Gathering Trail Info

Armadillo along the Backcountry Trail

Gathering trail information is going to be harder than I thought. There is not much information about the Ohio To Erie Trail. The Ohio To Erie Trail Fund runs a web site at www.ohiotoerietrail.org but it lacks information for trail users. I made some telephone calls and sent some emails but came up short handed on trail info. Nobody knows how long the route is. There is estimate is 300-325 miles. There is no mileage chart of the trail. The Ohio To Erie Trail web site has downloadable PDF maps but they do not contain a scale. It is hard to use maps without a scale and nobody at the Fund can tell me if the maps are still accurate. New sections are constantly being added to the trail so I suspect some of the maps are out of date. I did not even bother to inquire about camping spots, lodging options and resupply points.

I will need to construct my own mileage chart by visiting the web sites of all the land managers and piecing the information together from various sources.

It will either be a frustrating experience or liberating experience to do a long distance hike and not follow trail markers, have a map or know how far I am hiking. We shall see.

The Next Hike

Sea shell on the Gulf Coast

I think I have a plan for my next long distance hike. I want to hike from Cincinnati to Cleveland on the Ohio To Erie Trail in April. It is roughly 300 miles long. It will take me about three weeks. The Ohio To Erie Trail is mainly a bicycle route and on hard surface bike paths. The Ohio To Erie Trail is not complete yet so some of the hike will be road walking. In the south the Ohio To Erie Trail follows the Buckeye Trail along the Little Miami River Recreation Trail. In the north the Ohio To Erie Trail follows the Buckeye Trail along the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath Trail. I am not stranger to these sections of the trail.

Beach Ramblings

Sunset on Orange Beach

I am spending the month of February in Orange Beach, Alabama. I am here to escape the Ohio winter. I do some of my best thinking here while I am out hiking. Today I took a 19 mile hike. The weather is 65 degrees and sunny. Nothing but blue skies. It is time to think about my next adventure. They have some of the best sunsets here.