The Adventure Hiking Trail is a rugged loop through the limestone hills of southern Indiana, taking in hardwood forest, cliff views, and creeks, seldom missing the chance for a big climb or descent. It is a challenge in any season, though probably most runnable from late fall through late spring. The trail is well marked and generally well maintained, though there are plenty of opportunities for wrong turns, and wind and ice storms can drop trees on the trail any time of year. As a loop (with a short lollipop stick), there are several points that can serve as start/end points, but most attempts have used the tip of the lollipop stick at the Rock Creek Trailhead on Highway 462.
https://www.hoosierhikerscouncil.org/adventure_hiking_trail_aht/ "True to its name, the Adventure Hiking Trail in southern Indiana is an exciting 25-mile hiking loop that includes interesting cliff formations, sinkholes, ravines, and old pioneer homesteads. The trail travels through the deep forests of O’Bannon Woods State Park and Harrison-Crawford State Forest, adjacent to the Ohio River. Some of the best highlights of the trail are the many scenic views from a high bluff above the river’s northern bank. The trail also offers four shelter houses and some great spots for secluded back country camping."
The Harrison-Crawford State Forest posts information about logging reroutes (winter months) here: https://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/4826.htm
In summer 2021, volunteers completed a 2.5-mile reroute of the muddy, flood-prone section of the trail near the Blue River. Mileage appears to be nearly identical, though the reroute does cut out a few hundred feet of climbing. The bypassed section of the original trail is overgrown and difficult to follow. Future attempts should use the new reroute as it is now the official trail. Here is a Garmin Connect link showing a run of both the old and new alignments: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/7746075487.
Comments
Hey Everyone! I'm going to attempt to best Troy & Mike's time tomorrow mornig at dawn (7:45am). Looks like a freezing cold (single digit windchills) but nice and sunny January day in southern Indiana. I have a downloaded GPS track and will take both my Garmin eTrex 20 and my Garmin Forerunner 235 for verification. Will post Strava/Garmin data and trip report when I'm done. Can't wait!
Hello! I'm going to attempt this tomorrow morning at 7 am. It should be the complete opposite of Josh's run as it will be low 70s at the start and low 90s by the end. Unfortunately, I don't have anything that I can live track with but I will have a GPS file from my Garmin Fenix 3. I'll post the data and a report after. Looking forwards to a great morning in the woods!
Well, I'm going to count that as preperation for a later attempt. I'm not sure if I had the fitness to get the FKT but I definitely didn't have enough fluids. I was rationing fluids from pretty early on and ended up very dehydrated. The trail lived up to its name and was quite an adventure. It was pretty overgrown in areas and there was some pretty big trees down. I also ended up with ~100 ticks on me. I'm excited to go back and try again but I'm going to stick to November-March.
Nice work, Dustin--I'm impressed you finished at all with limited fluids on a day like that. A few hard freezes from now, it's going to be a lot nicer out there. I love seeing this route getting more attention!
I'm making an attempt tomorrow morning, hoping to set a (supported) FKT for women.Â
I'll try to improve Josh's mark tomorrow. Weather looks clear and pleasant. I'm expecting mud, but no flooding. I plan to start at the Old Barn parking area (aka Isaac's Bottom) around 10am, and run the loop clockwise--the same route Katie ran last month. I'll share Garmin/Strava links and a trip report.
I'm trying for a women's FKT tomorrow on this route! Not sure if I'll have any aid out there, so it might be an unsupported attempt. Either way, Katie, you put up a strong time!
smahoney, I hope you had a successful run and good weather! I'm glad to see more people on the trail!Â
smahoney, I hope you had a successful run and good weather! I'm glad to see more people on the trail!Â
Thanks, Katie! Turns out it was a bad weekend to go. There were several re-routes on the trail and I got suuuuper lost! Ended up adding about 4 miles to the total. Ah well. Definitely a beautiful day and a beautiful trail!
-Sara
I am going to try to improve on Blake’s 2 lap time and take it below 20 hours.  Starting the night of October 14th thru the 15th.