Imagine waking up before dawn, driving to a trailhead, hiking for 34 miles and paying for the privilege. If this sounds crazy to you, you’re not alone. If this sounds like something you wait all year for the opportunity to do, you’ve probably already taken part in the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge.

Kathleen Ganster and her husband, Paul Sauers, have already been training for this year’s event, which will take place on Saturday, June 19. “It’s like childbirth you say you’ll never do it again, but then after you finish and feel the euphoria, you forget how hard it was,” said Ganster. “It comes up again and you go—it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Ganster will be participating for her third time this year. She and Paul are often joined by her daughter, Eliza, and her son, Kenton, on weekend hikes to prepare. “For me, the training is the hardest part,” Ganster said. “Obviously, you don’t wake up one day and say, ‘Gee, I think I’ll hike 34 miles today’—at least not when you’re middle-aged. It’s hard to find time to fit in training when you’re already really busy.”

Ganster and her family hike fairly often, usually putting in about 20 miles a week. “The first two times we did the Challenge, we hiked the actual trail while training,” said Ganster. “Now, we do long hikes on a variety of trails on weekends, up until a week or two weeks before the Challenge.”

Even with training, the hike isn’t a cakewalk by any means. “I’ve heard about marathon runners hitting the wall, and on my first hike, I was hiking on an injured leg, and about six miles from the end, I didn’t know if I could finish,” said Ganster. “You have 15 hours to complete the Challenge, and a woman I was talking to told me I still had three hours to complete the last two miles. I figured I could crawl and still make it.”

According to Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy Events Director Steve Mentzer, approximately 80 percent of participants finish the Challenge each year. “I think we can credit this to the fact that people are taking part in the Challenge year after year,” he said. “They learn what they did wrong the first time, so they’re better prepared. Having a lot of repeat hikers is pushing up our completion rate.

“In the first five or so years of the Challenge, less than 50 percent of the people who started it completed it,” he added. “It’s quite a turnaround.” Approximately 600 people hike the Challenge every year, with 38 being the average age.

Now in its 14th year, the brutal 34-mile Challenge alternates routes every year. The 2010 hike will start in Harrison Hills County Park and end in North Park, and features a ‘primitive’ route that includes extremely steep hills, treacherous descents, and possible blow downs, washouts, poison ivy, nettles, bugs, loose gravel and rocks, gullies, and wet stream crossings. The hike ends in a cookout for participants. “At the end of the day, when you realize that you did it all on your own, you can’t imagine the feeling,” said Ganster. “It’s such a high it’s fantastic.”

In addition to the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge, the Homestead Challenge takes place on the same day. This 18-mile ‘half-challenge’ is good for people who are in shape, but don’t know if they can hike the whole trail, according to Ganster. “You’re out there participating, but it’s not the same as having a 34-mile hike looming,” said Ganster. “It’s immensely popular.”

There is also an eight-mile Friends and Family Challenge taking place the same day. “The Family Challenge is designed to get more young people involved in hiking and outdoor events,” said Mentzer. “It’s a good way to get kids away from the Xbox or TV for awhile, and parents can share uninterrupted time with their kids working toward a shared goal. Kids can also do it with their friends and have fun—it’s not debilitatingly long.” Groups of coworkers are also encouraged to participate.

While the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge and the Homestead Challenge have both already sold out, there are still spots available for the Friends and Family Challenge. There’s also lots of room for volunteers, who help make the hikes possible. “Six years ago, I volunteered for the first time, and then did the hike my second year,” said Ganster. “It’s so wonderful to see the volunteers at the checkpoints every eight miles, the fact that people are there for you is huge.”

According to Mentzer, the social aspect of the hike is just one reason why people do it. “There’s a cookout at the finish where hikers can chat with everyone else and talk about their experiences during the day, what pains they have, how they’re going to pig out the next day—that’s a big part of it,” he said.

“It’s also an adventure that tests your physical endurance and your limits,” he added. “It’s a goal that people set for themselves.”

And though it may seem hard to believe, it’s also a pretty good time. “It’s a really fun day you get to be outdoors with 600 like-minded people,” said Ganster. “Not too many grumps show up at 5 a.m. to walk 34 miles. Of course, some people even run it—but that’s pure nuts.”

For more information, visit www.rachelcarsontrails.org where you can also register to volunteer.