Back on the trail today. Both Scallion and I needed a zero day and the timing was good. We were so glad we took a day off. It even snowed this morning.
Maria dropped me off in Massillon. I hiked the 3 miles from town to Riffel's Tavern where Scallion was waiting for me. Now we could both hike together. Scallion is following the Buckeye Trail and I am following the Ohio To Erie Trail. Both trails follow the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath Trail here.
The tow path trail was lovely. It is a gravel surface and is narrower than a typical bike path. The trail follows the Tuscarawas River on one side and the canal on the other side through wooded areas. It felt more like hiking since the path was narrower and the trees were closer to you. We saw lots of turtles in the canal and baby snakes on the trail which had been run over by bicycles.
The day started out cold, windy with blowing snow flurries. As the day went on the wind died down and it felt warmer.
We took a lunch break at the Sisters Century House Tavern in Canal Fulton. I got their "Economy Buster" dinner special which was a 7 ounce sirloin steak, green beans, side salad and a scoop of ice cream for $7. It was inexpensive and delicious. I could have eaten two dinners. The waitress was very interested in our hikes. But she was confused between the route of the Ohio Erie Canal and the route of the Ohio To Erie Trail. She wondered why I started in Cincinnati if the canal started in Portsmouth. I guess she won't be the only person confused by this.
The couple next to us at the tavern overheard our story and chatted with us for quite a long time. They are from Canal Fulton and are getting married in July. They invited Scallion and me to their wedding and reception.
The miles went by quicker since I had company. It was nice to have a hiking partner. We explored the canal locks and pointed out great stealth camping sites to each other. With a hiking partner you have someone to chat with and shares the experience with but I noticed I stopped less to investigate things and to take photographs.
Our destination for the night was a boy scout camp building owned by PPG in Barberton. The day before we tried hard to find an indoor place to stay in Barberton since we knew the temperatures would be below freezing. We called flea bag motels and B&Bs close to the trail. Nothing seemed appealing or reasonable. My sister, Cindy Niekamp, works for PPG in Detroit and contacted the PPG Barberton people to see if they had a place for us to stay. They make their skeet field available to the local boy scouts and they said we could stay in the building there. The building is rustic and simple. It is a concrete building with a wood burning stove and electric. Dave Polacek, the scoutmaster of Troop 110, met us at a road crossing and led us to the place. It was exactly what we needed where we needed it.
PPG owns a lot of land in Barberton and has a couple of manufacturing facilities here. They have many lime lakes here. To neutralize the lime lakes they mix treated sewage with residue from their glass making operations from many years ago. Overtime this creates a healthy ecosystem from the formerly sterile landscape.
Mike and I settled in at the skeet field. We built a nice warm fire and ate supper. We will be nice and warm tonight. We hiked 17 miles today.
