Hike Ohio Rack Cards and Local Economics

The Hike Ohio rack cards are now posted inside and out of the Tourism Cabin in Caldwell of Noble County.  I'm from up near Cleveland and I wish that I had somebody from one of the chambers of commerce tell me about every factor that is economically adverse to this part of Southeast Ohio.  I've got the feeling that the trails in this area are going to be very tied to that situation.

I've been mulling over the situation in Monroe County some.  The Wayne leases hunting land.  I'm not sure about the scope, but lets say that it's to two or three dozen hunters?  Economically speaking, most of them might be local?  Out of all of them, they might require services in Marietta, Newport, New Matamoras of Washington County and then Woodsfield of Monroe County.  That's spreads them out and they probably gravitate to Marietta?

The mountain bikers don't come any further north than the Archer's Fork Loop.  That puts them as far north as New Matamoras of Washington County and they likely gravitate to Marietta.  North of there, I do no know of any ATV or Jeep networks, so that leaves Buckeye/ North Country and two NFS campgrounds in part of Monroe County.  From the adventurer's view point, The Wayne's federal property is too fragmented.  From what I understand, that's the biggest contributing factor to it being (at least in my opinion) an under performing forest.  But from the local's view point, the forest has a massive presence where the federal government has acquired good farm land to expand itself.

Buckeye/ North Country in the area has always been "disadvantaged."  But it's hiking numbers have been bottomed out for a long time and we have nowhere to go but up from here.  I just commented on the Crooked River Chapter of the Buckeye Trail Association's Facebook group that we have "so little to loose and so much to gain."  Even if it's just by trying?

Log 2015121602

I haven't completed the Buckeye Trail circuit, but I've been working on it lately and I'm down to 195 miles and 4 sections in South Central Ohio, so I generally know almost everything from traveling in a car to get around.  What I can tell you is that the township roads within the proclamation boundary of Wayne National Forest and those just outside of it on the Road Fork and Whipple Sections are the worst in the state.  This is especially true after the winter in April and May.  Right around June is when township maintainers get done with grating those gravel roads.  So, if you're going to be a hiker in these units and areas and you drive a non-4WD vehicle, I recommend that you base your hikes to take place from parking areas that are off county and state roads.  They tend to be paved and that should save your suspension.  I have GPS public parking data for the entire Buckeye Trail circuit.

As a Whipple Section Supervisor, I originated from NE Ohio.  I own a Chevy HHR and sometimes the residents along the section look at me like I'm crazy for not owning something larger.  When the roads are in bad shape, I have to drive it like a rally (a dirt and mud track race with Chevy Cavaliers and Subarus) so I don't get stuck in a valley.  During those times, I often can't miss a bump, or I have to scrape the engine manifold, or gas tank when the car bottoms out.  But I can perform Whipple's maintenance by parking in areas that don't use those roads.  But, it took a whole year of being on the ground to devise this strategy.