From one endurance challenge to the next — so goes it for Butler graduate Jesse Spohn.

Now living in Charleston, S.C., Spohn, 28, has done solo hikes completing the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail since graduating high school.

This past summer, he completed the Northern Forest Canoe Trail — an 804-mile trek that included 700-plus miles over water — from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent, Maine.

This trip was a little different.

He took his younger brother with him.

Levi Spohn, 24, previously employed at a machine shop, quit his job to join his brother on the trek.

“My life had gotten stagnant,” Levi said. “I needed a change. I knew Jesse was doing this and this was the perfect opportunity.

“I always wanted to do one of these adventures with him.”

And his brother welcomed the company.

“I didn't need anybody else since I've done these types of trips alone, but I loved having my brother experience one with me,” Jesse said. “The bonding that took place between us, being out there together all that time ... it's something I treasured.

“We will do another such trip together again. I can't say when, but it will happen.”

Having to carry a kayak, paddleboard and backpacks with them for a hike that lasted 30 days and seven hours, the Spohns paddled rivers, creeks, lakes and ponds, much of it upstream.

They battled their own personal obstacles as well.

Levi was diagnosed with Lyme disease a week before the trip began. He took antibiotics that made his skin extra-sensitive to the sun.

“I got a lot of blisters and had poison oak early, which didn't help,” Levi said. “But there was no way I was missing this trip. I just had to watch the sun exposure and persevere.”

Jesse was concerned for his brother's well-being and ability to complete the journey.

“Given his health situation ... I just didn't know,” he admitted. “But there is an iron will in that kid I didn't know he had.

“I was wrong about him, but in the best way.”

Jesse had to deal with his own issues. While hiking through water, he discovered large leeches attached to his feet.

“My ankle started aching. I figured I'd sprained it or something,” he said. “I lifted it up and saw the leeches. They're really hard to kill — you can't, really — so you just yank them off. It was pretty painful.”

But the Spohn brothers plodded on, completing different mileage on different days.

“We'd do 15 to 18 miles one day, maybe 30 to 36 on another,” Levi said. “It depended on how tough the terrain or waterway was on each given day.”

They had three meals a day, dining primarily on dried fish, instant pasta and rice, herring filets and tuna. They slept in a fold-up tent.

Levi estimated the weight of their gear at between 50 and 70 pounds.

He described the challenge of the journey and the unique experience with his brother as “the best month of my life.”

Jesse said the best trait of these hikes is “learning how to adapt on the fly. You never know what you're gonna come across.

“You deal with real cold mornings, hot afternoons, uncomfortable, daunting conditions ... you just deal with everything as it comes. You can't take pity on yourself.

“I really believe these adventures strengthen you as a human being,” he added.

Jesse's not done with these adventures just yet.

He plans to hike the Continental Divide — a trail from Canada to Mexico — in June of 2022.

“That will take around six months,” he said.

In the meantime, he is back in Charleston, doing his job cleaning the windows of high-rise buildings through repelling.

Levi won't be joining him along the Continental Divide. He is taking classes at Butler County Community College and figures to still be in school.

But his adventurous side won't be denied forever.

“Another one of these treks with my brother?,” Levi said in repeating a question. “Count on it.”