The 2024 Trails Marathon Challenge

Shelton's hiking challenge for 2024 is up and running! We don't do a challenge every year, so take advantage of this one as a way to get out and explore trails that may be new to you.  Even if you been on every trail before, it's easy to get in a rut and keep hiking the same favorite routes over and over. Consider this challenge a kind of 'bucket list' of hikes for the year. 

We're calling it the Shelton Trails Marathon Challenge because the hikes add up to a total of 26.2 miles, the length of a marathon. That's a nod to the 2024 Olympics being held in France.  The prize this year features "Hank the Hiker" from the Trails Barn weathervane, the five Olympic rings, and a French ribbon. 

This challenge is very similar to the one we did in 2016, and some of the hikes are exactly the same. But this year we added a second level, so if you did all the hikes in 2016, you have the option of doing Level 2 this year with all new hikes. Level 2 was added because we have found over the years that some of our trail sections are a bit too rocky or steep for a lot of people. So those trails were removed from the basic level and concentrated in the the Level 2 hikes. The Burritt's Rocks section of the Paugussett Trail between Birchbank and Indian Well, for example, requires people to use their hands to scramble over boulders. Some people hate it and some people think it's fun. The Level 2 hikes also tend to be more remote and there are lots of hills. Again, some people hate that sort of thing and others love it. Pick whichever level you would enjoy the most. 

Both levels share a loop at Nicholdale Farm

In preparing the descriptions for these hikes, we were surprised at how many of the old hikes had changed since 2016. Oak Valley Trail is now blazed red, not white, and the Paugussett Trail was rerouted in several places. And we have a number of new trails that didn't exist in 2016, including French's Hill, Woodsend Trail, the Pearmain Path, and Stockmal Trail. 

Our National Trails Day guided hike on June 1 will feature one of the listed challenge hikes at Birchbank Mountain. This is a Level 1 hike, but with an option to turn it into one of the Level 2 hikes. Stay tuned for more information about the Trails Day hike. 

To get started, click on the main 2024 Hiking Challenge page on this blog, which is list on the main menu to the right near the very top. ---> Or click HERE. 

Print out the tracking form for either Level 1 or Level 2 (or both if you're really ambitious). Then take a look at the description and map for each hike before you set out. Some hikes are not recommended during mud season, or may cross a highway that is best avoided during rush hour, so plan accordingly. Level Two has a custom Google Map that you can save to your Google account and use while hiking to geolocate yourself along the route.