Log 2014082301

Basecamp D was set up at Hocking Hills State Park near Old Man's Cave Section - Buckeye/ North Country/ American Discovery Trail today.

Log 2014072801

Basecamp A for 2014 is at Hueston Woods SP in Preble County. 

My rig is deficient in a few minor areas, but for the moment, everything is functioning fine. Any kind of signal at Basecamp A is very poor. But there is a wi-fi hotspot about 0.6mi from Basecamp at the nature center.

The camp office is supposed to have one, but a staff member tells me that the T1 line is down and will probably stay that way until later this season.

Log 2013103102

Checked into Basecamp Juliet.
Dropped bike off in Village of  Stockport

Log 2013101701

I just checked out of Basecamp Foxtrot. I'm now setting course to Basecamp Alpha at Wolf Run State Park in Noble County. 

Log 2013101601

Defiance1 - 3 off-road mantenance has completed.  My time at Basecamp Foxtrot will end on the 18th.  I'm not sure where I'm going next?

Log 2013101301

Today, I packed up Basecamp Hotel.  Whiled doing so, I spoke to two law enforcement officers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Wildlife about a portion of towpath that is routed through one of their reservations at Six Mile Creek that I maintained.  One of whom was concerned about ATV's.  I informed him that the towpath's width is set by ODNR's Division of Engineering and that logistically from a maintainers standpoint, it wouldn't be too difficult to make the trail narrower. We would just need to have the proper authorization to do it.
I'm now back in MJ Thurston SP at Basecamp Foxtrox.  When I was gone, the park office was at work trying to honor my 14 day request.  My campsite is the one I was at before.  It's double wide and they were trying to get me to share the electric another camper who reserved the site.  But I was at Hotel for the weekend and I "weathered the storm" through the Apple Butter Festival crowd that booked Thurston completely.  I'm greatful for the people in the office.
As a follow-up to a previous post regarding the amenities in this park... The park manager informs me that they will be conducting upgrades to the electric sites and installing 14 more, probably begining next month.  If they get a shower house, it might become one of my favorite campsites. The view that I have of the Maumee River is second to none.
Right now, I have 4 days and a wake-up to finalize the lower Defiance segment.  The way that's going, it's an attainable goal. Finally, I attended the Apple Butter Festival in Grand Rapids of Wood County today and I'm glad that I did.  The crowd was much like the ones at the Geauga County Fair.

Log 2013101001

My Current Location
The before mentioned is the location of Basecamp Hotel.  This is a boondock on the side of the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath, so I'm on battery power only. I intend to stay here until the 12th.  Mary Jane Thurston State Park is booked solid this upcoming weekend for their chili cook-off and the Applebutter Festival in Grand Rapids. I was offered a chance to camp and share the electric with the camper host, which I may still do, but I feel motivated to finish my work here on the Defiance Section and its more convient to wake, get dressed and imeadately get on trail with all of my gear (also) imeadately at my disposal.
Today, I cleared two trees and groomed two off road trail portions. Everything looks pretty clean with the exception of a lot of obstructions.  So far, 11 remain.
I put the 16' tarp on the back of The Cramper this evening.  It was dark and didn't go on like it did the first time. But atleast the shelter covers.
Two days ago, I was doing some work on the North Country Trail Connector between the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath and
Wabash Cannonball Trail in Liberty Center of Fulton County.  It was eventful and I only got 3/4 done with it. 

Log 2013100401

I haven't written a log in 6 days.  With out looking, I'd say my entries have probably been sparse.  I check out of Basecamp Golf and am now checked back in at Basecamp Foxtrot at Mary Jane Thurston State Park in Grand Rapids of Wood County.  There is some question as to how long I can stay here because the park is scheduled to fill up sometime around the Apple Butter Festival on 13 October.

I may be loosing brake fluid in squirts.  I noticed this on gravel when I pulled in to a parking area earlier.

On my way down from Harrison Lake, I stopped to reinspect the lower Defiance segment of the Defiance Section. This is some road and three portions of off-road along the old Miami and Erie Canal.  I've done a bunch of work on it already, but with those 9 fallen trees in the way and having to cut them with a hand saw, it's making the work come out to be a bit lengthy.  And like the work done in the Athens Unit, it's difficult to plan and prioritize the work load in a way that I can perform it in one sweeping motion.  Today on the Lower Defiance Segment,  I made a note of every thing that still needs to be done and I hope that I can do it more quickly.

I think I have about 5 downed trees left.  A couple days ago, I groomed the on to off-road aperture.  There was two or three young growth apple trees, whose canopy's had crashed and impeded the trail's 7 foot ceiling.  I had to clear quite a bit of them.

Otherwise, I'm seeing pruning and blazing on about two miles or so of the off-road Buckeye/ North Country National Scenic Trail.  The north portion looks the best.  It's worst is about 0.5mi of overgrowth in the center. 

Log 2014091501

I extended my stay at Basecamp Foxtrot until 18 Sep.
The 2008 Chevy HHR's iridium spark plugs will require a wire guage spark plug gapper.

Log 2014091501

I extended my stay at Basecamp Foxtrot until 18 Sep to diagnose and repair my 2008 Chevy HHR LS's breaking problems.

Log 2013090501

There's a couple sources of light polution, but so it seems like all the stars are clustered over my head.  Like someone put it there as chandelier. The big dipper is directly north across the Maumee River just above the horizon.
I established Basecamp Foxtrot today at Mary Jane Thurston State Park.  I think this is my second time here. And amenity wise, it's more like my least favorite campground so far. There are porta potties and one outdoor shower. I guess I can consier myself lucky to have electric at all.  But it has a great view of the Maumee.
I set the tent up, but I'm really not liking how the poles have no side clips and the bow when I try to put the rain cover on.  I have plastic steaks at the moment and they're not doing a good job at keeping the tent walls straight. And even when the poles are through their sleeves, the top tie must be secure before they  stabilize.
I drove to the unincorporated community of Junction in Paulding County to an intersection known as Defiance Section - Buckeye Trail, pt. 1 and started using my smartphone to plot waypoints for opportunities to park my car and trailer. 
So this is upcoming on my addenda for the next 9 days... First is to fix my GPS Records and organize them for upload.  The Defiance Section has just recently been rerouted.  So, I have adjust its point numbers and hand draw the trail on my paper map.  Second is finish 20 miles of the near by North Country Trail on its way to Michigan.  Once I get that done, when I sweep the BT, which the portions remaining are NCT concurrent, I'll get my BT Circuit Hike and North Country Ohio patch.  Right now, the plan is for that to happen in Mt. Orab of Brown County.
The third is to maintain 40 miles of the Defiance Section. I'm not sure if I'll get all of it done, but I'm authorized to perform mantenance in Defiance and Henry Counties on said section.  Now, I've been advised to stay out of Lucas County.  Apparently Toledo Metroparks doesn't let Buckeye maintain the trail through its jurisdiction without supervision from one of their employees.
The Defiance runs almost entirely off-road on the heel and towpath of the Miami & Erie Canal.  They are not within the jurisdiction of the Miami & Erie State Trail (MEST).  Who actually owns these... I don't know.

Log 2013082501

I checked out of Basecamp Echo two days ago and I'm not at my parents camper in Sandusky.  I watch a YouTube video on canning chicken and I think I need a pressure canner with a gauge.  It was added to the procure list.  I withdrew a canned cheeseburger meal today.  It was made about 12 days ago and does show any signs of contamination yet.

I promised a friend in the Buckeye Trail Association that I would bring a hotspotted laptop to the informational booth that she's organizing.  It will be in Moncolva of Lucas County.  I checked the coverage map and its showing 3G in the area.  That's good because the cell phone signal booster is too powerful for what I want to do.  It requires that the antenna be 20m/ 66ft away from the base unit. I've decided that that's too much outdoor N-type cable to carry.  In the meantime, I'll be searching for other options.

I'm using the hotspot now.  In the past, I had an cellular internet card and so far, internet speeds are just like it.  Today, I called up Sprint and got a 7 day trail for their 2 gigabyte (GB) package.  Overage charges are $0.015 per kilobit (Kb), which is slightly less than when I owned my cell card.  8 bits = 1 byte. I also know that overage charges can really be steep because webpages and multimedia can have very large file sizes. In 7 days, if I don't cancel, Sprint will charge me $19.95 for the 2GB every month until I cancel the package.  It does not have a contract and I can do it at anytime.  Since my smartphone is recommended to have an unlimited talk/ text and data package that runs $99 + taxes and I carry insurance on the phone for another $10, my monthly cellular bill is usually $117.  This will bring me up to about $140 per month.

Because of the BTA booth in Monclova, I believe that Basecamp Echo will be at Mary Jane Thurston State Park outside of Grand Rapids of Wood County.    But I don't plan on leaving Sandusky until 2 September.  I'm anticipating that I'll be hard at work maintaining the Defiance Section when I get there.

Log 2013072601

Smartphone Battery C is going critical.  On the other hand, I think it might be the phone's usb port that might have too much play it it.  Both are known to have their problems.  Today, Battery C failed and interupted the upload of a 22 minute video to the Buckeye Trail Association this evening.
There's a first aid kit that is down by my car battery and spare tire. But once The Cramper is set up, it's not very accessable due to everything's weight.  So, I cooked this evening and got to use the washing tub and grey water for the first time. And I scratched my left index knuckle while drying my pocket knife (has a can opener). So, I went searching for my First Aid kit in my black bag (18L Camelbak backpack, 1.5L water bladder, short range bag).  I'm not sure it even has the consolidated mini first aid kit that its supposed to.  Oh well, I licked my cut. But those kits need to be found.
It's Christmas in July here at Punderson this weekend, so there's a few more campers here.  There's been some curiousity about The Cramper. I've also told others that unless I go into buildings, I'm refusing to wear a shirt this weekend.
I visited Crystal Thompson at her home in Newbury today.  I've known her for 14 years.
One of the hinges on my new cooler did not have its lid completely screwed in. I noticed that it was taking on water and molding back at Burr Oak.  The best way to completely clean it out is with bleach on the 1st when I can purchase replacment groceries.  Until then, I'm trying to unload the cooler every meal that I eat.  The first is 5 days and a wake up from now and I don't think I'll eat it all.  Needless to say that food isn't going to be a problem in the meantime.
Everything is holding up well here at Basecamp Delta.

Log 2013071501

Base Camp Delta will be at Punderson State Park.

My right elbow is still experiencing "tennis elbow" like symptoms.