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So Much to Discover?

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week One
Miles walked 101
September 9-13

Many of you may be wondering, "The Buckeye Trail, where's that? What's that?" The Buckeye Trail is the longest circular trail in the nation and as the name eludes it is right here in Ohio, and not that far from your home. At 1300 miles it checks in as the third longest continuously marked footpath in America, Brent and I will be backpacking it continuously this fall. We are planning to complete the trail in 10 weeks, averaging between 20-25 miles a day. Your next question may be, "Why?"

I'm not an Ohio native, in fact 4 years ago when I said, "Yes" to Brent's proposal, the Wilderness Management Unit of Glacier National Park employed him. Two years ago, Brent's Grandmother announced she was selling the family homestead, which dates back to 1865. I learned that roots grow deep in Ohio and Brent and I did not want the farm to leave the family. A few weeks later I had a thirty year mortgage and 30 acres in Miami Township. However, as fate would have it nearly simultaneously we were offered a dream job. A job traveling the country for 6 months at a time educating people on backpacking, leading hikes and doing trail work for Backpacker Magazine as their "Get Out More!" Road Team. Living at home was going to have to wait; we rented our house and hit the road. After two years, driving 60,000 miles, visiting 40 states and sleeping in a different place every couple nights we decided it was time for me to "Discover Ohio" along with promoting the Buckeye Trail and hiking in Ohio.

Since completing our honeymoon hike in 2001 along the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, we have been longing to stretch our legs again on a long trail. What better trail then the Buckeye to join in my new State's Bicentennial celebration and find out what it is that keeps families for so many generations here in the "Heart of it All".

After throwing out the first pitch at the September 8th Reds game on behalf of the Buckeye Trail Association, we were set to begin our hike the next morning at the Southern Terminus of the trail in Eden Park overlooking the Ohio River. We haven't allowed ourselves any short days or breaks to get into shape so we headed off with a goal of reaching Loveland the first night, about 21 miles away. We did make it with sore muscles and swelling feet but this trail showed its strengths as we enjoyed fruit tarts and orange juice in Hyde Park Square and lunch in Mariemont before reaching the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Milford.

The bike path dominated our route for the next 80 miles except for a swing into Caesars Creek State Park, which allowed us to give our feet a change of pace as we actually walked on dirt. One thing we weren't sure of was how our feet would do on pavement for that many miles. They haven't done that well, as I just bought a bigger pair of shoes to allow for the swelling, bunions, and blisters and Brent is dealing with some pains of his own. The one thing we have learned from past hikes is that the first week of any long hike is painful. In a couple weeks we should be able to crank out the miles and get into a Zen like rhythm, we can't wait for that day to come.

Camping wasn't too hard to find through the first five days as we were able to make it to some canoe livery campgrounds along the river and then to Caesars Creek and John Bryan State Parks. Today we walked from Yellow Springs to Fairborn on country roads and through suburban streets before cutting the day short to tweak some of our gear and try out some new footwear before our support system is more than 30 minutes away.

So far we have discovered there are many differences between the Buckeye Trail and a typical backpacking trip, the first being people. Most folks go backpacking to escape the crowds, but through this first section of trail we encountered hundreds of people. Second is food, we enjoyed our first and second breakfasts on trail at lovely coffee shops, and have discovered the best Blackberry milkshakes in Ohio can be found at the Spring Valley Mercantile, although we are still open for tasting. Third, this trip has begun to open our eyes to the possibility of adventure for weekends to come along the Little Miami.

Joggers and bikers along the path are plentiful but most people we spoke with were surprised to learn that the southern part of the Buckeye Trail is also the American Discovery Trail stretching from Delaware to California, and the North Country Trail reaching from New York to North Dakota. Aside from the big three trails, the 2170 mile Appalachian, 2650 mile Pacific Crest, and 3100 mile Continental Divide most other long trails weave urban, rural, and wilderness paths together to form a more diverse walk. That is the style of the Buckeye Trail, a little bit different than our past long distance hiking experiences but sure to be an interesting one.

Join us through journals along the way, and we hope to see you down the trail.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Two
Total miles walked 273
September 14-20

This week we were on a track due North and the progress we made seemed pretty quick. We walked from Fairborn to our current location in Napoleon, about 20 miles west of Bowling Green in 7 days. When you walk a trail through the woods it usually takes about 2 miles of trail for every 1 mile of road to get from point A to point B, because the trail in the woods is obviously going to wind around a bit. But here on the Buckeye Trail we followed the path of the Miami Erie Canal almost the entire week and it was a straight shot North. So when we walked, we made good progress towards Toledo.

From Fairborn to Tipp City we walked past the Air Force Museum, which was having a little air show, and on through Dayton to Tipp City. Walking up the hill from the Mad River Bikeway to the Webster St. Bridge near the confluence of the Mad and Great Miami River accounted for the biggest hill of the week. It took nearly 15 seconds and 10 powerful steps to climb, we felt proud of our accomplishment. On the other side of the bridge we discovered the new statues of Orville and Wilbur overlooking downtown Dayton as a storm approached.

From Tipp City north it was all small towns and farmland as we walked through Troy and under the 1860 Eldean Covered Bridge on our way to Piqua. In Piqua we stopped at the IGA for some food, but also for a bag of ice. The bottom of Brent's feet were stinging with every step and swollen so we rested on the side of the parking lot with that lovely bag of ice under our feet and our gear spread around as we reorganized. I'm not sure exactly what the locals were thinking, but the word vagrant comes to mind.

The Buckeye Trail is broken up into 24 sections, each covering about 50 miles. Each section has a Buckeye Trail Association supervisor responsible for maintaining that section including painting the 2x6 inch blue blazes that are on utility poles and trees, clearing the trail, and updating the maps among other duties.

The Troy section supervisor, John Heater, found us in Piqua and arranged for us to camp at Johnston Farm, Ohio Historical Society property just North of Piqua. We camped near the site Pickawillany, which is where the Miami Indians made an agreement with the English creating some unhappy French here on the western front. Later this site became Fort Piqua as part of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne's string of forts built up the western side of what is now Ohio. Even during the Civil War this farm was used as a training ground. The literature we read before bed had more interesting stories such as bodies being boiled but we were just hoping the battalions of mosquitoes would not penetrate the mesh of our tent or we would become another piece of history of Johnston Farm.

We passed by Lockington, which has a series of stone locks still standing, on our way to Lake Loramie State Park. At Lake Loramie we began a 40-mile stretch of off road travel as we followed the old canal towpath the entire distance. What we discovered is that the towpath ranged from walking on a nice dirt path, to gravel, to knee high grass that was usually soaking wet from dew. That sequence of tread depended solely on how close to town we were. We walked through Minster, New Bremen, and St. Mary's with Dave Stillwell of the BTA. Dave was checking out the trail for maintenance concerns as well as providing us with some local history along our route.

Shortly after Dave left us we encountered the result of a storm from the previous week. With the canal on one side and Forty-Acre Lake on the other side of our 10-foot wide path we had the challenge of climbing, crawling, scooting, and weaving through dozens of trees that had fallen over the trail, many on top of each other creating a jungled mess. We made it through after Brent picked up a little poison ivy and ripped his shorts ¾ of the way up the sides. We were able to recover as we had made plans for Dave to pick us up at the end of the day and take us back to his house for showers, laundry, and a comfortable place to rest.

To date, Delphos holds the record as the friendliest town on the trail. As we strolled into town with thoughts of finding lunch we were met by smiling curious folks helping set up for the Canal Days Festival. We soon learned that just about everyone in town reads the Lima News and knew who we were and what we were doing. As we walked into a small restaurant a friendly couple greeted us, "Well, there they are!" After lunch a women ran out from the business from across the street to say hello and make sure we had seen the article, we were recognized at the hardware store while buying batteries and the seamstress at Shaenks was thrilled to mend the rip in Brent's torn pants she had read about in the paper. It seemed everyone we encountered from Spencerville to Ft. Jennings was eager to wave and wish us well. Even the Sheriff's Deputy that was sent after us to investigate a report of a shady looking man walking down the street in Ft. Jennings wished us well after realizing Brent fit the description of a local felon but luckily was not the felon (although the call to the Sheriff may well have been about Brent).

There aren't many places to camp along the Auglaize River; it's pretty much all privately owned farmland. We would have to test our luck at asking permission to camp in someone's field. We picked the right door to knock on! Larry Buss had just pulled in the driveway at about 8pm from a long day at work when Brent and I approached him about camping in his yard. He thought that would be fine but needed to check with his wife Marie. He invited us in as Larry asked Marie our request. Marie was elated as soon as she caught a glimpse of us. She had read about us in the paper and had been hoping she would have a chance to meet us as she knew they lived on the trail.

It turns out that two years ago, about the same time in the evening an English man had knocked on the door asking if he could camp in their backyard. Of all the coincidences Brent and I had picked the same family as John, the only other known person to do a continuous circuit hike of the Buckeye Trail. Marie and Larry invited us to join them at the Outpost for some local color and dinner. The Outpost is only a short walk across the river from the trail and the owners are very friendly and interested in getting more involved with the hiking community. Two years ago they had helped out Pierce, a man from Scotland who had gotten lost trying to follow the Auglaize River during an attempt to thru hike the entire North Country Trail. If you're out there section hiking and need a good meal at the end of the day we recommend the Outpost in Ft. Jennings. Marie made us a good country farm breakfast to send us on our way in the morning, already famous among BT hikers.

We are currently in Napoleon, excited to have made the turn east just before Defiance. It is hard to believe that the progress we have made after two weeks. The next hill we expect to climb should be somewhere around Cleveland.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Three
Total miles walked 417
September 21-27

We left Napoleon mid morning last Sunday having made the turn east towards Cleveland. First, the trail took us through the outskirts of Toledo as we made our way off and on along the Maumee River towards Grand Rapids. The town of Grand Rapids was an idyllic setting as we ate ice cream on a swinging bench overlooking a scenic bend in the Maumee.

The ten miles of canal towpath leaving Grand Rapids has been some of the best walking of the trip and we were treated to a replica working canal boat along this stretch of the twin canal, named so for being double wide from this point on to Toledo.

That night a thunderstorm hit us about 4am and it rained, and rained, and rained some more for about 12 hours. We took refuge at the convenience store in Haskins, a tiny one street town north of Bowling Green. After getting to know the lady behind the counter fairly well during our hour break from the rain we decided that we would push on and try to make it to Pemberville, 21 miles away.

Our map showed camping at the Brunings just a half mile off the trail. We arrived at about 8:30 in the dark and the rain to find out that they no longer live there. Luckily, the new owner offered to take us to their new home just down the street. With camping options being a bit challenging in this area we were thankful that we had a place to go, or did we?

The Brunings did not realize they were listed on our Buckeye Trail Map as a place to camp and so they were a bit surprised by our visit on this rainy dark evening. However, they came to find out it was their sister who used to do some work on the BT who had put them on the list. We were able to share stories and figure out the details of how this situation came to be after taking them up on their offer of showers and milkshakes.

We took a leisurely morning in Pemberville so we could visit Beeker's General Store. Our map described it as a "time capsule" and it truly was as we stocked up on penny candy and browsed the shelves for other interesting trinkets from the past.

Leaving Pemberville we only had 15 miles scheduled as we were spending the night with some family friends who live on the trail near Fremont. We walked country roads to the Knipps, who happen to live on Knipp Road and farm tomatoes. With the crop ready to be harvested, we visited the fields for a lesson in tomato farming. Once again we enjoyed being spoiled with showers, laundry, and a home cooked meal.

We zipped east as the trail skirted Fremont and went past Root's Poultry where we were able to stock up on some groceries for the next 3 days as we were now going to be "out in the country" and not walking by a store every day. Our route was on one lane road, sometimes dirt, as we walked by an Arm & Hammer Plant and some cemeteries with markers from the early 1800's.

We walked "Old Military Road" built during the War of 1812 to move supplies from Fort Wooster to Ft. Defiance. It was the only road we walked that went at a diagonal in this land of 90 degree turns.

After leaving the exciting town of Havana with fried foods and cold drinks in our stomachs we walked past corn, beans, and a couple cows on our way to Findley State Park.

Rain threatened most of the week but usually stayed away, except for huge thunderstorms last night that rolled in waves through the campground. Our feet are getting in shape now as they are not swelling at the end of the day, and our few blisters are callousing over which means the glory days of being in shape and having toughened feet can't be too far away. We have done several 28 mile days and many 25's as we are right on schedule to enter the Eastern part of the state.

Today marks our 2 year anniversary of finishing our 5 month hike on the Pacific Crest Trail and our first day of rest on the Buckeye Trail.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Four
Total miles walked 593
September 28-October 4, 2003

We left you last with tales of horrendous thunderstorms in Findley State Park, which illuminated our tent throughout the night and woke us at times with loud thunderous explosions. We woke to a wet camp and flooded trails. All the water was not good for what was to be our first of three state park hikes open to the public. In any direction we attempted to hike last Saturday morning, with an enthusiastic group of Buckeye Trail Volunteers we were met by knee deep water. All was not lost. We were able to head down the trail later in the day after the water level had dramatically subsided. The good news was that our food sack was full of homemade zuchini bread and cookies shaped like Ohio thanks to Ruth Brown and Grandma along with bellies full of warm chicken noodle soup thanks to Liz McQuaid. We look forward to our next state park hikes; Headlands Beach SP (October 5), and Hocking Hills SP (November 2). We will take the day off and hike with Buckeye Trail Members and anyone interested in getting to know more about the Buckeye Trail Association and hiking in Ohio.

We left Findley SP Saturday afternoon to get in a few miles and were able to enjoy the sunrise at Spencer Lake Wildlife area Sunday. The Medina section of the Buckeye Trail led us east along country and suburban roads. Brent could not help but feel a bit envious of the football parties we walked passed, easy to spot with half a dozen cars in the driveway. We hiked over 30 miles on Sunday as Brent was continuously rejuvinated listening to the Bengals beat the Browns on his small AM/FM radio. He felt no pain as his team took their first win of the season. I even joined in the dancing as we did the Ickey Shuffle down the streets trying to avoid the streams of tears from the crying Browns' fans.

Monday morning took us through Hinckley Reservation, which offered us our first off road hiking of the section. We encountered a group of High School students unknowingly utilizing the Buckeye Trail on a rock -climbing trip at Whipps Ledges. So far we have crossed paths with other hikers, joggers, bikers, equestrians and now climbers along this diverse Trail. Shortly after leaving Hinckley we came upon a surprise farm market named Luther's. We had no idea it was there, but within a moment of discovery we were splitting a peach and pumpkin pie for an afternoon high calorie snack. Every surprise has its advantages but the one's that involve Amish pie usually rank pretty high!

Later in the day we entered the Brecksville Reservation. Brecksville is home to the official completion of the Buckeye Trail, which took place in 1983, and the spur trail south. The trail splits to go northeast to Lake Erie or south through Akron to Massillon. We headed south toward Akron before shuttling back up to the split to continue on to Lake Erie. The trail meandered into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park where we were rewarded after a long chilly day on trail with a hot shower and a warm bed at the hostel in Boston. We headed south following the Cuyahoga River and eventually navigated our way through Sand Run Metro Park and the city of Akron past the homes of Col. Simon Perkins and the infamous John Brown of abolition fame.

We walked past canal locks and the farm of Connecticut Land Colonist Jonathan Hale as well as my favorite historical marker of the week, the infamous James Brown. Brown was a counterfeiter who sold forged bank drafts to the Bank of Pittsburgh and later the Bank of Boston by using his own version of the pony express. He was aquitted because no juror believed a man could travel that fast.

At Canal Fulton we were met by our shuttle service (Brent's Grandparents) who took us back north to the Brecksville Reservation after a warm night and plenty of food in Wooster. We retraced our steps to the split in the trail and this time took the northern route headed towards Headlands Beach State Park, Lake Erie.

Shortly after immerging from the Tinkers Creek Gorge we met Eric Baldwin. Eric is a member of the Cleveland Hiking Club and member of the Buckeye Trail Assoc. He was curious what we were doing with full size backpacks and map in hand. He had heard of a couple hiking the trail and thought that may be who we were. A few miles later as we hiked again along Tinkers Creek, Eric emerged from the woods, this time to invite us home for a spaghetti dinner, shower and warm bed. We were more then happy to except the offer and spare ourselves from what could have been our first night camping in below freezing temperatures even though it meant falling a few miles shy of where we had hoped to be. Eric and his wife Mary are hiking the entire trail in short segments over many years. It was nice to be able to sit down and "talk trail" like we have on other trails with fellow hikers going through the same logistical and physical hardships.

We were back on trail early the next morning with Penitentiary Glen Metro Park as our goal, this meant we were in store for a 35mile day. We cruised along at 3 miles an hour with only a few breaks for rest and food. Among the highlights of this days trek was Patterson's Farm Market where we both enjoyed fresh baked apple fritters and dumplings with cider. That was just enough to propel us into Penitentiary Glen at dusk where we enjoyed the trail past ponds and into the deep dark woods as the last light fell.

With headlights glaring and rain beginning to fall, the winds picked up to scary speeds as limbs began to fall from above. We decided to crank it on out of there as fast as we could and made it to the Nature Center to be greeted by Dan Burnett, manager, who had invited us to stay overnight inside the ghostly renovated barn from the 1800's that is now the nature center. With the assistance of section supervisor, Mel Beers, this stop had been arranged for weeks and when Dan showed us to our room in the library we were greeted with fruit, Hershey Bars, and juice. The hospitality provided by Penitentiary Glen was above and beyond anything necessary or expected and we are thankful.

After a morning tour of the wildlife rehab center we walked in the rain again, but this time we ended at Headlands Beach State Park and the beautiful site of Lake Erie. Seeing the lake is definitely an emotional point of the trip as we near halfway and head back towards Cincinnati with cool air and autumn colors waiting for us along the way.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Five
Total miles walked 722
October 5 - 11

We enjoyed the psychological halfway point of the hike at Lake Erie by taking a day off, spent resting our bodies and preparing for the colder air and shorter days we will encounter on the second half of our journey. As the miles fall, we were still about 50 miles from the true halfway point of the trip, but on any long distance hike, it is the psychology of the mind that determines the feeling of accomplishment, and seeing the lake brought that feeling home.

Anybody who has done a long distance walk can tell you it is the mental part that will kill you, physically most people who start can finish. This is the reason that thousands of people will attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail each year but only about 15 percent will complete it. While money and injuries are part of the picture, it is the mental aspect of getting up every morning under any condition that causes many to call it quits. They think, "This was fun for a while, but a few months of this is too much." You've got to have a strong desire to complete the task at hand. Perseverance becomes your greatest asset and the glue that holds all of those good times together.

These next few weeks will fly by quickly, with half the journey behind us we enter the mind frame of savoring every mile we have left. After 5 weeks of hiking over 20 miles daily our bodies move like fine tuned machinery. The only thing holding us back at this point is the waning daylight, which will continue to dwindle for the remainder of the hike. This means we stop hiking earlier and sleep in later, time in the tent we would rather spend on the trail to discovery as the leaves are changing and the hills are growing.

Near Toledo as we crossed the Maumee River during a cold rain, a man asked us what we were doing, and after we told him he said, "Do you find that rewarding?" The answer was an automatic yes without even thinking. He must have been wondering how in the world was that true when we would be walking on roads in a 50 degree rain the rest of the day. It is true that particular moment was possibly not the most noteworthy, but from experience we know that the end result of completing a trail is definitely worthy of continuing on to discover what is down the road. Some would say we are addicted to this chase, and that could be true. That is why we are trying to settle down by only doing this one last walk (in reality we should be doing day hikes to ween ourselves as this experience only strengthens Amy's desire to hike the Continental Divide).

One of those good times took place in Hartville located a few miles southeast of Akron. We passed the 650-mile mark near Hartville, which was cause for celebration on our 1300-mile trip. As is custom on the Appalachian Trail you try to eat a half-gallon of ice cream at the halfway point. Hartville is a lovely little town with antique shops, restaurants, and THREE ice cream parlors. The challenge is to eat the whole half-gallon at one sitting while drinking only water. Amy does not participate in this challenge usually and she was not planning to on this occasion. But she is always good at trash talking, claiming that it will jinx the second half of the hike if I can't finish it off. So the entire future success of our walk comes down to this.

To set the stage a bit more, I have never had a problem in previous attempts to complete the challenge. I am a full-fledged member of the half-gallon club on 2 other trails. You are even presented with an engraved wooden spoon when you complete the challenge in Pennsylvania on the Appalachian Trail and are eligible to sign the special register.

Because of my confidence from past successes I didn't think much of it to go ahead and eat lunch at the Hartville Pie Factory and Restaurant prior to bagging the ice cream. For the ice cream, I have in the past purchased your standard cheap, brick of ice cream and settled in with a glass of water. For this moment, however, I went to the Village Creamery and had a hand packed bucket of the most creamy, dense, fudge and peanut butter laden half gallon I had ever seen. This was not by choice but destiny. With no cheap blocks available I was forced into alternative modes of purchase. The name of the ice cream was Buckeye leaving me no choice. In a similar situation on the Pacific Crest Trail our friend "Grizzly" was destined into an ice cream of rich chocolate, nuts, and caramel because the name was Bear Claw. He finished, but barely as we christened the half-gallon club on that trail.

With the bucket in front of me, I began. Forty-Five minutes later I finished, but not the ice cream. Homemade Buckeye Ice Cream is not airy and light like a block from the store. Even with encouragement by phone from other half-gallon club members, pulling out my lucky buckeyes, and a solid pace to begin the challenge, it was over before it began. I had only eaten about a third of the bucket when I knew I was defeated. We will walk on with the jinx in place hoping to not twist an ankle or fall off a cliff knowing it could have been avoided with only a few hundred more spoonfulls of dreadfully dense Buckeye Ice Cream.

Besides ice cream we enjoyed walking through the New England Style town of Burton settled in an Amish community. West Branch and Quail Hollow State parks provided some off road travel as well as one of our favorite spots thus far, the Mogadore Reservoir. We passed a Flintstone looking house near Girdled Road Revervation where we walked amongst Great Blue Heron before climbing to Big Creek Reservation where we heard but did not see a cackle of wild turkeys. One of our best surprises was walking by the Goodyear Airship Operations Hangar and receiving a personal tour and close up look at the 205 foot Spirit of Akron blimp. We enjoyed apples and cider from Blue Jay Orchard near Hiram before we finished the week back in Massilon with the little loop of northeastern Ohio behind us and the hills of the south approaching fast.

Luckily for us we have had the opportunity to meet some great people associated with the Buckeye Trail who have been very kind and generous to us as we passed through there sections. Several members of the Big Creek Metropark came out and hiked with us for 5 miles. Patti Cook arranged for us to speak to the 1st, 4th, and 6th Graders at Burton Elementary about our travels thus far and then invited us in to her home for the evening. Mel Beers, Jay Abercrombie, and Dave Sweeney all provided wonderful hospitality as well.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Six
Total miles walked 773
October 12-18, 2003

With the trail on one lane country roads rolling over and around the hills of Ohio's lake country we are feeling a change in the dynamics of the walk. From this point on we will not be walking through any major cities until we are back in Cincinnati and walking through suburban sprawl. We have about 500 miles left as we head into the most rugged and isolated part of the Buckeye Trail. We will pass through the Wayne National Forest and Shawnee State Forest as well as the Hocking Hills Region. The trees have turned and the cold weather is coming, it should be an exciting 5- week journey home.

This week we began in Massillon where we walked through downtown enjoying the sounds of church bells ringing from several massive structures. Just as Amy was getting a lesson on the history of football in Massillon we happened upon an incredible 3 story tall mural celebrating the Centennial of Massillon Tiger Football. As we moved south of Massillon back on the towpath we headed towards Navarre and out of our last "big" city.

South of town the towpath ended at a concrete barrier near the Massillon Wastewater Treatment Plant. Our route was then supposed to take us on a footpath close to the Tuscarawas River between the plant and the river. This trail may have existed but after you walk over a gravel pile and across the rocks beneath a sewage pipe we came to a chain link fence with a sign reading "Path Temporarily Closed". It appeared it was time to study the maps and find a route around the plant, which was difficult as it looked like we would have to backtrack a short way and then walk a 4 lane highway where pedestrian traffic was not allowed.

As we were standing in front of the chain link fence blocking the path, unsure of how to get around this little stumbling block, two men drove up in a little golf cart. They were racing toward us and we thought that surely they would be able to help us find our way. They were not as friendly as we had hoped, they informed us that if we thought about crossing that fence we would be arrested. Well, we weren't going to cross the fence, but apparently someone was inside. They asked if we were with the guy that was using the closed path and who was about to be arrested. After convincing them that we had no connection to anyone trail running in front of us they offered some gruff directions on how to get around the plant and we were off.

We walked roads around the plant, past a Wal-Mart and the Juvenile Detention Center and came to a road into a gravel pit with an open gate. The gate had signs that read "Road Closed" and "No Trespassing". We had to assume that meant only if the gate was closed so we proceeded onward. Luckily, a nice truck driver coming out of the gravel pit pointed us down the road past the scale house to a parking lot where there are big tires piled up next to some boulders…and that is where he had seen some bikers come out of the woods, perfect.

Back on the path we were headed to Navarre for lunch and Zoar for dinner almost entirely on soft towpath. Little did we know of the surprise that would await. We rolled into a park honoring John Glenn and were met by a man offering us bread and asking if we were on the Buckeye Trail. Then another guy with a familiar gait came walking up, it was a friend of ours whom we'd met while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2001. We had hiked with Del off and on for a couple hundred miles through the heat of the Mojave Desert in Southern California and after the trail Brent and Del ran the 50-mile Mountain Masochist Trail Run together in VA. Gary and Del drove up from Columbus to find us on the trail and spend the day hiking. Both being runners, they had already split up to run different directions up and down the trail to find us only knowing we were somewhere near Massillon.

It turns out that the man that was about to get arrested at the wastewater plant was Del. He had been running north on the path and I guess it wasn't as clearly marked that the trail was closed coming from that direction, or so he said. Little did we know that when we ran into Gary at the park we almost were able to tell him that Del must have been the guy that was arrested. Luckily, Del never met the gruff men from the plant. We found out later that the path through there has been closed for about 18 months and has become a political battle. Just the week before a bike enthusiast had tried cutting a path with a chainsaw so everyone at the plant was on the lookout for trail enthusiast activists fighting for the cause of recreation.

With all that behind us, Gary and Del spent the rest of the day hiking and enjoying lunch in Navarre, Dairy Queen in Bolivar (where the trail nearly goes through the store), and dinner at the Zoar Tavern. Just a typical day on the trail plus we also had some of the most pleasant hiking yet on a dirt path between Bolivar and Zoar. Zoar was a successful communal community in the 1800's now operated as a museum by the Ohio Historical Society with a cute little downtown of antiques, museum buildings, the old community garden, and a tavern.

This was a short hiking week for us ending at Tappan Lake. One day was spent walking in a cold, driving rain near Leesville Lake, all part of the Muskingum Conservancy Water District. We took time off to rest our bodies and join in the celebration of two friends getting married in Kentucky. This couple met on the Pacific Crest Trail, fell in love the following year at the annual ALDHA (Appalachian Long Distance Hiking Association) gathering and will be hiking the 3100-mile Continental Divide Trail for their honeymoon. At the wedding we had the opportunity to talk with Laurel and Hardy who have just recently completed their hike of the American Discovery Trail. They are the first two people to thru-hike the trail--it took them a year and a half to walk from Delaware to California. They walked 500 miles of the Buckeye Trail during their journey through Ohio on the ADT. They shared wonderful memories of the rich history and wonderful people they met while passing through the Buckeye State.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Seven
Total miles walked 903
October 19 - 26, 2003

The silence of the woods was broken this week as the Buckeye Trail was busy with backpackers. The fellow packers provided good company and better stories as we strolled together down the path. This week we started at Tappan Dam off Route 250 and traversed through Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble, and Morgan Counties before ending in Stockport during a cold rain.

The lakes of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District provided an opportunity for the trail to get off road and brush the edges of Tappan, Clendening, Piedmont, Salt Fork, and Seneca Lakes, which are connected by one-lane dirt roads meandering over the hills of Appalachia Country. Here in the south when the trail is on road it is very rural, with some roads so little traveled that grass is growing between the 2 tread lanes, making wandering these hills very pleasant.

One of the things we enjoy most on this 10-week hike is finding new recreation destinations that we will return. Harrison County is full of lakes we plan to paddle and a 100 mile bike touring route that connects several of the lakes, along with quaint little towns and B&B's. A good starting point for info is www.harrisoncountyohio.org. Chris Copeland of the Buckeye Trail Board found us along the road and treated us to some good Harrison County hospitality before we moved on to points south. You just never know where the next surprise is going to come from on the Buckeye Trail.

A fellow Scouter from Dayton, Mike Fanelli, joined us this week and kept us entertained with his harmonica. He played "Home on the Range" just as we were passing the White Oak Exotic Game Farm where the Buffalo were laying as opposed to roaming, but it was very timely. Mike has hiked the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail within the last several years and is currently working on the Sheltowee Trail in Kentucky. However, he decided to discover Ohio this week while hiking the Buckeye Trail with us. We spent one day walking through the 30,000- acre Ohio Power ReCreation Lands where 21 miles of the Buckeye Trail are located. This stretch allowed us to spend our first day of the trip entirely on single-track trail. Mike was able to discover the Ohio Power Lands with us, a stretch of trail he has wanted to hike for over 20 years, while Amy and I did not even know it existed. Every day still continues to be a discovery.

In the middle of the week our friends Mike and Kam Watkins joined us for 2 days of backpacking. Mike and Kam have just finished hiking the, "Triple Crown". Earlier this month they completed hiking the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT). They hiked from Canada to Mexico following the divide for 3000 miles. We first met Mike and Kam in the Sierras during our Pacific Crest Trail Hike, which they completed as well in 2001.

The Triple Crown is a title given to anyone who has completed the three major long distance trails in this country, the 2168-mile Appalachian Trail, 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, and the CDT. About 50 people have completed the Triple Crown.
We also met Jim and Frank who were out for a one-week backpacking trip on the Buckeye Trail between Leesville Lake and Salt Fork State Park. Frank is gearing up for an Appalachian Trail thru hike attempt this coming year. We had met Jim when he joined us for a hike we led in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in September, so it was good to talk about our experiences on the trail. They were the first 2 backpackers we had encountered thus far on the BT.

Once again pie was a highlight of the week, this time coming from the home of the Buckeye Trail President and his wife, Herb and Susie Hulls. The Hulls picked us up from the trail and along with hot showers and good food treated us to homemade pumpkin and apple pie. We dove into the pie for dessert and breakfast leaving not a crumb for leftovers.

Other highlights of the week also included the friendly town of Old Washington and Hoskinsville where we went by Ragan's Chapel where in 1863 a deserter from the Union Army started a rebellion. With daylight dwindling to less than 12 hours a day our hiking time is getting shorter and the nights longer as we look forward to the final 3 weeks of the journey.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Eight
Total miles walked 1002
October 27 - November 1, 2003

This week took us from the quaint town of Stockport, situated on the Muskingum River, through Burr Oak State Park and the Wayne National Forest into the Old Man's Cave area of Hocking Hills State Park. We crossed the 1000 mile mark just before reaching Old Man's Cave on Saturday, a milestone to savor as we head toward Cincinnati and completion of the trail just two weeks away.

As we were setting up camp on a ridge in the Wayne National Forest on Wednesday night, we noticed a cloud of red in the sky and what appeared to be spotlights shining through the redness. We thought it was some sort of Athens Halloween display at best and we created many other theories that thankfully were not true. But, camping in the woods with weird things going on in the sky is always a fun and exciting situation. It turned out that we witnessed the Northern Lights or some version thereof, according to the locals in the following days. It was quite a site as it shifted through the sky and eventually dissipated.

We have never been to Pamplona, Spain to run with the bulls but we were faced with a similar situation walking through Trimble Township near Murray City this week. After surviving the night with some intoxicated locals looking for their dogs, we walked in the morning to discover the trail took us through a cattle farm. Normally this is not a problem, but the problem was that the cattle were not in their fields. The trail meandered down a one-lane road between 2 fields with about a 10-foot gap between the fences. Between the fences, on the road, were 50 head of cattle scrunched into a makeshift pen where we were supposed to walk. We had a decision to make: enter the pen and try to move the cattle as well as Billy Crystal and his cohorts in City Slickers or run for it like the crazies in Pamplona. Either situation seemed like it would make a good story for our journal and we wanted to bring the readers something fun and exciting. So with 50 cattle in a tight space penned up between us and Cincinnati, we gave it some quick thought and found a detour around the bovine bonanza--not risking the other two exciting options.

Another highlight of this week was walking on the Burr Oak Backpack Loop Trail which followed the lake as well as the trails within the Wayne National Forest. Along the trail we saw our first turkeys of the hike and a big buck. Each section of the trail is more often than not a single-track footpath. Of the 54-mile New Straitsville section about 32 miles were on footpath. We have both enjoyed the diversity of walking on small winding roads interspersed with the trail through the woods. Southern Ohio has proven to be beautiful walking especially with these warm southern temperatures in the mid 70's.

In the Old Man's Cave Section which started near Logan, we stayed at Lake Logan Campground and were able to do laundry, shower, and order pizza from town. While backpacking can sometimes be roughing it, part of the fun is figuring out how to enjoy some comforts along the way. The folks at Lake Logan Campground were extremely friendly and have done shuttles for BT hikers in the past. It is definitely a great stop on the trail--everything you need to be rejuvenated.

The next morning we enjoyed an invitation for hot cider and coffee from Earl and Nancy who live on the trail and were rocking away on a warm Sunday morning when they saw us walking down the road. After visiting, we headed to Conkle's Hollow State Nature Preserve. It is the deepest gorge in Ohio at over 200' with spectacular waterfalls, cliffs, and lush hemlock groves. It has been a scenic highlight of the trip thus far and a place on our list for a return trip to enjoy rock climbing and hiking in the gorge.

We are two weeks and 300 miles from our end point back in Cincinnati. With warm temps continuing another week it looks like we won't be dealing with the bitter cold that we thought might surround us in November. We are headed toward Chillicothe and Pike State Forest this week with the hills of Shawnee in the distance.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Nine
Total miles walked 1156
November 1 - 8, 2003

We started the week with a beautiful hike on the Grandma Gatewood National Recreation Trail between Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave in Hocking Hills. Bob Pond, author of Follow the Blue Blazes, joined us along with Steve Miller, the Buckeye Trail Webmaster, his family and friends. Waterfalls, caves, rock formations, and moss in the midst of a cool, moist environment highlighted this stretch of trail. It was one of the most scenic areas yet! The trail was named for Grandma Gatewood who was a founder of the Buckeye Trail in 1959 and also, at age 67, was the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail. A southeastern Ohio native, another first to her credit was buying the original can of blue paint used to blaze the Buckeye Trail--the first section being from Old Man's Cave to Ash Cave.

Next we hiked through Tar Hollow State Forest on a stretch of beautiful trail where friends from Columbus, Del and Gary, once again joined us. Our day ended at Granny's Restaurant on US 50, east of Chillicothe. Granny's just may be the perfect hiker stop-delicious pizza, ice cream, pie, fries, and burgers topped off with good friendly service.

After breakfast at Granny's, we headed off to Sciota Trail State Forest but as we were walking by the church in Richmond Dale we were invited to enjoy their Election Day lunch by Mike Snyder and Connie who was waiting on the sidewalk. We learned that Mike and Connie are trail maintainers and welcome hikers frequently. They live right on the trail and have hosted many hikers before us: John Merril from England--the Buckeye Trail's only other thru-hiker, Laurel and Hardy who just completed the American Discovery Trail from Delaware to California, Bill and Laurie Foot who hiked and then bicycled the American Discovery Trail, and Brian Stark who ran across the US. We enjoyed an evening of good company with the Snyders who provided us with shower and laundry facilities as well as a delicious dinner and entertainment at a local square dance. What great trail angels!

Cold rain and chilly temperatures accompanied us into Pike State Forest, Fort Hill State Memorial, past the Serpent Mound, Davis Memorial State Nature Preserve and into Shawnee State Forest near Portsmouth. We stopped in Peebles for a hearty meal before re-supplying for three days. After throwing our wet, cold socks into a dryer, we night-hiked under the glow of a full moon.

Mid-morning on Sunday, November 16, we are planning to arrive at the Buckeye Trail's southern terminus in Cincinnati's Eden Park. We are looking forward to our last week on the trail and completion of our walk around Ohio.

A Journey along the Buckeye Trail: Week Ten
Total miles walked 1303
November 9-16, 2003

We left you last in Shawnee State Forest, otherwise known as the "Little Smokey's". We had been looking forward to the Shawnee trail section for months and were hoping to make it through despite the damage suffered during last winters ice storm, which brought down numerous tree tops that collapsed under the weight of their frozen branches. A handful of Buckeye Trail Volunteers have been working hard for months to clear the windfall and we were hoping to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The northeast trail section that we entered into was in excellent condition and we remained hopeful. However, after a few miles we were out of the woods and crossing a parking lot for the Shawnee Backpacking Trailhead when a Forest Service Ranger stopped us to point out the trail closure signs and officially let us know that the trail is still closed. Being law-abiding citizens we heeded the warning and were able to walk dirt roads, which parallel the trail. Our standard for thru-hiking a trail is continuous footprints from start to finish. We were able to achieve that through road walking but look forward to returning in the near future to spend a weekend backpacking on the official Buckeye Trail.

Shortly after leaving Shawnee and entering into the West Union trail section we were happy to see a now familiar vehicle pulling up next to us on Sunshine Ridge Road. It was Del and Gary, the Columbus based long distance runners and hikers. They have spent a few days hiking with us throughout our journey, but this time they had backpacks and two full days off.

The company was a welcome surprise, as at this point I am growing tired of listening to Brent serenade me with John Denver songs, (as fitting as Country Roads may be while hiking the Buckeye Trail) and explaining the art of football. Highlights of the West Union section included passing the Counterfeit House built in 1840 to make $500 bills, and reading a historical marker about the Bentonville Anti-Horse Thief Society, started in 1853 but still active today. As we followed the lovely Suck Run River through rolling hills and farmland we couldn't help but entertain ourselves with thoughts of what would happen if we did attempt to steal a horse, just for fun. Another highlight was meeting the Vogel's who maintain this section of trail and provided us with a warm bed, much needed laundry and home cooked meal.

There are 24 official Buckeye Trail sections and all have a corresponding map. The end of the trail felt close as we moved on to the Williamsburg map, the last of the series to complete our hike. With the end in site we moved forward swiftly, with speeds up to 3.5 miles an hour… until we hit the East Fork of the Little Miami River. As we peered down over the bridge on Route 133 we saw the effects that the cold hard rain of the last few days has had. Full size trees where being swept down river and this fast moving water appeared bottomless. We opted to take the dry boot cutoff to avoid having to cross the river down stream. But this water was just a preview of what awaited us in East Fork State Park.

We lost valuable time with creek crossings over the next 20 miles of trail. We were hopeful at first of keeping our feet dry because night time temps were expected in the 20's. This would be plenty cold to freeze our shoes. This forced us at times to spend up to an hour building log and stone bridges or scouting upstream for better footing. However, our efforts earlier in the day proved to be in vein as at 4:30pm on Thursday we came to creek too wide and swift moving to find a way around or over with the daylight we had left to work with. We took our socks off and our Spenco insoles out of our shoes, placed our shoes back on our feet and waded across. Our feet went numb with cold water rushing over them during the crossing but that was nothing compared to the cold we felt the following morning. That night with temperatures in the low 20's our shoes, though inside the tent, had frozen into solid blocks of ice. Brent spent 10-minutes the following morning trying to get his feet inside his shoes, as he had not untied the laces the night before. I had untied my laces, however it was not until after hiking for over an hour that they had melted enough for me to loosely retie them.

Eventually we did make it out of East Fork State Park. It took us a half-day longer then originally planned. Once out, there was nothing but road between us and Milford, the official end of our circuit hike. We had one more surprise before reaching the end, Mike Fanelli. Mike had spent a week backpacking with us from Tappan Lake to Stockport and had come back to keep us company our last night on trail and to share in our celebration in Milford the following day. We came to Milford and the Y in the trail at about 9:30am Saturday. However, we had decided long ago that we would turn south and re-hike 12-miles back to Eden Park, where we started 10 weeks earlier.

We took it slow, having Pizza at Mios in Mariemont, a restaurant we enjoyed our very first day out on this journey. This time we walked in to enjoy lunch in a cold rain, on September 9 we were dripping wet from sweat. The day ended in Hyde Park Square with only 4 miles remaining for Sunday morning.

Our Sunday stroll took us past familiar sights and when we passed by an apartment building the concierge came out to give us each an Ohio Flag to carry on to the end. Family, a few friends and Channel 9 News greeted us in Eden Park along with the florist from Hyde Park Square who had met us that morning at breakfast. He brought bouquets of wildflowers and had set the concierge up with the flags, one last great surprise. It was great to be back overlooking the Ohio River having completed our own personal celebration of the Bicentennial.

We hiked on to the Bengal's game. Brent couldn't imagine a better ending, us successfully finishing the trail and the Bengal's beating the Kansas City Chiefs. I guess his failure to eat the half-gallon of Buckeye ice cream weeks earlier in Hartville hadn't jinxed us after all.

We'd also like to thank Steve Miller, the Buckeye Trail Webmaster for posting our journals weekly. He and his family showed support for our adventure throughout the hike. They were there to witness the first pitch at the Reds game back on Sept. 8th, they saw us off in Eden Park the following morning, joined us on our Old Mans Cave State Park Hike, hosted us one very cold evening and were there to greet us at the finish. And thanks to all of the dedicated Buckeye Trail Volunteers who make this trail a reality.

Stay tuned for one last journal summarizing the entire hike with more deep thoughts by Brent and Amy.

	The Discover Ohio on the Buckeye Trail Hike is presented by Febreze.
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Last updated: December 8, 2003

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