Rachel Carson Trail Challenge Tests Hikers' Strength and Resolve

It may seem hard to believe someone would want to risk poison ivy by hiking 35 miles in one day through the woods, up and down muddy hills, through creeks, and over hot asphalt, but next Saturday more 600 people will do just that when they take on the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge.

The event celebrates its 15th anniversary on June 18.

For good reasons, the trail is known as “The Bloody, Muddy” Rachel Carson. Hikers and runners navigate their way from North Park in McCandless Township to Harrison Hills Park in Harrison Hills. Although the trail is listed at 34 miles, the route winds up being closer to 36 miles because of the difficulty in measuring some of the trails that lead through creeks and small wooded paths. The trail also travels through local and county parks, private property, and about nine to 10 miles of state and local roadways.

The Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy, Inc. is the organization behind the challenge. A non-profit that preserves the Rachel Carson Trail and the Baker Trail, the organization is named for Pittsburgh native, and environmentalist, Rachel Carson.

Each year, the challenge is held on the longest Saturday of the year, which this summer falls on June 18. Compared to years past, Event director Steve Mentzer said the challenge is a lot more sophisticated than it was in its first few years.

“The trail wasn’t well-marked and wasn’t very well-maintained," he said. "The first year, it was a challenge just to find the trail."

Nowadays, close to 80 percent of participants finish the event, that includes last year's challenge, which featured heat, humidity, and a late afternoon electrical storm.

A few years ago, two other hikes were added for those not wanting or able to complete 34 miles, but still want to have fun. The Homestead Challenge is an 18-mile hike and the Family and Friends Challenge is eight miles.

About 200 people register for the Homestead Challenge and another 75 are registered for the Family and Friends Challenge. Together, there are nearly 900 total participants, not counting another 100 or so volunteers.

Most of these 900 participants are from the Greater Pittsburgh area, but some come from as far away as Virginia, California, Oregon, New York, Ohio and Maryland to take part in the event.

The success of the challenge depends on the volunteers behind the scenes. Mentzer alone said he spends hundreds of hours on trail maintenance and preparation for the event throughout the year.

The reasons people take part in the challenge are as varied as the folks themselves.

Seth Murray, of Cranberry, said this will be his first challenge.

“I have friends who have done it, so I decided to join them,” he said.

Murray ran a half marathon in May and said he feels ready to complete the 34-mile hike. He trained by running during the week when his busy schedule allowed it (he has a 2-year old and his wife is expecting their second child in the new few weeks), running an estimated 10 to 20 miles a week.

Murray, 28,  is hoping his friends help pace him. He's depending on their knowledge of the trail to get him through.

“They know what they are doing,” he said, “I’m not worried about the physical end of it, but I am depending on them for the trail knowledge.”

Nancy Belz of nearby Pine Township will do her fourth challenge this year. Belz, 51, is a runner and decided to run the event after successfully completing a marathon.

“I wanted a ‘challenge’ and I got what I was looking for,” she joked.

Not only does Belz complete the whole event, she gets others interested.

“I started running with my sister and then we joked our other sister would say we were crazy. She got wind of it and I think decided to take us on,” she said of her sisters, Ann Gasperich, of Franklin Park and Marie Geubtner of Sewickley.

Her group has grown, with some hiking the whole 34 miles, and some the 17 miles. Despite a entourage that has grown to include eight to 10 friend and family members, Belz always runs or walks it by herself.

“I don’t want to hold anyone back and I don’t want to be held back,” she said, “But I always meet great people along the way, so I am never doing it ‘by myself,’”

Each hiker has an electronic tag that is scanned at the checkpoints. Official times are registered through the tags. Drinks, food, facilities and minor first aid are also available.

Most of the hikers and runners have trained for the event – after all, who can wake up and decide to hike 35 miles in one day?  Most participants start around 5:30 a.m., when it starts to get light, and they must be finished by 8:59 p.m. or 15 hours, 4 minutes from their start time, whichever comes first.

According to Mentzer, about 10 percent of the participants run the event. Some do a walk-run, while others hike the whole trail.

Ed Elinski of Richland plans to do the combination walk-run. Last year, he successfully completed the Homestead Challenge and feels ready for the whole Challenge this year.

“I do a lot of hiking and did a pretty good event last year,” he said. “It was really hard because of the heat and humidity, but I did it.”

Elinski, 54, hikes in New York, Maine and Vermont, as well as locally. Like most hikers, he uses special equipment including a hydration pack, hiking poles, and good hiking socks and shoes. He hopes to finish the Challenge in 10.5 hours.

“It is a realistic goal. I’ve hiked each half already and was able to finish them both in under five hours,” he said. “All I know is that it takes both physical conditioning and mental toughness to get through it -- a true challenge."

Like most folks who take on the "Challenge,” Elinski enjoys the company.

“I have also met some really nice people on the training hikes and you can feel the energy with all of the participants.  It’s a great event with great people.”

The Rachel Carson Trail Challenge begins at approximately 5:15 a.m. in North Park and finishes at about 9 p.m. in Harrison Hills. Nearly 900 people will be on the trails and roads in McCandless, Hampton, Indiana, Fawn, East Deer, Springdale and Harrison townships. Drivers should be aware and alert for increased pedestrian traffic during this time.

Note: The author and her husband, Paul Sauers, have completed the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge three times and serve as volunteers for the Conservancy.