Kai Shinbrough
Post-doctoral Researcher
University of Oxford
In my free time — what precious little there is in academia — I enjoy backpacking and camping.
In 2024, I thru-hiked the 2,197 mi Appalachian Trail, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. I started my thru-hike on April 1, 2024 and summitted Mount Katahdin on August 5, 2024. It was the adventure of a lifetime. I saw 14 bears, 3 moose, 3 porcupines, wild ponies, snakes... you name it. I jumped off a bridge into the White River, hiked more marathon+ days than I can count, and hitchhiked with a Benedictine monk. You can read about my adventures and see some pictures in my trail log, here: Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Log. (The log is in reverse chronological order — scroll to the bottom to read from the beginning.)
In 2022, I hiked the 10.8 mile Forest Glen Backpacking Trail in Vermillion County, IL almost every Sunday without fail, sometimes twice, from late February to early December. Some highlights include bald eagles, kingfishers, baby racoons, turkeys, eastern box turtles, swans, herons, many deer, and one time when a local farmer lost his herd of cattle and they camped out in the creekbed for almost a month. Mostly my pictures and videos of these are too blury to put online (even for my low standards), but if you run into me in person, feel free to ask to see some!
In 2022, I also hiked the 58 mile Knobstone Trail in southern Indiana. Highlights include meeting some Amish folks, foxes, box turtles, getting lost at a reroute that took me knee-deep into a bog, bushwacking to the road only to almost step on a black rat snake, and then road-walking for a couple miles in the baking sun. It was a great 3 days! Here are some photos:
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I have also section hiked the Florida trail in, well, Florida, and the Sheltowee Trace Trail in Kentucky. Unfortunately, I've lost all my photos from those trips.
Kai Shinbrough