Fourth time's the charm!
The Horse-Shoe Trail wasn't exactly on my list of FKT's I'm excited to complete one day. But, there's a collection of four complete trails and one piece of the Appalachian Trail that all connect and are locally called "The Whale." Having two trails complete, including the longest, it only made sense to keep going. So, here we are.
Some challenges this trail brings:
1. It's not a thru-trail. The trail is explicitly sunrise to sunset since much of it passes through personal property - literally yards and farms.
2. Except for a tiny patch of 400 acres of the William Penn State Forest, there is no camping on trail.
3. Although it's very close to civilization, the trail rarely passes straight through any helpful stops for food or sleep.
I made my first attempt in 2023 - completely in over my head. I tried again in 2024 in a very bad headspace. I tried again in 2025 with all the right preparation but a combination of bronchitis (with asthma) and food poisoning making it dangerous to continue.
I began this year in great spirits, great conditioning, and great preparation. Weather was looking to be hot then wet then cold, but each has its positives and negatives, so that's okay. I'm not especially fast or fit, so I did every bit of preparation to make my pack as light as possible and move as quickly as possible within my abilities. I choose to complete this route West to East to complete the hardest climb first and finish with easier terrain and an overall downhill grade.
Prep: I set caches the night before so that I only carried one day's food at a time and only had the gear I needed on that day. My base pack weight was around 6 lbs. Fully loaded with my pack, a front sling bag, and my poles, I was at 13 lbs. Nice and light.
Day 1: The first leg requires a 3.2 mile ascent to the trailhead on the Appalachian Trail. Since the AT is a thru-hike trail, I knew I could start very early and get to the trailhead right about at sunrise. I started my watch at exactly 6am on Saturday 4/18/26 to make the math easy, then I snapped some photos and signed the trail register before starting. I know this first section really well by now and had a great day. Despite a drought in the area, I had plenty of water from rain the two days prior. The temps were predicted to be very high but only got up to about 75. It was warm, but I kept my effort nice and easy to not push too hard on the first day. I had booked a hotel just half a mile off trail for the first night and got there very early in the day. I had plenty of time to shower, eat, and prep for the next day.
Day 2: I knew this would be the hardest day - biggest mileage, biggest vert, hardest terrain, and raining all morning. First challenge was getting dressed for the day - I opted for pants for warmth and because from here on out there would be more grass and more risk of ticks. Welp. My pants ripped right along the seam of my crotch! Thankfully, I had a sewing kit and did my best to sew up my pants and crossed my fingers that my stiching would hold. The first section of this day is all road, so I was able to set out early and not be in anyone's property before sunrise. I was in surprisingly good spirits considering the weather. It rained constantly, and it was windy, but it was never a downpour. Just constant rain for about seven hours. I took a tenth of a mile detour to the park office at Governor Dick to grab some gatorade from the pop machine. The office was closed, but I knew I could use the machine and the port-a-potty and it was nice to be out of the rain for a minute. I got through some very tough sections of trail then rewarded with The Pretzel Hut!! The trail goes straight through their parking lot, and I was very excited I would be going through during open hours which had not happened in the past. I ordered a mac and cheese bowl and two pretzels. It was awesome. It was a very long day, but I was happy to be done by about 7pm, grabbed my cache from the woods, then trekked about half a mile downhill to Hickory Run Campground to check in to my cabin for the night. I laid everything out to dry, had dinner, then slept fairly well considering my bed only had a thin sleeping pad.
Day 3: I had a short piece of road, replaced my cache, then set out on trail at sunrise. I was in a yard pretty early in the day, so I didn't start too early. I really enjoy the sections of trail for this day. I trekked along really well and made sure to keep up on calories. Again, I knew the trail well and knew where I could refill water and such. My body was pretty tired through these sections, but I was getting close to where I had stopped last year and knew I had to keep going. This day did require a detour. There's a bridge that is being replace that's over the PA Turnpike - the trail conservancy is explicit that the trail is closed at this point with NO detour. So, I had planned a shuttle with my friend James Weaver (who had paced me during my very first FKT!). We kept our interaction very brief, both of us being purists in the FKT rules. Then, I kept right on to the next section. There's one section I never look forward too because the yard always has loose dogs, but they were super friendly when I went through this time. Then, into French Creek State Park. The park has several options for overnight accommodations, but the one that's closest to the HST is the "modern cabins" just half a mile from the trail. So, that's what we did! I had heat and a microwave. Had a shower too, but opted to sleep and worry about showering when I was done instead. I was afraid I'd get cold since the cabin was still warming up after I cranked the thermostat. I didn't have any bedding, so I snagged the cushions from the couch for a pillow and to elevate my feet and slept in my down jacket.
Day 4: I woke up in such a good mood! My feet looked great with no blisters and after some wobbling around for about 10 minutes, my legs started to warm up. I did some maintenance with hot spots on my feet and back, packed up, and headed out. I didn't carry as many calories this day and probably should've carried more. I knew there would be more road on this day. I moved fairly well, but I was getting tired. I took a 3 minute trail nap, did some zombie hiking for a little, and used caffeine pills and upbeat music with loud singing to push through. I was moving at a snail's pace but still moving and had long passed all the places I had previously called it quits. So, I pushed on. Found plenty of water, again. Kept forcing myself to eat but ran out about 4 hours before the finish. No matter. I could eat later. I managed to get through everyone's yards before sunset and sign the trail register while there was still a little light. I hit the road, and there was major construction happening, so it took me a minute to find the rock for the official finish, but I found it! Done! Done! I still can't believe I finished. My friends Julia and Amanda picked me up with mozzarella sticks and pizza waiting and took me to my car.
This adventure had a whole team of people cheering me on, giving me advice, and generally being so kind. Thank you to all of them. I checked in with my husband, Jason, most often, and he's so great. He was incredibly supportive and ready to rescue me if I needed it. It was mostly hard to stay out there and not come home to him. But, I'm glad I did it! It was a grand adventure!!!
And, now that all the trails of The Whale are complete, Rob told me he added the Enola Low Grade Trail to the list..... I'll get to it eventually.....
Editor: Normally the car ride on day 3 with a friend would be considered supported (see Guidelines), however the circumstances did not allow for other options as discussed with the athlete. We are also aware of the position and recommendations from the Conservancy and have take this into account, allowing the effort to remain self-supported. Athletes be aware of the bridge closure until July of 2026.