Day 8 Ends With A Great Story To Tell And Thoughts From Both Men

8:31 p.m. Over half way!

Had a very hard 20 miles today, but also a very cool experience.

When we got to the fork in the road, that you already saw on the satellite image (where Boone Trace breaks away from Wilderness Road), we walked to the top of the gully and was met by Mike Mills. Mike is a retired high school teacher and probably knows more about Boone Trace in Knox County than anybody.

He led us through the woods on a portion of the original Boone Trace that has remained unchanged from the beginning. It’s unique in that all the property owners around it have not touched any part of the road because it’s still considered county owned road.

Photo Credit: Curtis Penix

We walked through the woods in this deep trench, with berms on each side about 4 feet high, and the path is wide enough for a horse and a wagon. It was plain to see it was an old road and had carried thousands and thousands of pioneers.

Walk on,

Curtis

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Sorry I haven’t posted since day before yesterday. The last couple of days have been a challenge for me. We have gone about 20 miles a day.

Last night the old county road we were walking on was washed out by a a creek in the middle of the woods. As it was already dark, we decided to just make camp there. This involved some serious bushwhacking to get back on the road.

The highlight of the day had to be Mike Mills walking is over some of the original untouched Trace. I can honestly say I got a little emotional. And I don’t think it was just the exhaustion either.

A big thank you to my hiking partner, Curtis Penix. You talked when I needed distracting and let there be silence when it was time for that. Thanks for keeping my feet moving.

We will have another long day tomorrow but I know that we will wake up ready to “Walk on!”

Givan Fox