On the eve of March 8, we prepared to embark on an epic adventure to uncharted territory: the Shiloh Military trails in West Tennessee.
With high hopes, we arrived late that night at our campsite. Those hopes were brought down when we discovered we had forgotten our water cooler. However, we weren’t going to let that stop us. We mustered on through the night and a good breakfast of Scout McMuffins. Then, there came the rising action of the day. We reached the trail, and prepared to set out.
We later discovered that the maps and instructions we were provided were pretty much garbage. We once again mustered through and made it to lunch. We had us some good sandwiches before setting back to the trail. Then, things started to get hairy. We encountered several obstacles, such as us scouts getting lazy and an impossible to find question. Late in the afternoon, we faced a question. We could either finish the hike, or go ahead and go back to the campsite. Several advocates led the fight to continue the hike, which we did. At the end of the hike, however, due to the horrible directions and map, we counted five extra miles. We made an executive decision to do an extra mile and reward a few scouts with the coveted 20-miler and the others with two tens.
We arrived back at our campsite late, ate a chicken dinner and s’mores, and then hit the hay. The next day was more leisurely. We woke up, and while the cooks made pancakes for a while, the rest of us played soccer or did some advancement. We finally broke camp, packed up our stuff, and headed home, hitting up some geocaches along the way. Those were alright, but it would soon be time for the moment everyone was waiting for, the promised delicious pie.
No one was disappointed. Afterwards, we finished up the trip and made it home. All in all, it was a good trip, and we all learned things(both in knowledge and in lessons.)This is definitely a considerable trip for the future.
4 replies on “Bucks Shiloh Military Trails March”
Great write up Leo! Any pictures to support the story?
I put some pictures in there for you Leo.
Sorry to hear about your experience with the poor hiking instructions. I am currently working with the Shiloh Military Trails Association to try and update the hiking directions, as they are all outdated.
In the 70’s my scout troop (Troop 69, Memphis, Tennessee) hiked Shiloh twice a year and many of us earned the Veteran Hiker award. After moving back to Tennessee a few years ago I wanted to rehike all the trails, and soon discovered the state of the instructions and maps. In the 50 years since Ken Humphries set up the trails, monuments have been relocated and some roads have been rerouted.
If you decide to hike Shiloh again, and I hope you do, please contact me and I will provide current instructions if the website has not been updated. Furthermore, I would be happy to hike with your troop and share my knowledge of the park and the Battle of Shiloh.
Thanks for the offer Richard, we may take you up on that at some point.