Hike the trail in one day!
The Rachel Carson Trail Challenge will take place on the Saturday nearest the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The Challenge is a 37-mile long, one-day, sunrise to sunset endurance hike on nearly the entire rugged Rachel Carson Trail. Unlike a footrace, the “challenge” is not to win, but to endure, to finish the hike in one day. This time, the Challenge starts in Harrison Hills Park at sunrise and ends 35 miles later in North Park. The deadline for finishing is sunset, 8:54 PM or 15 hours 4 minutes.
If 35 miles sounds too daunting, we offer two shorter events that same day, all taking place on the Rachel Carson Trail. The first is the Homestead Challenge, a 17-mile hike from near the Rachel Carson Homestead. The second is a 7-mile Friends & Family Challenge from Hartwood Acres Park. All events finish in North Park.
1) Full Challenge – 37 Miles: The traditional Challenge. It begins in Harrison Hills Park and ends in North Park. Starts at 5:30 AM, finish time limit is 15 hours 4 minutes. Limit 600 participants, minimum unaccompanied age 16.
2) Homestead Challenge – 17 Miles: Also known as the “Half Challenge”, it begins at the Springdale High School, near the Rachel Carson Homestead, and ends in North Park. Starts at 10:00 AM, finish time limit is 7 hours 46 minutes. If you ever thought about trying the Challenge but never thought you could go 35 miles, this may be for you. Limit 300 participants, minimum unaccompanied age 16.
3) Friends & Family Challenge – 7 Miles: This begins in Hartwood Acres Park in Indiana Township and ends at North Park. Starts at noon. It’s intended for groups of up to 5 members, and the minimum unaccompanied age is 12. There are only a few modest hills on this section of the trail. Limit 50 groups.
The Challenge has two dimensions: the first is to endure 35 miles of tortuous hill climbing and descent in unpredictable weather conditions; the second is to stay on the trail without getting lost. Obviously, those who have hiked the trail before will have some advantage in maintaining the proper route. (Training hikes covering various sections and the entire trail are held beforehand).
The Rachel Carson Trail is a “primitive” trail in the sense that no special grading or surfacing materials are used. While the trail is blazed with yellow blazes, there will be an occasional missing blaze where a tree has fallen or when you are following a logging road, a power line or gas line; there will be blow downs, washouts, poison ivy, nettles, bugs, loose gravel and rocks, gullies, and wet stream crossings. There are no switchbacks on the trail; all hills (some are quite steep) are traversed directly up and down. You must be prepared to expect the unexpected and think the unthinkable. The better hiker you are, the better you will do on the Challenge.
All hikers will be given a course guide to assist them on their journey. There will be four checkpoints throughout the hike, offering water, Gatorade, various snacks, and basic first aid. Hikers are expected to carry all their own gear and necessities, including snacks, water, first aid and raingear.
The Challenge entry fee includes a t-shirt, shuttle bus, checkpoint support, cookout, and a course guide. The shuttle bus is available to take participants from the finish to check-in just before sunrise, and again later in the afternoon to take those finishers who parked at the start back to their vehicles.
There’ll be a cookout at the Harmar Shelter in North Park for everyone to enjoy.
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