Log 2014091401

New Straitsville Section - Buckeye/ North Country/ American Discovery Trail was my 21st completed section of the Buckeye.  About one day later, I finished the Old Man's Cave Section as my 22nd.  Currently, I'm in the Scioto Trail Section and I have as far as Pt. 6 done.  Basecamp E was set up at the Tar Hollow SP main campground.

Portions of Scioto Trail Pts. 2 - 5 were closed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).  Considering that my basecamp was in the electric camp ground and the only spur trail to the BT/ NCT/ ADT was included in the trail closures, also take in to account that when I arrived and started hiking said section, a trail alert had not been issued by the Buckeye Trail Association (BTA) at the time, so I performed a legal by-pass around said area at my discretion and claimed it as credit toward the BTA's Circuit Hike Patch.

I also made a by-passes on the New Straitsville Section between Points 14 - 15 and 23 - 24.  They were due to not being able to find a trail aperture and the other was because of overgrowth.

The clip that holds my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is made by Otter Box.  This is the second belt clip that I've owned in the last 9 months and as of two days ago, I've managed to snap the securing tab on the replacement unit.  I'm not happy with the performance of that plate.

I purchased a waist pack hoping that I could modify it so that it's belt could be set to loop through mounts on my slack pack's shoulder straps and transport it over my sternum.  But I determined that I would have to sew the mesh on the waist pack strap in place and I didn't want to do that right now.  So, I just wear it on my hip and it doesn't get in the way of my range of motion when I'm hiking.  It's good for maps and the smartphone.

Log 2014030401

Orange reflector tape was installed on the two largest bars of my Nishki Colorado mountain bike.  It will increase night time visability from the sides and 3, or more way intersections and diminish my chances of being t-boned at night.

A new smartphone mount with a goose neck and suction cup was purchased at Best Buy in Mentor of Lake County today and installed.  It replaced a smaller smartphone holder, that didn't have grips to secure the smartphone in place.  It's design was gravity based.  And it's back plate didn't go high enough for the new Samsung Note 3's height.  The new mount is now sufficient for my in office use.

-A new 1 liter water bottle and cage was installed on said mountain bike.  A second cage is still on order and should arrive soon.

- A new rear basket was purchased from Wal-Mart in Mentor of Lake County and was installed on the back rack of said mountain bike.  This will allow me to haul cargo on the bike such as groceries and supplies.

- Two new USB cables were purchased for the new said smartphone.  They were intended for use in the garage where I'm currently housesitting and in my car.  Well, I opened the box and found out that they were the same as the data cables for my previous cell phone.  One of the boxes is now in the trash, so, I'm hoping that I that I can get my money back for the second one if I can find those other cables.

- A universal notebook charger was purchased today from Best Buy in Mentor of Lake County, but it was the wrong kind and it didn't fit my HP's power port.  I hope to take it back for an exchange.

- My new 10" combat boots made by Bates came today from Dick's Sporting Goods.  They'll be replacing my current boots of the same make and model.  That's because part of the outer sole at the tips of my feet are starting to separate and their tread is very worn down.

- A new Otter box smartphone case was purchased from Best Buy in Mentor of Lake County.  It's a rugged enclosure that protects my new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone.  If the cost to get the phone at Verizon only cost me about $300 out the door and a newly activated 2 year plan, should I damage the unit in such a way that it's beyond my extended warranty, a replacement of said smartphone will cost about $750 out of pocket at its current retail price.

-The new smartphone was mounted to said mountain bike and it seems to work.

-Even a service with a superior coverage area like Verizon Wireless will loose data signal in the kind of places that I go.  In the second installment of the next recreation trip, I'm counting on it.  This is a 31 mile bike ride from Belpre of Washington County to Chesterhill of Morgan County on the American Discovery Trail in Ohio, while it's independent of the Buckeye Trail.  My purpose will be to ride ADT's independent east arm before hiking the Buckeye Trail.  This will take place on township and county roads in remote areas.

I anticipate that the smartphone's GPS won't be up to the job.  Anyways, the field GPS is much more battery efficient than the smartphone.  If I can run them both, using the field GPS for my odometer, navigation and the smartphone for my on-board music, it should extend the smartphone's battery life.

So, I installed a custom field GPS mount to the top bar of said mountain bike's frame with a buckle, mesh strap and four zip ties.  The units belt clip mounts to one of the zip ties and the adjustable mesh strap.  The other three zip ties are secured to the frame for stabilization.

Log 2014010601

I received a letter in the snail mail today from my cellular provider.  And in it, they stated that they performed an account review and had noticed that I was exceeding my data roaming limit.  Considering that I've been at home port in Painesville of Lake County for the last 67 days with regular voice service and 4G data and in that time, I only put about 1,000 miles on my 2008 Chevy HHR, I would have to conclude that they were in reference to my extended time while on hiking/ maintenance for the Buckeye Trail.  And I could only imagine that this excessive data roaming was accrued while using Google Maps and my turn-by-turn navigation moving from one place to another and finding amenities.  I tried to get in contact with their Roaming Compliance Department in their last operating hour today, but there was no response. 

On my smartphone, there's five bars that indicate regular voice service.  When the unit goes in to voice roaming, there's a little icon and the bars start over for that.  As for 4G, I only get that signal in major markets, like the Cleveland area.  The rest is 3G service.  But when the unit goes into data roaming, there isn't an icon.  You would have to roughly assume that the data roaming service area is similar to the voice roaming area.  But I know for a fact that they are not exact.  Sprint has online maps that detail these areas, but I would have to download an offline copy for what I do, but I don't believe that is available.  If I had an offline copy, I could upload it to Google Earth on the laptop that I carry on these trips to reference and know when I need to get paper directions.

So, I'm starting to formulate alternatives.  One is getting paper directions like I mentioned.

- Purchase a automotive GPS, which would work with satellites instead of cell phone towers and be more reliable in more places.

- Purchase and install a smaller a CDMA repeater in the car so my smartphone can get regular data services in more places.


- Change my cellphone carrier to Verizon if their services suit my needs in regards to data roaming.

But what I'm really hoping for is a special package that I can add on.  What does a cross country trucker do?

So far today, the air temperature was -13°F at home port.  At -7°F, my 2008 Chevy HHR had a difficult time starting.  It rained yesterday and froze on what was already hard packed snow... So, the Chevy did not move at all today.  And the already weak tailgate release would not power up when actuated.

This morning was the first in last 64 days that I didn't notice my back ache.  And considering that I tried pushing the HHR into a place where it might get some traction today, I still don't notice it.  Depending on how I sit, I can still feel, but barely.

My personal task list is dwindling down as I've completed a bunch of items.  The biggest hurdle now is I need to get about 45 days worth of pressure canning done before I can sit down and work on the 2014 Edition of the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource.  That's January's main task.  In February, I need to start getting The Cramper's materials ready for when the weather breaks in Southern Ohio.

The next recreational series will tentatively start in the City of Parkersburg, West Virginia.  The plan is to bicycle to the Village of Chesterhill in Morgan County on the American Discovery Trail (ADT) in Southeast Ohio.  It's about a 31 mile ride.  At Chesterhill, the ADT will run concurrent with the Buckeye/ North Country Trail across the south.  I have the BT/ NCT/ ADT already completed from the Village of Mount Orab in Brown County to Eden Park in the City of Cincinnati. 

After the ride from Parkersburg to Chesterhill, I'll need to drive across the state to Cincinnati.  The 6,800 mile ADT is kind of peculiar in that it's mostly a straight line... until it reaches Greater Cincinnati.  That's when the trail splits into a loop.  The south side goes to Saint Louis, Missouri and the north goes to Chicago, Ill.  They rejoin near Denver, Colorado. 

I'll have to find a parking spot for the car and use public transit.  Before hand, I'll have to get a bike box from Amtrak (because there's are better) and use it to board the Greyhound to Richmond, Indiana.  Richmond is on the Indiana/ Ohio State Line and I'd cycle south on ADT's north side, while managing to divert and pick up about 2.5 miles of the south side.  And then, I'll turn around and clip through Northern Kentucky before reentering Ohio in Downtown Cincinnati, end at Eden Park and then pick up my car.  That ride is about 45 miles long. 

Within Ohio, cleaning up the ADT independant of the Buckeye Trail, I'll line myself up to hike about 350 miles from Chesterhill of Morgan County to Mount Orab of Brown County.  When I finish at Mount Orab (which this location is tentative), I will have completed the Buckeye Trail and be eligible for the Circuit Hike Patch.  Also, I'll be eligible for the North Country Trail's "Ohio" state patch.  The ADT doesn't have a state patch, all I really want to say that I've completed every major trail in Ohio.  And should I wish to hike, or bike across it, I'll be well on my way with having Ohio completed.

In other words, cleaning up a few minor ends will allow me to clean up and finish everything on one course while the three trails are running concurrent with each other on the same route.  That's my "plan of attack."

Log 2013080802

The trip across the south of Ohio will be postponed until 14 September. I need to fall back and gather my resources.  Base Camp Echo will now be at Findley State Park, just south of Wellington of Lorain County.  I have to help a friend volunteer at a Buckeye Trail booth in Monclova of Lucas County on 13 September.  The event is about 8mi north of the Defiance Section - Buckeye Trail.  There's a 5k walk going on that day.
Today, I purchased 26 nutritional supplement bars with at least 30g of protein each.  That's going to help those high mileage days down south.  They were on sale and totaled about $64 out the door.  I also purchased a new USB cable to charge the smartphone, along with a replacement suction cup, goose neck and mount for it. The unit will suction to the windshield where it will help me navigate, take calls and play MP3's.
I purchased a new 7 liter lunch box and cooler that will fit in my long cooler on my trailer that I'm already using.  So far, chicken and maybe pork shows that it can not be canned.  I use the long cooler for mostly dry goods and water has seeped in over the past months and caused everything to mold inside there.  If I'm going to use ice, I'd rather have a separate chamber to use.
I did not have a medical appointment today.  Instead, I was prompted to make one and that was done for 5 September.  Next week, I plan on moving that appointment to the 11th, where I have, yet, another appointment in the same facility.  It beats driving to Cleveland from Basecamp Echo twice.