My family spent a week in Gatlinburg, TN and we ended up hitting most of the trails closest to town. If you missed it, here’s Part 1 of our trip. Day 4, Wednesday Old Sugarlands Trail (Running) – 7.7 miles Day 5, Thursday Rainbow Falls Trail (Hiking) – 5.5 miles Any trail name with the…
Great Smokey Mountains NP Trip Report – Part I
My family is spending a week in Gatlinburg, TN and exploring the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We were here three years ago and loved it, however I didn’t do any running in the park since I was still recovering from Laurel Highlands. Here’s where I’ve been hiking/running: Day 1, Sunday Middle Prong Trail (Hiking)…
0-3
Well, my last attempt to run the Mason-Dixon Trail ended the same as my first two: far short of Chadds Ford. This time I only made it to Wrightsville (mile 54) after getting almost halfway and 72 miles in my other two tries. It was pretty amazing how quickly the wheels fell off. I was…
Failure Sucks
While my second attempt at the Mason-Dixon Trail FKT wasn’t a repeat of my first, it did rhyme. TL;DR – I gashed my shin on a rock after 70 miles and got picked up after 72 miles. It’s difficult to put into words how frustrating this ending was for me. I was in the middle…
Monticello FKT
After my failed attempt at the Mason-Dixon Trail fastest known time, I decided to take a run at the Monticello FKT. This wasn’t something that’s been on my radar, but the logistics worked out fairly easily as it was on the way home from a family vacation in the Great Smokey Mountains. When combined with…
M-DT FKT Attempt Trip Report
The shorter version This is not the trip report that I had mentally written over the last 6 months leading up to my self-supported attempt of the Mason-Dixon Trail. That one ended at Chadds Ford and not at mile 99 on Cold Cabin Rd. If you had told me going in this would be the…
M-DT Trip Report – Maps 1&2
I was able to get out last Saturday and knock out maps 1 and 2 of the Mason-Dixon Trail thus completing the full trail. Overall, it took me 6 outings over almost 2 years to cover the entire distance from the Appalachian Trail to Chadds Ford. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself…
M-DT Trip Report – Maps 3&4
I knocked out 2 more sections Saturday of the Mason-Dixon Trail leaving me with the just the 2 most western maps left to complete the entire trail. The temperatures were up into the mid to high 80s, but I had a great time. Map 3 Map 4 The next section of trail could have been…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 5
I got out onto the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday and completed Map 5. This is an almost 30 mile section along the Susquehanna River from Otter Creek Campground to the PA/MD state line. I ran west to east so had my wife drop my off at Otter Creek Campground a little after 7am. The trail was…
M-DT Trip Report – Map 6
I was able to knock out Map 6 of the Mason-Dixon Trail Saturday along with the beginning of Map 7 heading into Havre de Grace. This is the third time I’ve been out on the M-DT with the first being last summer with my son and then earlier this spring. My goal is to section…