Pixel really showed his mettle on this 50-miler in the Big South Fork with a 10lb dog pack. Despite the heat, a long, waterless ridge segment, and raw, sore paws, he never winced and was always, "Forward! Look at that! What more can I do!?" I guPixel really showed his mettle on this 50-miler in the Big South Fork with a 10lb dog pack. Despite the heat, a long, waterless ridge segment, and raw, sore paws, he never winced and was always, "Forward! Look at that! What more can I do!?" I guess that's why they're man's best friend. We did have 2 days of complete solitude and had the occasion to sleep under a nest of owlets with the parent(s)? swooping in after hunting in valley with much noise. A pink lady slipper was found standing on an outcrop like a sentinel for the delicate, rare beauty of woodlands. While not pretty, this is important: I found a mangled sardine can. Why? The park deployed a transect of unopened sardine canisters to monitor the black bear population. A bear, or a human, are the only species that apparently can open a can of sardines. We use the key, but a bear rips it open with his powerful canines. A map is included and the itinerary was: the Sheltowee Trace from its southern terminus in Pickett State Park to U.S. Highway 27 at Flat Rock, approximately 45-50 miles, via Thompson Creek, Rock Creek, Gobbler's Arch, Divide Road, Laurel Ridge, Puncheoncamp Creek, Grassy Knob, Coon Patch Ridge, Grassy Fork, Sheltowee Ford of Rock Creek, Yamacraw Bridge, Negro Creek, Alum Ford, Yahoo Falls, Big Creek and Flat Rock.