Today’s trek from the Scioto Trail State Park Forest Headquarters to the South Ridge Road Trailhead was one for the books. But aren’t they often epic?!
Ed and I got to Ohio last night after a long drive from Wisconsin. We were up bright and early to meet trail angel Richard Morgan at the South Ridge Road Trailhead for a shuttle. The drive to the trailhead was mostly fine, but the last bit was on this super steep gravel road that freaked me out.
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One recurring dream I have is driving my car up a road that is so steep my car can’t make it and falls back on its hood. This road reminded me of that dream! It also reminded me of the time I totaled my car on the NCT in the UP on a bad road.
But I made it, we dropped our cars, and Rich shuttled us back to the forest headquarters. And then we were off.
Making Our Way to South Ridge Road
For some reason, I always forget the NCT in southern Ohio is super hilly. I think it’s because the first portion is so flat, being on canal towpaths. The trail today often went up these super steep roads used by heavy machinery. The area received a lot of rain recently, so the path was often muddy and slippery. Needless to say, our pace slowed quite a bit. Plus, my arthritic knee is so much weaker than the good one that I had to walk backwards sometimes.
But the weather was beautiful – sunny, cool and no bugs. The scenery was gorgeous. We had to ford a few streams and had a few road walks, including one through a hamlet called Lickskillet. At one point we crossed under a highway through a viaduct.
We once had to hike through knee-high grass by power lines, which was difficult.
There was one aggressive dog, whose owner did nothing to stop it chasing us. I used my dog air horn for the first time, which made the dog pause. Then, finally, its owner called it back.
Day Is Done
Near the end of the day we met a really nice guy named Steve Scott, I believe. He lives in Londonderry and is in the process of creating a rest stop/camp for hikers. You pass right by his place, where he has a sign saying Camp Buckeye and a picnic table partially painted in Buckeye Blue. He wanted us to spread the word, as he loves visiting with hikers, so I’m doing just that.
Tonight I had reservations for us to camp back at Scioto Trail State Park. It would have been handier to camp at the nearby Tar Hollow State Park, but it’s closed for renovations. Well, we didn’t get to our cars until 7 p.m., and we didn’t want to drive back to Scioto Trail State Park. My knee was also quite sore. So we camped near the trailhead instead.
Snowshoe
Ohio NCT miles today: 21.7 (34.9 km)
Ohio NCT miles to date: 534.3 (859.9 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 3,382 (5,442.8 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 1,218 (1,960.2 km)
Most useful gear today: My Prana hiking pants, which protected me from scrub and barbed-wire fencing!
