Thru-Hiking the Sheltowee Trace Ep. 2: The Hiker in Pain

Part 2 of my northbound solo thru-hike of the Sheltowee Trace in May, 2017.

The Sheltowee Trace is a 324-mile trail that runs (in the direction I'm hiking) from the Southern Terminus at the Burnt Mill Bridge Trail Head in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, through Cumberland Falls and the Red River Gorge, then eventually to the Northern Terminus beyond Morehead, Kentucky.

My hiking philosophy: When backpacking alone, I often view long-distance hiking as a fitness challenge, just as I view running marathons as a fitness challenge. I am not concerned with running or hiking faster than other people. Rather, I am focused on exceeding my personal best performances or challenging myself in new ways.

That's certainly true of my Sheltowee Trace thru-hike. It is also true of the videos I made about the hike. While I brought all of my outdoor backpacking skills to bear in trying to finish the hike safely, my focus in preparing this series of videos was less outdoor backpacking skills than the physical challenges presented by hiking long distances each day. I talk much more about the condition of my feet than what backpack I'm using.

For those interested in my personal backpacking techniques, I'd recommend my series of videos about my thru-hike of the Benton MacKaye Trail in 2016. See http://bit.ly/29391VX. In that series, I tried to focus on a different aspect of my personal technique in each video, e.g., water purification, navigation, my sleep system, foot care, etc.

To prepare for my Sheltowee Trace thru-hike, I hiked on trails and ran on roads. I also lifted weights and regularly attended yoga classes. In the months leading up to the hike, I worked up to running consecutive 10-mile days, then tapered to 6 miles daily. I also ran the Fiery Gizzard Trail for 20 miles, turning around after 10 miles and using the Dog Hole detour around the rockiest portions of the trail.

At the start of this hike, I was 20 pounds lighter than I was the year before when I started my thru-hike of the Benton MacKaye Trail. I took more than a month to complete the Benton MacKaye Trail. My personal challenge was to do the Sheltowee Trace (a comparable distance) in 17 days.

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Filmed with an Canon G7 X; edited with Cyberlink Powerdirector 14. The video was shot at 30 fps.

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Music by me, Evan Schaeffer.

I composed and/or produced the music for this video. I make the music I compose and produce available to others to use for free, and my music has appeared in more than 1,000 other videos with a combined millions of views. Some examples are in a playlist on my channel titled "Videos Featuring My Original Music." Please take a look here: http://bit.ly/2kzPIpv

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Видео Thru-Hiking the Sheltowee Trace Ep. 2: The Hiker in Pain канала Evan's Backpacking Videos