We got up early this morning. Ed was going to shuttle us so we could drop our two cars and then hike back to them. He has to go home to Sun Prairie today, and it’s a long drive.
After parking our cars at a cell tower lot near Bowerston Section Point 15, Ed shuttled us back to Tappan Lake. We then bid Ed adieu and Bruce and I began hiking on the trail.
This first trail section wasn’t too bad. Yes, there were downed trees, but not a crazy amount. There were a lot of muddy sections, though, as it rained twice yesterday.
It was interesting to be hiking in chilly temps. The first week I hiked in temps in the 70s and even 80s Fahrenheit (21-27 C). Today, though, we started out in the 40s and maxed out in the 50s (4.4-10 C), with winds at times.
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Making Our Way to Bowerston Section Point 15
The first stretch of trail was followed by a road walk through Bowerston. Conveniently, it was lunchtime when we reached Bowerston, so we enjoyed lunch on a park bench. We even were able to use a porte-potty set up at a nearby construction site. It was windy and chilly, though, so we didn’t linger. The path out of town took us through a culvert, which was funny.
We reached trail again near Leesville Lake. At first, the path was great. At one point, you pop out onto a road, cross a small bridge, then re-enter the woods.
The path back onto the trail was very sketchy, featuring a steep drop into a creek. I slipped and fell and got wet and dirty. After scrambling up on the other side, we realized there was a path near a house that was the correct way back on. Sigh.
We started encountering more downfalls, which were also more extensive. When we reached a marina, we decided to skip the rest of the trail and hike on the road out. It looked pretty dangerous in there.
Day Is Done
Bruce and I finished around 4 p.m., and he drove to Canton to meet his wife, Amy, who had driven a rental car there. I drove to Dover, where we’re staying the next two nights.
The original plan had been to camp the next two nights at a free spot in Zoar. But it’s just a piece of land, which we’re sure is muddy after all of the rain. And with temps dipping to freezing both nights, and no amenities on the plot of land, we’d much rather stay in a motel, thank you.
Snowshoe
Ohio NCT miles today: 18 (29 km)
Ohio NCT miles to date: 920.6 (1,481.6 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 3,768.3 (6,064.5 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 831.7 (1,338.5 km)
Most useful gear today: This thick (but light) sponge, which I placed between my backpack and lower back. It kept the backpack from digging into my back.
