Log 2016042401

By consulting my records and several section map & guides from the Buckeye Trail Association, I have determined that based on the best information at hand, that the Sinking Spring Section, Points 12 - 15 (September 2013 map & guide) have the lengthiest off-road portion between public roads at 6.85 miles.  This is in Pike and Highland Counties.

The lengthiest off portion on The Wilderness Loop between public roads is on the Stockport Section (January 2013 map & guide), between Points 01 - 03 at 5.23 miles.  This in Noble and Morgan Counties.

I've always wanted to create a spread sheet, listing from most to least, the length that the Buckeye Trail is on a highway.  OH-781 & OH-348 in combination on the Shawnee Section in Adams County come in at 3.6 miles. It's is an unusual highway length for the on-road trail.  And in all my experience working with distance trails in Ohio, that's an unusual length.  Shawnee Section is better known for it's off-road trail.  But considering where this highway portion is, I can usually reverse engineer the reason and state that the area is so rural, and the routing of the local roads would add prohibitive mileage to the section and it's maintenance crew to the end that routing on the highway emerged as the best choice under the circumstances.

I'm not familiar with these highways, but I am with the area.  By the map and judging what's around it, they're likely to be lightly traveled.  I know OH-125 from the Portsmouth of Scioto County area to the Shawnee State Park is a breeze.

The longest portion of on-road highway routing on The Wilderness Loop is on OH-537 on the Road Fork Section in Monroe County at 1.6 miles long.  There's probably more traffic here than there is on OH-781 & OH - 348.  OH-537 here tends to curve.

The most dangerous highway on the BT is 0.7mi of US-23 on the Scioto Trail Section in Ross and Pike Counties.  It's a 55MPH, 4 lane highway with a 3ft painted center median.  From what I've seen, it's "crossable" most of the time.  But sometimes, you could be playing "Frogger" with heavy aggressive traffic.  It's not the kind of traffic that slows down.  Instead, it's the 55MPH relentless heavy traffic.

Anything about heavy traffic on US-250 on the Norwalk Section in Huron County and crossing US-422 on the Burton Section in Geauga County has been obsolete since the Ohio Turnpike Commission raised it's speed limit from 65 to 70 MPH.  Before, traffic was using those US Highways to avoid paying tolls.  Now the new speed limit on the turnpike has effectively convinced those motorists that the faster time is worth it and it has thus calmed US-250 and US-422.

Before the increase, it worked like this...  US-250 from the industrial City of Sandusky connected to US-30 in Wooster of Wayne County. Then US-30 travels east to the Pittsburgh area.

And US-422 connects with PA-28 in Kettering, Pennsylvania and it goes toward Pittsburgh.

Either way, it's 55 - 60MPH almost the whole way.