Pine knob Trail.
This was a tough FKT, I mean they are all supposed to be but this one was a pain in the butt. Been wanting to attempt this fkt for a while. Never been on the trail around there so I was curious as to how they were. Also wanted to make sure winter conditions were gone so I could read the trail better. Did try to do a little research into the trails but there isn’t much out there I missed the most important one. I used my watch for both ones and phone for the out and back.
When I decided to go I had no idea id be thrown for a loop right away. The Lick Hollow parking/picnic area is apparently closed seasonally from labor day to memorial day so basically 6 months out of the year you cant access the starting point for this FKT. I did more digging when I got home I guess there is a local trail that you park a mile away at and backdoor your way in, to get there but I was unaware since I had no idea it was closed seasonally. Either way it adds 2 miles if you take the option when closed seasonally.
Made a decision, since I didn’t know the secret way in, to go to the opposite end of the FKT and start there. Figured I could still complete an out and back and the one way from Lick Hollow as I turned around. It was a decent detour since I didn’t plan for it, so had no idea how to find the end which would become my new starting point. Took me a solid 15 mins then another 15-20 min drive to get there. Putting me way behind start time. I hoped for a 4ish hour round trip but obviously took me way longer to finish than I planned on top of the detours. At one point didn't think I'd be out by dark which would have sucked because I had no light on me.
Got to the Hess parking lot to start. Was not actually feeling like running but since I was there had to give it a go. Though its remote there was a family of mt bikers also in the lot they were not doing trail I was. Went to the turnaround for the one way which is my starting point for the out and back and way out.
The trail itself is hard. Was not expecting it to be as bad as it actually was as I already said. What makes it hard is its not maintained that well. There were some parts better than others of course and the road part obviously was maintained but the trail itself you can tell does not get a lot of maintenance nor use. I noticed that right away. It was gonna be one of those days.
Starting this way your feet are gonna get wet within a mile. There is no avoiding it unless it's super dry, or maybe if you go off trail a good way to find a spot. But it is a but muddy wet at first then dry some, then you hit a good 20-30 yard long spring crossing. The spring or trail however you look at it literally is thru the trail so trail takes you directly up the middle of the spring with no option to go around. That doesn’t make sense why they made trail this way.
There was also a few tress down before I even go to the spring crossing putting me in a bad mood. It is rocky and some spots rooty. There is a field of ferns as well. I'll give the trail credit it is very diverse in terrain that you do encounter. The downfall is there isn’t really much to look at even with the diversity. Nothing really pops out at you or you think to yourself “o that looks cool”. Anyway a couple mins in a really thought about heading out and not finishing it. Just was not in the mood plus it was hot. Did take my hydration vest so I had plenty of water. 50 plus oz water in bladder and two 2 oz of electrolytes in front plus a couple honey stinger wafers for food and a couple gels. Since I was there I figured may as well finish so I don’t have to come back at least any time soon. Plus thought maybe trail would get better.
The trail uses red blazes on tress which honestly don’t stand out well against the backdrop. Which makes hard to see where trail is up ahead. I say that because again the trail isn't used much so hard to tell where to go in some spots. The turns or switchback areas def hard. No indication there is a turn coming. Would have gotten way lost without my watch having the gpx file on it. Did miss turns briefly a few times but watch alerted me so I didn’t go say more then 10 yards id say the few times I missed a turn.
Was not expecting it to be close to 2,000 feet of gain on the way down to Lick Hollow form Hess Trailhead. Was thinking it be nice run downhill where I could bank time. But that elevation was killer. Thought Lick to Hess looked like an uphill run but both way actually had significant elevation changes. From Hess to Lick I'd actually venture to say the elevation change was way harder. The areas of the hills were complete momentum killers and not as runnable in their placement. Even the downhills felt way harder. Its weird to say that but truly do believe all elements of Hess to Lick felt harder way down then Lick to Hess way back. Not because I knew the trail way back. Like 4 miles left. There is another stream crossing where feet will get wet I washed off there since I was overheated. Need to get moist to cool me off.
The last mile or so into Lick is little technical and rocky on way down. Have to be careful you don't catch a rock and fall.
Once I made it to Lick Hollow Start for the normal one way I stopped watch and cooled off in the creek there. Kept phone gps tracking going the whole time. I think I got bit by a bee by the guard rail least felt like a bee. I ate a honey stinger there before starting the normal one way FKT. Started my watch back up as I headed back to car. Was tired and really didn’t know how I was gonna make it back. Had 3ish hours of daylight and I knew I'd need most of it. I don’t want to say I took my time heading back but body was spent so It was harder to get going and run. The terrain heading back does feel easier though there is about 600 feet more of gain on the normal one. Really was worried about daylight running out.
Did same thing way back to car splashed off in the creeks to keep moist. There is a parking lot/trailhead I think about halfway that you do run thru. On way out I saw an old juice container filled with water and some other trash by it. My plan way back was to use it if it was still there and I did. So that made the attempt supported because I used a source not normally there for others to use the random water trash jug. I did take picture of it for verification purposes. Probably was not smart since I didn’t know how clean water was but I was so hot o had to. Overall it was a real struggle way back it took me over a half hour more. I guess that’s to be expected. Only went off course once way back which was after that 1st creek crossing. The trail cuts up the hill which I forgot cause the trail while running looks to take you straight.
The other good thing way back was most of the trees were on uphills way back so mometum was already slowed compared to being on the downhills way out which killed me.
In summer months if trail isn’t maintained I'd be worried about ticks or snakes for sure and other random wildlife. Mapmyrun did have some trouble with the out and back capturing the total distance but it does have the overall elapsed time and does show my starting and stopping at the two trailheads as the FKTs require with losing some signal in the valleys it didn’t get all the little turns. My garmin info for each one way is accurate. I'm submitting for the normal one and then the out and back plus I'm gonna try to get the other way from Hess to Lick added as well since it does feel completely different, Lick is closed half the year and it has significant elevation change to make it a route upon itself.