Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

I’m a Louisville native and I’m not really into horses. In fact, I’ve said it more than once, I think horses are evil. Maybe it was my first two horseback rides when I was 12 and I got bucked off. Or perhaps when I was 18 and a friend tried to convince me to ride and his horse bit me. Twice.

It doesn’t matter really, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that horses are best viewed from the other side of a fence or on the television. This past Saturday was the culmination of a 2 week festival here in Louisville that ends in the “most exciting 2 minutes in sports”; the Kentucky Derby. I’ve gone to the Derby several times in my life, and this years lack of any compelling stories and my lack of any tickets made me decide to go hiking.

With cool weather and rain showers predicted, I decided to do a little bit more than the mile and a quarter that the horses run at Churchill Downs. I took off on this cloudy Saturday to take on Bernheim Forest’s 14 mile Millennium Trail.

It has been almost 2 years since I last hiked the Millennium Trail and I was anxious to see what kind of shape it was in. The Millennium remained closed for almost 2 months after the January ice storm that struck the Ohio Valley and I couldn’t help but wonder how it had effected the trail. In cool weather, hiking anything up to 6 miles on a day hike is pretty simple. Even up to 10 miles, the average hiker can manage it with just some extra liquids and some snacks in order to stay hydrated and keep energized. Once you push past 10 miles, you should plan ahead and take some precautions. My provisions for the hike were simple, but helped me a lot along the way and gave me enough energy to finish the hike with a little spring still left in my step. I took the following:

One full 1.5 litre hydration bladder (Camelbak)
2 16 oz bottles of Gatorade
2 high fiber/protein energy bars
1 single service bag of baby carrots
1 gala apple
1 peanut butter sandwich

Of the provisions I took, all were gone except the apple by the time I reached the end and I enjoyed it during my drive back home. Spaced out over the day, I made sure that I never got that lead footed feeling you can sometimes get when you have little energy left. (As a general rule, pack what you think you need, then pack one or two extra things to eat just in case).

Arriving at the park at just after 10 AM, I headed to the Welcome center to sign in before my hike. When hiking the Millennium Trail, Bernheim requires you to sign in for your safety. When you sign the hiking ledger, be sure to include where you intend to park and begin your hike.

The trailhead for the Millennium Trail is located in the Guerrilla Hollow parking area, and this was where I began my hike. Using the trailhead as 12 o’clock, I proceeded to hike the trail clockwise, covering the northern half of the trail first.

Overcast skies, 60 degrees, and light sprinkles were with me all day, but surprisingly, the majority of the trail wasn’t terribly muddy or slippery and the creek crossings were all very manageable. When there has been a lot of rain, this can be a very wet-footed trail. Although it was drippy all day, it didn’t slow me down.

What can you say about a vibrant forest in Spring? I don’t think it is coincidental that I really enjoy hiking and my favorite color is green. Bernheim Forest is alive and well and growing like gangbusters. Although the ice storm has scarred a good deal of the forest, the first 8 miles of the trail were fairly clear of large debris. There are some minor detours around downed timber, but nothing alarming.

After eating my lunch at the halfway point around 2 PM, I proceeded across one of several fire roads to the southern half of the trail. This is where the more adventurous section of my hike began.

In between mile marker 8 and mile marker 9, you will proceed from a ridge down into a creek hollow. About halfway into the hollow, you will lose the trail. I guarantee it. For about the next mile or so, don’t be surprised if you have to back track in order to find the last trail marker and start looking around for the next one again.

The problem of course is that there is a lot of large downed timber here. In fact, there was so much, it was a little alarming at first. The bigger problem isn’t the downed trees, but more so the downed trees that had trail markers nailed to them.

My advice for this section is simple: be patient. When you’re in a creek bed and can’t seem to find a marker ahead, be sure to check the banks of the creek. Twice, I had to scrabble up steep banks to continue on the trail. The markers weren’t easy to spot because they were almost 90 degrees perpendicular to the last marker, and they were also 10-15 feet above my sight line.

Additionally, pay attention to traditional trail marking: a cut log directly across what looks like a path means “don’t go this way”. I remembered that little tradition only after scrambling over about 50 yards of fallen trees and scratching the heck out of my shins. (In one particular case, I followed what looked like a trail thanks to orange tape markers tied to tree trunks. I assume they were marked for cutting later. DO NOT FOLLOW ORANGE TAPE. They don’t mark the trail and more than once I walked a hundred yards forward before back tracking to find the last yellow trail marker.)

The orienteering section of the trail only lasts for about a mile, and the biggest problem sections are contained in two creek hollows on the southern half of the trail. I apologize to any wildlife that might have been offended by my long, loud and highly descriptive expletives I utilized while in these areas.

I’m not sure if it was the cool weather, but during the entire hike, I brushed against many branches and brambles, but I didn’t spot a single tick the entire day which is really surprising since the Millennium Trail is tick central during the Summer months.

My one suggestion for the trail would probably be to wear long pants to protect your shins. (I brought my gaiters with me, but with my usual wisdom I left them in the trunk of my car.)

I truly enjoyed my Derby Day celebration in the great outdoors on the Millennium Trail in Bernheim Forest. If you want to tackle this 14 mile loop, make sure to plan ahead, arrive early and have a great day in the forest. If you’d like to view all  of the pictures I took in Bernheim Forest, be sure to check out the photo album entitled Derby Millennium.