Sheltowee Trace
KY1274 to Forest Service Road 906 (Taken Southbound - or from FS906)
You knew it had
to happen eventually. It just had to!
It wasn’t until
I was almost to my destination that I realized I'd forgotten my camera! It was upsetting.
This is a very nice and seemingly underutilized section of the
trace which fully deserves pictures.
Among other things, Carrington Rock is out here with some great
vistas. Still, this is one area of the Sheltowee Trace
that meanders on and off both forest property and old logging roads.
As a result it can be quite confusing. In fact, I’d
reach an area today which would be the most perplexing one I’d visited yet.
Maybe it was good that I’d have to hike this part again and get an even better feel for it in order to document it better.
Watch out for ticks out here at this time of year, however. I found one around my waistline when I got back. I apparently drove all the way back with this bleeping thing on me! Believe it or not, I recently read that garlic is supposed to help (Yep, just like those crazy vampire novels!). I don’t plan to wear cloves of it around my neck but I certainly do plan to take a couple capsules right before I go out hiking next time to see if it works. It’s supposedly effective on “must-quit-o’s” as well. They’re supposedly repelled by the smell of it in your perspiration (and possibly on your breath as well!). Actually, garlic has many great benefits as a general supplement.
At any rate,
the drive out here is really nice. I took one of the
Owingsville,
That’s a
side-trip though... You’ll have enough beauty to see just
continuing on the drive out here. You’ll go through the heart
of Salt Lick,
Anyway, certain
names are common around here. You'll pass
I parked at the
end of FS906 where it splits off in 2 directions (both of which are blocked off
by gates) and headed south on the trace up the first ridge.
Immediately I cursed myself again for not bringing my camera.
There were some wildflowers I can’t remember seeing before – purple with spots
of white – I think they were Blue Eyed Mary’s.
Continuing up
the ridgeline I came to an incline along a sandstone rock outcrop.
It was a very interesting formation and one through which I had to
squeeze. Oddly enough, I saw evidence of horses on this
section of the path and I wondered how they were able to get through it (I was
to find out that horses are allowed on the path here
for about a mile stretch between FS906 and FS908).
Something else that stood out to me on this hike was the fact that you’ll do a few 180 degree curves around ridges here, yet you'll seldom stray any further below the mid-level point of each ridge from a height perspective. Thus, you’re apt to get quite a bit of sun at this time of year. My nose, in particular, was beet red when I returned! This irritates me because no matter how much 10,000 SPF (OK, 30) sunscreen I put on, it STILL gets red!
Anyway, once you cross
over FS908 you’ll be nearing the overlook from which Carrington Rock can be
seen and it’s a nice forest stroll up to it.
Be careful as you ascend, however, because it was a little slippery
today with all the leaves on the trail (incidentally, there are 2
ways to go up here. I went right).
From your
sandstone perch atop this mountain you’ll be able to get a great view of
Carrington Rock across this valley as well as a huge rock shelter over there.
All of it is supposedly on private property now but it’s very
historic. The Rock was once used by the Indians as a lookout point.
Continue along this rock bluff for more great views as another vista
will soon open up just ahead on the opposite side. In getting
to it you’ll go through a little forest of pine saplings with their wonderful
scent. This is, indeed, an endearing spot!
Once
you’re able to tear yourself away from all this awesome scenery
you’ll soon reach a Sheltowee sign which indicates that the KY1274 junction is 3
miles away. I am nearly certain that this sign is about 1
mile too early. I base this on the time at which I arrived (I
hike at a rate of almost exactly 2 miles per hour) as well as the time it took
me to get near KY1274. At any rate,
this sign will usher in a very steep decline in the trace between here and the
dirt road you’ll soon join up with (Johnson Branch) at the bottom.
About midway down you'll have a place to stop and rest under a
rock shelter. I was able to do so until the gnats arrived about 30 seconds in!
Once at the
bottom I joined the aforementioned road which appeared to be more of a seldom used
dirt path. In fact, it looked to be part of someone’s
property – and it is! You left national forest land at the
last sign and there are signs of a different kind in here which indicate that
there’s no trespassing allowed. Since I was on the Sheltowee
Trace though - a public path - I was relatively certain that I was safe unless I
ventured off the path. I can tell you I didn’t stray an inch!
You’ll be on
this road for maybe ¼ mile or so, at which time you’ll be directed left onto
what looks like a tiny little dirt road by a Trace sign. This
is probably an old logging road which is now being used as an ATV path, although
there are parts of it that would seem to be a bit precarious even for this type
of vehicle. There's one spot in which one tire rut is about 2 to 3 feet
above the other! There's another great vista in this
section too atop a rocky crag to the right of the path.
After this
you’ll soon emerge at the top of a ridgeline and this is where things got
really confusing. There seemed to be a relative lack of
trail signs in here and where they did appear they weren’t conspicuous enough at critical
points. Part of
the problem is that you’re no longer on forest service land here so the
maintenance may be necessarily sporadic. Vandalism may also
be to blame.
Anyway, you’ll
first meet up with a dirt road which looks to be quite a bit more utilized than
the one you’ve been following. Go right on this and continue
on along the ridge top. On your right there will be a
somewhat “indented” area which, according to my guide, is a little pond when
it’s been raining. There’s a path leading down to it, but I
continued on.
You’ll hit
another dirt road intersection at the next level area. This
one is even more confounding. A road comes in from the right
to meet up with the road you've been on and then both of them will end at a
little gate to your left as you round a corner. Walk toward this gate and proceed as
if you were going right through it (keeping straight at the first hint of a path
to the left) and reach yet another dirt road intersection.
Keep left while keeping a sharp eye out for the white diamond markers on
the trees which designate the trace.
You’ll be back
in the forest now (though not yet on
national forest property) and you’ll make another of those 180
degree curves I mentioned around the next ridge. It’s along
the latter part of this arc that you’ll begin to notice another set of “No
Trespassing” signs on your left along with a barbed wire fence. There will
be a few dwellings down along your left as well to go with a hunting stand where
I noticed a few shotgun shells on the path. Here I
saw something moving up ahead and, going a little further down the
hill which must have surely led to KY1274, I saw that it was one of a few cows.
That about did it because here was the thought process:
No Tresspassing
signs +
Barbed wire
fence +
Shotgun pellets
lying around +
Peaceful cows
being stressed out by the sudden appearance of:
A single
dude out in the middle of nowhere hiking
=
“I’m heading
back now”
I could only imagine one of the landowners if they were watching me:
“OK. He’s honoring my signs and not trespassing on my property. I’ll let him go…"
"Still OK... He's following the path...
"Oh,
no... He’s stressing out Bessie now. She
was so happy and content out there grazing on the trace!
That’s it!" Blam! Blam!
Seriously, I
really don’t want to offend so I headed out. I was
disappointed that I wouldn’t quite be able to fully reach my destination, but I
knew that the next several miles of the trace were supposedly along roadbeds
anyway and that they’re probably better suited to a scenic drive than to a hike.
I could always come back and do that some other time. Back I went.
I thought I
might run into someone maybe at Carrington Rock on the way back but I was still
the only person out here. The toughest part of the return
trip is climbing back up the hill after you veer off
DIRECTIONS:
Take I64 to exit 123 (US60)
near