Alright, I have been throwing this idea out to the group over a couple of trips now but 2009 is almost here and I thought I would officially put the idea in writing...thru-hike the entire Ozark Trail in 8 days. Even as I write this I don't know how I could do it, but it would be a great trip to train for and then eventually accomplish. The plan would be to do this mid to late September when the days are still quite long and not too hot (unless Global Warming gets crazy). We could possibly leave on a Friday night and begin the next morning. Saturday to Saturday would give you 8 full hiking days. On to distance (hiking South to North)...using the mileage listed on the OTA website and deducting the mileage that won't be traveled on the Trace Creek (7 miles or so deviate from the main trail and head west to Taum Sauk, we would pick up the Trace after completing the Middle Fork), the trip would be about 225 miles. Divided out over 8 days you get 28 miles per day! Thats crazy, but many people are doing this out west on the PCT & CDT and to the east on the AT. If many other people can do this at elevation, we could surely train and do this 1000 feet above sea level.
Mileage:
South To North Sections and Mileage:
Eleven Point - 30
Between the Rivers - 30
Current River - 30
Blair Creek - 26
Karkaghne - 28.3
Middle Fork - 22.1
Trace Creek - 19
Courtois - 40
Think about it. jm
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Jeff,
ReplyDeleteWhy don’t we start by picking a 100 mile section and doing it over 4 days or 75 miles in 3 days? I think this would be a start in the right direction and a great way to figure out logistics, what to pack, the best way to drop food/supplies… Plus it won’t kill us!
That is a great idea and one that is already being kicked around...this would be a shake down hike that could happen in early September to prepare for a thru hike in late October early November. Either way I must start training now!
ReplyDeleteF me I am not going you guys have fun without me again!!!! I even had my brother in law coming with... I will def be there for tne next one I PROMISE... Neil this is your last one for a while I have a feeling so as miserable and as cold as it is gonna be, relish in your freedom .. dedicate a smoke to the SB over the camp fire but watch your boots..OUT
ReplyDeleteJeff, I just got this months store events email from REI. Thought this might be a good class to take before we do a through hike of the OT. Craig works in Research with me.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rei.com/stores/store_event_detail.jsp?pid=C64C4F9FD6815ADF10AE997FD5D61EE9&template_id=14&template_family=webDetail&ignore_cache=1&cm_mmc=Email_noncom_rm-_-events-_-na-_-na
Hey guys check this link out. Forget a thru-hike live the life...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wikihow.com/Camp-As-a-Lifestyle
You should totally do it. The reroute of the OT through JSI should be finished in May. No footbridge, just a hike through the lower reaches of the Black.
ReplyDeleteAllison - Thanks for checking out my blog - I spend way too much time at work reading yours. We will do this hike...or maybe... I will do this hike probably in late 2010. We will be picking up the mileage on our next trip to Southern Illinois and then I would like to continue high mileage short trips until the big one. I will keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteI am planning a through hike south to north in July. Sucky for the heat, but my only window. 12 days ultralight solo. Do you have suggestions for supply, or sections to watch out for?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds fantastic!!! Regardless of the heat potential there's always that chance the conditions could be perfect. As far as sections to watch out for you'd have to go on the OT forum and peruse the current conditions. The folks that sponsor the trail sections would have the current conditions. Re-supply...I've thought about this a few different ways...for a 12 day run you'd need 1, maybe 2 re-supplies? Being from Stl I had thought about stopping at trailheads on the way down to the southern terminus and hanging an incognito bear bag with the supplies. You'd have to figure out what your mileage is per day then establish when you'd need the food, get a trailhead nearby and hang the bag. Maybe even mark it as a waypoint on a GPS. Hitching into a town is a possibility but this isn't the AT or PCT and with a finite amount Of time, dropping your own re-supply cache is the best way to go in my opinion. I haven't researched the OT thru hike records lately but I don't think many people have posted faster times like that. Would be cool to see a target time to shoot for!! Lol. Keep in touch, let me know if you're posting your progress anywhere, would like to see it happen. Thanks.
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