The Cakewalk

Overview

The Baker Trail Cakewalk is a 14.8-mile an 11.8-mile hike on the Baker Trail on August 27, concurrent with the Baker Trail UltraChallenge. It begins at the northern terminus at 6:30 AM, after the UltraChallenge runners have started, and ends at the Cook Forest fire tower environmental center.

Details

This is a very beautiful and scenic hike! You will park at the Cook Forest environmental center parking lot and ride a shuttle bus to the northern trailhead. Make it family weekend and camp at the Ridge Campground. See the Cook Forest web site for details.

The bus will board at 5:30 AM. You must take the shuttle bus as there is no parking at the trailhead. You will have 4.75 hours to complete the hike, or about 2.5 miles per hour — a cakewalk!

There is one aid stations along the course at mile 7.9 supplying water, Gatorade, and snacks. The finish at mile 11.8 also offers flush toilets.

When you reach the finish, you'll receive a delicious cupcake as a reward. Relax for a while, and consider driving over to the fire tower for a lovely view of the surrounding Clarion River valley!

Afterwards, head over to the Brookville YMCA and help cheer in the UltraChallenge runners!

Map

A map of the Cakewalk is here (1.2MB JPEG). Note: the Cakewalk will end at mile 11.8 on this map.

Directions

Use these Google Maps links to get directions to the environmental center (called the Log Cabin Inn) and the Bookville YMCA.

Registration

The entry fee is $25 per person and includes the shuttle bus and aid station food and drink. To keep the entry fee low, there's no t-shirt and all registration will be done on-site starting at 5:15 AM on Saturday 8/27 at the environmental center parking lot, or Friday evening 8/26 between 5 PM and 8 PM at the YMCA in Brookville. Payment must be made there via cash or check (payable to the "Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy"). To sign up, please email cakewalk@rachelcarsontrails.org or call Steve Mentzer at 412-512-4544.