I got a good night of sleep under the picnic shelter in Killbuck. It rained until 1000pm so I was glad that I was there. There was quite a bit of come and go traffic in the park after dark but nobody bothered me.
My first stop this morning was the Creekside Coffeehouse and Cafe in town. The gal working there was very nice. She made me feel welcome. I drank a bunch of coffee and ate breakfast. I highly recommend this place if you are in Killbuck. I started the official portion of the Holmes County Trail today.
In Millersburg I stopped at the Walmart to resupply. There were lots of Amish people there. Some were driven there in cars and others rode there in buggies. There is a long covered stall in the Walmart parking lot for the Amish to hitch their horses to while they are shopping. Also, in the parking lot there is a water spigot to get water for the horses.
When the first Amish buggy passed me on the trail I waved. I gave my standard wave of flipping up my hiking stick. The motion of my hiking stick spooked the horse. It did an prance and a dance and began running with the buggy in tow. I felt bad for spooking the horse. I should have known better. No more waving my hiking sticks at the horses.
I stopped at the Millersburg Depot and met Jen Halverson. Jen is the director of parks and trails in Holmes County. She told me lots of things about the Holmes County Trail and the plans for some of the sections I just hiked. I told her that she probably has the longest roadless stretch on the whole Ohio To Erie Trail. From US-62 near Brinkhaven to Glenmont there is only one road crossing in eight miles and no roads for a 4-5 mile section. This section is definitely the most remote on the Ohio To Erie Trail. I had a good visit with Jen.
The Holmes County Trail is double wide and has two lanes in many places. One lane is asphalt for bicyclists, runners and walkers. The other lane is chip and seal for buggies and horses. It is basically two parallel lanes of traffic together. You can tell which side is which because the horses' hooves create a groove in their lane.
There is no way a buggy can sneak up on you. You hear it coming a long way off. The clanking of the horse's hooves on the pavement is quite loud. Bicyclists can and do sneak up on you.
Near Fredericksburg the Holmes County Trail ended. It is a 17 mile road walk to Dalton to the Sippo Valley Trail where the next bike path begins. I took a break in the local park and made some coffee. A young local kid named Timothy seemed very interested in me and watched everything I did. I told him about my gear and my hike. A frog hopped across the floor of the picnic shelter while we were talking. Timothy told me that you can hypnotize a frog by rubbing is belly. I will have to try this some day.
I decided to hike from Fredericksburg to Dalton via the village of Apple Creek. It was a good choice. The route took me right through the heart of Amish Country. Many buggies passed by me. I think I saw more Amish buggies on this 7 mile stretch than I had seen in my whole life.
It was fun passing by farms and trying to figure out if they were Amish farms or not. There are some telltale signs. The home on an Amish farm is painted white. There are usually no curtains or white curtains. There is working windmill on the farm and clothes hanging on the line outside to dry. Children are playing in the yard. Of course there are no cars in the driveway or electric lines going to the house.
There must be different types of Amish or other Amish looking religions. I saw some on bicycles. I saw some homes with propane tanks. I saw one Amish looking guy using a gas powered lawn mower. I saw one buggy with electric lights on the front and back.
I got to Apple Creek around 730pm after hiking 23 miles. I headed to the local park and ate a Mountain House freeze dried entree for dinner. When it started getting dark I set up my tent up a picnic shelter. I should be OK to camp here.
