Yes, it's true! The NCTST in the states of New York, Pennsylvania and
Ohio are finished. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota remain
to be completed. Of course, I mean the first three states finished for
myself, the other four to be.
I attended the NCTA annual meeting at White Cloud, MI in May. On 16 May,
I started my hike back to New York, where I had got off the NCT in '92.
Hiked into New York in late July.
My hike was an adventure. I encountered all the usual hiker's weather:
Cold, heat, humidity, rain, thunderstorms, winds, but no snow though. A
few times, I had all that weather in one day! I had fun, good and bad
experiences, and a little hardship.
Many miles of the proposed NCT now has to follow along roads in
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Roads are parts of the
Buckeye in Ohio, and the Finger Lakes Trail trails in New York. Water,
except when in the forests, I got from stores, parks and homes along the
way. Carrying a two quart canteen and a one pint squeeze bottle, only
three or four times did I get low enough to hold my thirst. Many times,
when hiking along on a hot road, people would call me over, offering ice water, soda, tea, even beer!
I thanked everyone who did so.
Never stayed in a hotel or motel. Pitched my tent wherever I could find a
spot. In the forests, there's no problem. Camped at a few state parks,
under bridges, on the trails the NCT follows, like the Little Miami &
Erie Canal, and in a lot of farmer's fields. I thank those who let me,
those who didn't know I was there. Sometimes, I didn't have to camp,
being offered a space to sleep -- in several farmer's barns, once in a
church, a camp trailer, even three separate persons put me up in their
home. Would you believe each of those times it was raining, or about
to? Those people, I really feel grateful to.
Keeping clean wasn't to much of a problem. A few times, Me and my clothes
were ripe. I washed streams and lakes. Showers I took in state parks and
homes I stayed at. Usually, I cleaned up in store, laundromat, or
restaurant restrooms.
The Post Office was my main source of food. My drops were 100-120 miles
apart, each box weighing 10-12 pounds. I figure a minimum of one pound
per day. Gorp is the heaviest food I carry. I would call my wife, telling
her when to mail a box, so it would arrive at a post office before me. I
prepackage and address them before setting out, leaving them open for
anything to add or remove. Breakfast was the main meal eaten at
restaurants along the way. I did consume a few burgers. My main vice was
stopping at stores to tank up on cool drinks, ice cream and pastry. My
trail food consists of granola bars for breakfast. Snacks and lunch, it's
gorp and peanut butter. Supper, I cook a hot meal, mainly pasta noodles
or rice, adding beef jerky, spices, sometimes a small can of beef,
chicken, or stew, etc. The menu gets boring after awhile, but is a good
way to lose weight! Lost twenty-six pounds.
Equipment
Pack:Internal, LL Bean Mountain, 5320-5620 cubic
inches, 5lbs
Sleeping Bag:down, Boy Scout, 20 Deg, 25 yrs old, 3lbs.
Tent: Eureka, Gossamer, 1 man, 2lbs. 14oz.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-A-Rest 3/4 Ultra Lite.
Compass: Silva Landmark. Stove: Quicklite, Butane.
Rain Gear: ECWCS, Gore-Tex, Parka & Pants, 3lbs, 10oz.
Boots: Hi-Tec Magnums.
Some encounters with the Most and Least on this part of the NCTST.
Most
Miles hiked one day - 27, Little Miami & Erie Canal, flat.
Scenic overall - Hocking Hills area, Ohio.
Scenic state park - Hocking Hills, Ohio.
Scenic city park - St. Marys, Ohio.
Bugs - Grand River, Grand Rapids, MI.
Boring - Hiking all those roads.
Interesting - Serpent Mound, Ohio.
Miles in woods - 115, Cook Forest SP, PA thru Allegany SP, NY.
Miles on roads - 50, Osseo, MI to Florida, OH.
Maintained trail - Glacier Ridge, Glacier Ridge SP, PA.
Refreshing lake - Shawnee, Wayne National Forest, Shawnee, OH.
Rugged terrain - Buckeye Trail, Eagle Mills to Hocking Hills.
Quaint name - Oregonia, OH.
Confusing tail signs - Tionesta Scenic Area, Allegheny NF, PA
.
Novel farm/ranch - B & B Buffalo Ranch, Ellicottville, NY.
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Least
Miles hiked a day - 8, Kossuth to St. Marys, OH, thunderstorm
Scenic overall - All those roads.
Scenic state park - Pike Lake, OH.
Scenic city park - Waterworks, Delphos, OH.
Bugs - Cook Forest SP, Cooksburg, PA.
Boring - Meeting all kinds of people.
Interesting - Scuffle with drunk near Beaver Creek SP, OH.
Miles in woods - 1.8, Prussia Rd to U.S. 23, near Alma, OH.
Miles on roads - 1.5, 40th St & Spruce Rd, near Croton Dam, MI.
Maintained trail - Baker, around U.S. 66, above Cooksburg, PA.
Refreshing lake - Unknown name, North of U.S. 66 on Baker Trail.
Rugged terrain - Baw Beese, 5 miles, Hillsdale to Osseo, MI.
Quaint name - Oakwood, OH.
Confusing trail signs - 97% of the markers/signs on the NCT.
Novel farm/ranch - Scrap Auto Farm, near Dayton, OH.
That's my partial list. Make your own list by hiking a section of the
NCTST. Why is that important? I met lots of people camping, biking,
walking, horse and ATV riding. Believe it or not, I met NO hikers, nada,
not one! Not even on National Trails Day, and I was on the NCT close to
seventy days. Do some hiking on the NCTST, make people aware of it, I
think I did.
I hiked the Buckeye Trail near Marietta, OH, not the NCT in the eastern
unit of Wayne NF, it being far separated, road wise, both west and north,
from the Buckeye. I got a kidney infection while on the trail. I think
from bad water from a lake near Allegheny NF. I had to get off the trail
at Gibbs Hill, PA, on the southern end of the Allegheny Reservoir. Betty,
who owns Bob's Trading Post there, drove me to Kane Community
Hospital at Kane, PA. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, and the next day I
resumed hiking.
More trail tidbits to digest
I wore out a pair of boots.
At Grand Rapids, MI, I followed one of the proposed NCT routes, the bike
path to Byron Center. From there, I hiked the Conrail RR tracks to Moline.
There, NCTA member Rob Hewlett put me up for the night, the next morning driving me
to the trail near Yankee Springs.
It took me two hours, in rain, to find the Baw Beese trailhead at Hillsdale,
MI, as there were no signs or blazes for it. "Temporary missed", as I
never get lost, other turns along the rest of my hike.
I covered many miles a day in southern Michigan and western Ohio, on
the Little Miami & Erie Canal, Little Miami SP and other sections of the
NCT/BT, averaging out about 17-19 miles per day, as the roads and trails
are flat!
I didn't start hiking rugged ridges, hills or valleys until heading
southeast from Milford, OH.
In Tar Hollow State Park, OH, I just missed, by inches, stepping into a nest
of copperheads.
I pigged out at a family picnic I was invited to at Shawnee Lake, Wayne NF
, OH.
I hitched a three mile boat ride from Dock One to the Burr Oak Lodge at
Burr Oak Lake, Ohio.
At Koppel, PA, I stopped a truck to take me across the Beaver River
Bridge. It was being repaired, and was closed to walkers. The guy I
stopped first thought I was nuts.
Though writing twice to the AVTA and
Chamber of Commerce at Franklin, PA, I never got any information on the
Franklin-Baker Rail Trail being developed between the Glacier Ridge and
Baker trails. Nobody in the area knew anything about it, so on the roads I
stayed.
I startled an Amish horse farm wagon team near Chester Hill, Ohio.
Hearing clip-clop and clanking sounds from beyond a bend on the road, I
didn't recognize the sounds, and we met right at the bend. I guess the
horses never saw a backpacker before. Fortunately, they got the horses
under control, and I didn't get cussed out, except being called a stupid
English!
The flattest section of the NCT, after leaving Milford, OH, is the Sandy
& Beaver RR track on the OH-PA state border. I was happy to hike across
the PA-NY state border, but disappointed too, as there was no sign, just a
blob of yellow paint on a tree.
The Conservation Trail in Allegany State Park, New York, has great scenic
vistas. I detoured to the lodge there, at Red House Lake. It has an
interesting museum, and the Red House Lodge itself is a beautiful
building. Stepping out of a downpour, into the lodge with my backpack on,
the tourists and front desk clerks didn't know what to make of me.
Did you know the trail Backpacker magazine scouted and is promoting for
national trail status, follows parts of the NCTST? There are American
Discovery Trail (ADT) plaques in Ohio, at Wayne NF, East Fork, Pike,
Hocking Hills, Scioto Trail and Burr Oak State Parks. Therefore, I was on
the NCTST/BT/ADT all at once!
I hope this piece gives you a little nudge to do some, or more, hiking on
the NCTST. |
