Bill Menke works for the National Park Service as manager of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Over 1000 miles of the NCT will pass through Ohio when it is completed, much of it along the Buckeye Trail. In 1996, he decided to take two weeks and hike from Eden Park to the Buckeye Trail Association's Annual Meeting near Old Man's Cave. Enjoy his story below.

In March 1980, Federal legislation authorized the establishment of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NST) as a component of the National Trails System. In many ways, the trail is similar in concept to the more widely known Appalachian Trail--both are NST's. In other ways, it is uniquely different as it crosses a more diverse geographic area from the vicinity of Crown Point, New York, to Lake Sakakawea State Park, on the Missouri River, in North Dakota, where it joins the route of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. When Congress authorized the North Country NST it was anticipated that it would be approximately 3,200 miles long. As work progresses to complete the trail, it appears as though it will be closer to 4,200 miles long. There are only eight National Scenic Trails in the Nation. Of these, the North Country NST will be the longest by far when it is completed.

As the National Park Service’s manager for the trail, I am attempting to hike the entire trail. Some short segments, I am able to experience during my normal course of work. However, in order to see longer segments, I try to reserve a couple of weeks of vacation each year to cover more miles and hopefully reach my goal of becoming an End-To-Ender. The following hike in Ohio was my first attempt to cover significant trail mileage.

Shouldering my new backpack I start east along the sidewalk in downtown Milford. Ah--I’m finally underway at 6:50 PM on April 12, 1996 and hoping to get in three or four miles before darkness arrives. After leaving home early this morning and driving to Paul Daniels home in Oxford, Ohio which is about an hour northwest of Milford--right at the Ohio/Indiana line, Paul has graciously driven me to the trail. Due to a traffic accident that we had to detour several miles to get around and then getting caught in Cincinnati’s rush hour traffic, I am getting a later start than I had hoped.

I have to begin by saying that I am not a practiced long distance hiker. The farthest that I have previously backpacked at one time is probably about 50 miles and it has been more years than I care to recall since the last backpacking trip. I’m not sure what possessed me to think that I might someday be among those select few who can say they are North Country Trail end-to-enders and decide to tackle my first significant mileage on the trail. It probably all started when the announcement of the Buckeye Trail Association’s (BTA) annual meeting arrived in the mail. With BTA being a major partner in the overall scheme of the North Country Trail, I had wanted to attend one of their meetings and meet more of their members for a long time--but the timing was never right. Their meeting this year was to be held near Old Man's Cave, in Hocking Hills State Park, beginning on the 26th. By now, you are probably figuring out my train of thought that went something like--If I planned a hike that ended at the meeting site, the timing is such that I can probably experience two spring seasons (once in southern Ohio and then again at home in Wisconsin). The spring wildflowers should be near their peak and I can also learn more about the trail that I am charged with trying to manage. Anyway, leaving Milford is the culmination of several months of planning, repackaging food, making new gear purchases, carrying my backpack on the routine early morning walks with my wife and neighbor couple (they all said they were glad it was still dark when we walked so the neighbors didn’t think they were crazy associating with me), and in general getting ready for the trip. I need to cover a few miles this evening as the maps show that it is approximately 260 miles to Old Mans Cave and I have allotted just 14 days to cover the distance. A little quick math shows that I need to keep a steady pace and cover about 18 miles per day to reach the goal. For a novice with an almost 50 pound pack (starting weight) that seems ambitious but I reason that in this part of Ohio, much of the route still follows roads so I should be able to cover miles rather quickly.  And, in the back of my mind, I know that if I find the distance too great, there is an out. Paul has agreed to pick me up at any point along the way as he drives to the meeting two weeks from now. All I have to do is find a phone and give him a call a day ahead of time.

Several days later after experiencing a number of 4-5 hour periods of hiking in cold rain, taking refuge in a pile of dry hay in an abandoned barn to get out a downpour and to warm up while having lunch, several days of 80+ degree weather, and blisters on both heels, I’m still not sure what possessed me to undertake this adventure. Am I having fun yet?? Being an end-to-ender requires a tremendous commitment of time and energy and I have a great deal of respect for those who complete any of the long-distance trails. I’m not sure that I’ll ever complete the entire trail but seriously, the hike in southern Ohio is beginning to be fun and it is certainly enlightening.

 The weather has included mornings when there was frost on the tent, many showers and thunderstorms, and days when sunscreen was a necessity. But overall, it is spring and my intuition about experiencing the wildflowers has been right on target. From daffodils and grape hyacinths near abandoned house-places to the entire forest floor being covered with trilliums as I pass through Fort Hill State Memorial, there have been many opportunities for an excuse to stop for a Kodak moment. During the second week of hiking, the redbuds finally burst into full bloom and line the roadsides with the dramatic purple-pink color unmatched by any other tree or shrub. Nearly every morning, I rouse from my little tent to cook a quick breakfast and enjoy another rite of spring--the gobbling of the wild turkeys. One morning when camped on a high hill just west of Ohio Brush Creek, a gobbler was really cutting loose just 75-100 yards from camp as I ate my oatmeal and pop tart. Becoming engrossed in the almost constant gobbling caused me to break camp a little later than usual that day.

Other highlights of the trip include friendly drivers giving me a thumbs up and a wave as they pass on the roadways, tumbling creeks with many ledge waterfalls, the clear call of the Bob-White Quail, the 81 years old postmistress in Bentonville (my first food drop) who insisted that I sit down and visit for a while, the welcome sight of the fire tower at the beginning of the North Country Trail segment in Shawnee State Forest (because it meant the end of a hot five hour hike along the loose gravel of Sunshine Ridge Road) and the beautiful campsite with its crystal clear stream a short while later, finding a note from Paul (that he had left four days earlier when in the area doing trail maintenance) as I cross a stile into Davis Memorial, short visits with mushroom and turkey hunters that give me a chance to talk with someone, icy streams where I soak my feet while having lunch, ice cream bars whenever there is an opportunity, and the early morning hike to Sinking Springs where, after 9-days of trail food, I have a huge breakfast of eggs, sausage, potatoes, and the works followed by a large milkshake.

There are days when after walking long and hard, I cover only 14 miles due to the overly steep trails. Therefore, on subsequent days I have to push that much harder to make up the difference and make it to the meeting on time. This leads to a couple of 19-20 mile days and one of almost 22 miles. As the hike progresses, I recognize that it probably isn’t a good idea to attempt to reach a certain destination within a set time frame. At times I am frustrated because it looks like I won’t make it all the way to Old Man's Cave and fewer miles each day would surely be easier on my feet and allow for a more relaxed pace. But, late on day 14, I limp into Camp Oty’Okwa and the friendly faces of Jim Sprague, Herb Hulls, and the other BTA members. Later, as President Jerry Starcher gave me a few minutes to tell them about my experience, I summed it up with three words--A Beautiful, Enlightening, and Encouraging.

Beautiful: From studying the topographic maps back in Madison and seeing photos and slides of the trail route across southern Ohio, I had expected to see some hilly areas and nice scenery. But what I found was much more than I expected. It is a land of beautiful steep hills with deep valleys, clear streams, and tall timber. The area reminded me of the Appalachian foothills or the Ozarks and I think that it has the potential to host some very beautiful North Country NST trail segments. Being the farthest south along the North Country Trail route, the area will demonstrate the steep hills and the tall yellow poplars and white oaks more typical of what might be found along the lower slopes and coves adjoining the Appalachian Trail. It will offer unique experiences and sights that are considerable different than what can be seen along the trail in its more northerly reaches. Shawnee State Forest, with its southern boundary approaching the Ohio River, is extremely rugged and its close to 60,000 acres of public lands offer the hiker a feeling of remoteness. Seeing Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, and Old Man's Cave, in Hocking Hills State Park, are by themselves worth the 258-mile hike. At Ash Cave, a stream plunges 90-feet from the lip of the cave and the trail passes behind the falls. Other tall, wispy falls in the park also plunge to clear pools and remind me of a Hawaiian travel poster.

Enlightening and Encouraging: Because much of the trail route between Milford and Hocking Hills is on roads, I made the false assumption that off-road opportunities for trail were limited--that the area was more agricultural than it is. While a few areas along the route are more farm-like in character and will present challenges to find an off-road route, most of the route passes through extensively forested areas. As I walked along the miles of asphalt and gravel roads, Following the Blue Blazes, I tried to remain aware of potential off-road opportunities. There are almost always continuous ranges of wooded hills in sight. I was enlightened and encouraged because these areas generally provide the best opportunity for off-road trail. They are less developed and landowners are more likely to give volunteers permission to locate and construct a trail. Wooded hills also provide the opportunity for building sidehill trail-- the best location for a trail because, while it may require more initial effort to construct, it is the most sustainable and the easiest to maintain. It was also encouraging to see that there are additional miles of high quality, off-road segments of trail that should be certified--for instance through Davis Memorial and on the adjoining private land.

Overall, the hike was a wonderful experience. There are many beautiful sights to experience along Ohio’s portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail. I accomplished my goal of hiking a major chunk of the trail and also proved that there was no trouble finding campsites or water sources along the way—at least during the spring. Who knows, maybe I’ll tackle another couple hundred miles some day.

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Last updated: September 8, 2001
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