from Starr Creek to Mouth of Laurel.

If you want to volunteer to help contact director@sheltoweetrace.org