Distance Hiking Trails and Multi-purpose Rights of Way (Bike Trails)

So distance hiking trails take place on what some hikers call bicycle trails. They're usually gravel and asphalt.  And some developing distance trails call this off-road.  I'm here to shed some light on the topic.

By government declaration, these are often categorized as "multi-purpose trails" as per the record.  The North Country National Scenic Trail, which I'm more familiar with, certifies these segments.  And even of they're not, there's still "political correctness" to consider.  Hikers of an Appalachian Trail origin will state that these aren't off-road.  But if the distance trail agency didn't classify these as off-road, then somebody will pop up and argue that it is.  On the internal side, I can easily see a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" type of situation.

Mid-west distance trails sometimes take place in urban areas and surburban counties.  Going off-road in those vicinities would be very costly because properties are smaller and cost more.

I know a lot of this is observation and opinion, but disrance trails go from Point A to Point B repeatedly for a reason.  That much is certain.  You could come out of college with $100,000 in student loan debts and be very book smart.  But more often than not, that barely holds a candle to experience.

Its hard to name them all.  There could be internal commitments involved?  I have to admit that I know a lot and have done great things, but I'm not on top of everything simultaneously.  Basically, I'm not always good at delivering "instant gratification."

Geo Photo Catalog Update 04/19/2020

I spent the day sewing trail patches on my straw cowboy hat. And I repaired a tear in one of my pair of jeans and put a replacement button on another.  Right now, the weather report for tomorrow (Monday 04/20/2020) is showing 5 hours of favorable skies for geo photo cataloging the Road Fork Section, Points 26 - 25 (07/2011 BTA map) round trip.  It's not as far as I'd like to go, but I can't just stop in the middle of a segment.  They have to be photographed whole.  But Wednesday is looking like I'll get another 5 hours, but  on the Whipple Section?  Points 03-W to 05 (10/2010 BTA map) have priority there.  I need to see it anyways because I have yet to give it an unofficial, but special segment name.

The purpose of the catalog right now is volunteer procurement.  As far as getting new trail adopters, group activities are suspended until further notice.  We can get new trail adopters (our primary volunteer maintenance crew), but can't give them the necessary in-person indoctrination until COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed.  To sum it up, we can still get them on the record, but not working yet.  Anyways, we need those photos for an Adventurer's Project volunteer procurement/ trail promotion campaign that should be had sometime after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted to a more favorable point.

I didn't jump on the bandwagon and advocate the use of the trail in our region because I thought it would precipitate a public health problem.  When cataloged Whipple 06 - 05, it was it's usual, tranquil self out there.  The nearest person was 150 yards away from me and they were across a river on a dirt bike.

Our photos for Road Fork 27 - 29 are done and that accounts for the popular Archer's Fork Loop concurrency where I think people are going to be?  I've got a good lead on an adopter for Whipple 01 - 02.

New adopters or not, I want to upgrade all of Whipple's off-road blazes myself.  It's just to get them up to the Maintenance Guide's recommended standards.

We have permission to move as many North Country Trail NFS tack on markers as needed to our road intersections.  They're needed at the intersections because they're shapes and color are what's on NFS's maps.  If they see the shapes at the intersections, then Buckeye's blazes can take over from there.

NCTC vs NCNST

Adventurer's Project supports the Road Fork and Whipple Sections of the Buckeye Trail (North Country concurrent). When using the phrase "North Country," it refers to the moniker "North Country Trail," which refers to two entities working in tandem with each other. In this case it's the "North Country Trail Association (NCTA)," which has duties to the route and maintenance of the "North Country Temporary Connector (NCTC)," which covers the most of the on-road route and anything that isn't certified. And then there's the National Park Service, which administers the certified segments, or the "North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST)," which are mostly off-road. Usually, when this moniker is used on some Adventurer's Project's communications, it stands for both indiscriminately.

However, if a location is stated on one or the other, then their more specific designation will be used.  In Far SE Ohio (including the NCNST in the Marietta Unit of The Wayne), the routing, maintenance and administration of their route is handled my the Buckeye Trail Association (BTA)

Website Upgrades 12/26/2018

Campground & lodging mileage from the establishment to the trail was added yesterday.  Adventurer's Project's "Hiker Resources" web page had to be practically rebuilt to handle it.   Today, I added a mileage chart of the Road Fork and Whipple Section - Buckeye (off-road)/ North Country National Scenic Trail.  I won't touch the on-road, but that's much easier to use the "measurement" tool in the BTA's digital mapping on Avenza Maps there.

A link to my Generic Gear Inventory was created on the Hiker Resources web page. 

Preparing for Boy Scouts

Blog posts to Adventurer's Project can not be made from my Android based devices because they're integrated into my personal account. I'd have to switch it in their system settings and that would change every other app while I was at it.  What I wanted to write there was that I was studying Boy Scout hiking requirements and wondered what they needed from Road Fork and Whipple Sections. But I still find that I need some reports and presentations by Boy Scouts themselves in order to know how to really help them? But I do know more about how to point them in the right direction as far as the Buckeye/ North Country National Scenic Trail in the Marietta Unit of The Wayne is concerned?

-ME Edmonds

Back Problems 08/23/2018

My back is still giving me problems.  This time, I didn't wake up with the pain.  I went grocery shopping yesterday and forgot to get some Tylenol.  Now, that's going to have to wait about a week.  I have to get into a stretching routine twice daily because my issues are muscle related going back to the Night From Hell

The problem from back then was I had no choice but to push myself way beyond my design parameters that day.  I wouldn't have ordinarily done this without sufficient testing of my abilities.  By way of testing back then, I was only rated for an absolute maximum of 32 miles in one day on flat terrain.

The first test was on a loop using a portion of the Pemberville Section - Buckeye Trail.  That was 31 miles in 10 hours, 04 minutes and 28 seconds.  I then had to notch it up to 32 when I was on the International Appalachian Trail - Newfoundland and Labrador when I had to make a regional bus stop on time.  Normally, I hiked in the ball park of 20 mile days.

On the Night From Hell, I prepositioned my bicycle and scheduled a 24 mile day hiking.  The bike ride back was supposed to be about 12 miles.  I started late and my hike took me past dusk.  Road Fork Section - Buckeye Trail (North Country concurrent, during that time) wasn't maintained well and I didn't trust it.  I've had plenty of off-road night hiking experience.  And at night, it's slower.  There's also optical illusions out there.  Even the most powerful flashlights can't display certain depths right (like inside of a rut). 

  I executed two contingencies that evening that added mileage on foot.   For me, it works out to be 1:2 or 3 in hilly terrain and 1:4 on flat terrain. The rear rim on the bike was so out of true that I couldn't ride it much more, so I had to walk it on-foot for about 6 miles.  The bike has a drivetrain that spreads out the load on a person's stamina.  In total, it turned out to be a 54 mile day, 44 of those were on-foot.

Lightning, Event Rescheduled

The Trail Maintenance Day at the Ring Mill in the Marietta Unit of The Wayne (National Forest) in Monroe County, to take place on the Road Fork Section - Buckeye Trail (North Country National Scenic Trail concurrent), Points 21 - 23 that was scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday, August 18th, 2018) has been rescheduled to Saturday, September 1st, 2018 due to lightning in the forecast.

Great Blue Heron and Rest Day

I saw a Great Blue Heron in the Little Muskingum River Flats on the Whipple Section - Buckeye Trail (North Countey current) yesterday. It was truly a surprise. It's my favorite bird in Ohio because it's so solitary most of the time.

I was down there weed whacking about half of the flat's 1.1 miles. Between that and weed whacking places that are impossible for the DR Mower to reach, I had to take a day off today.  Yesterday when I got out of the car to meet the Road Fork/ Whipple Work Week crew, I was light headed and felt a surge to my brain like none before.  I didnt eat lunch on both days, so I was probably having low blood sugar mixed with fatigue. Now, I know better.

Those flats once took a crew of 4 about 40 man hours to weed whack. I got half it done in about 6.  I'm 6'6 and I think that my swing and the disposition of my weed whacked engine have something to do with it?

North Country/ Buckeye Trailhead at OH-260 - Marietta Unit of the Wayne

North Country/ Buckeye Trailhead in the Marietta Unit of The Wayne at OH-260 near New Matamoras of Washington County takes place just passed the 6th mile marker on said highway.

State Route 260
SR-260
Ohio 260
Wayne National Forest
Wayne NF

NCT Tracks Organized and Numbered

At this time, I either have the NCT tracks merged by chapter, or the the original baby tracks are organized in chapter folders and are numbered in the westbound direction.  The next step is to determine what direction the tracks are heading for 14 chapters, then reverse the east bounds.

All this data will be necessary for the new books that will be going in the shelters on The Wilderness Loop.  They will contain a mileage chart and of course, will cite the what materials were used to come to those conclusions.  For all you folks out there from the Buckeye, North Country and American Discovery, I am going to be busy this winter.

Moving on to North Country Project

Yesterday, I finished my project in support of the Warrior Expedition on the Buckeye Trail.  There could be two ways to deploy it.  One is that a download link is already scheduled to be published on Adventurer's Project's website.  The other might be that since this is a special program paid into by the Buckeye Trail Association, that the makers of it's app on Android (so far) might be able to accommodate it?  That would make things much simpler for Warrior Expedition hikers.  Otherwise, I might have to perform chat support to help them upload the necessary files onto Locus (or make a video)?

My next project is a North Country Trail one.  I rediscovered that I have all of New York State properly merged.  In fact, everything is in order in the westbound direction until Michigan.  I got about half way done merging Michigan before I stopped months ago.  Wisconsin and Minnesota's baby tracks still need to be re-labled according to the chapter/ partner that they're routed in.

North Dakota has to be altered for the elimination of the Lonetree Chapter.  And then there are some missing segments that I'll have to transplant from the North Country Trail Association's GIS data and merge it all together.  That's unless of course that this all pertains to some bicycle right of way that's on Google Maps, in that case, that would be faster.

- The NCTA's waypoint data will have to be organized by type and then maybe state?  It already has some camping data that I need.

- Overlays where the image's source needs to be on the Internet so that when shared, all can see need to be done for every governmental agency that the trail is routed on or near.

- Camping/ lodging data beyond what the NCTA collected needs to be done.

- Mile markers for what the NCTA hasn't already been done have.  The the NCTA already started these and mine would need to be in the eastbound direction.  I'm not thrilled about this considering that most thru hikers travel westbound.

Once I have all of this, that will paint the most complete picture by which I can devise a "mock hiker," or a written simulation of a hike.  They usually pertain to entry level thru hikes and that is based on the trail's window of opportunity and what the NCT grassroots usually considers acceptable for a hike of about 4,600mi.

Fliers Up In Marietta

I put up fliers for Tomfoolery's "Buckeye Trail Talk" on the 19th in Downtown Marietta and the east end lodging.  I'm afraid that I'm not very organized about it.  The thought of everything everything usually slows me down.  I'm not even sure what I'm doing tomorrow?

Smartphone GPS Basemap and Whipple Maintenance 07/24/2017

I continue to download a smartphone basemap for Ohio on Locus Maps.  This is big and is going to take a while, perhaps a month?

I weed whacked from Brooks by McCain Hill and Bean Ridge Roads and got just into the east side of the Little Muskingum River Flats.  That's where my trimmer needed a throttle adjustment and I don't know how to do that yet?  So, I got out of there.

With the DR Mower (Brush Hog), we usually attach a chainsaw to it with bungee cords and cut obstructing downed trees as we go.  But I don't have a DR and the chainsaw would be difficult to carry with the weed whacker.

So, I devised a new strategy.  An ax could be mounted to the trimmers shaft or be carried inside of my backpacks restraining straps.  A special canvas sleeve could be made for a 24" carpentry saw.  I can fit the bottom with the plastic that's used on the corners of some walls (maybe razor it down) to insert in the sleeve for the blade to grid up against when when I put it in, or take it out.  I could sew it to the bottom of my backpack and with the plastic angle, I should be able to re-insert with my backpack still on me?

I'm probably known for using a carpentry saw to remove obstructions.  It takes about 40 minutes to go through the sides of a 18-22" downed tree.  It's not like a chainsaw where you can just cut straight down.  This has to be done in "V" or "double V" (same thing, but upside down) cuts.  It's too easy to pinch the blade going straight down.

Sometimes, my cuts aren't spot on.  So when they get close, I start using the ax and I try to chop that pie cut out of there.  The chain saw would go there in minutes, but I'd rather cut them as I go because sometimes I encounter downed trees with the weed whacker and have to maneuver through them like a jungle gym.  I guess I could just take the chainsaw through and make two passes???

Whipple/ Road Fork Work Week 2017 - 06/13/2017

The following is copied from http://www.buckeyetrail.org/events.php on 06/13/2017. The event's area is concurrent with the North Country National Scenic Trail in the Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest.

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July 8-12, 2017

Whipple/Road Fork

Description: Trail maintenance of the Road Fork and Whipple Sections' off road areas. This will include chainsawing of downed trees, mowing, weed whacking, pruning, and possible freshening of blazes for a little over 30 miles in the heat of July. We will need all the help we can get. We will leave for work at 8:00am and quit at 3:00pm.

Camping: Camping will be at the Little Muskingum Watershed Association building, located at SR26 and Thomas Ridge Rd (T 88) Hot showers and flush toilets are available in the building. Donations to the LMWA for use of the facilities are appreciated. Camping GPS coordinates 39.54184, -81.22484

Meals: This is a chuck wagon event. Meals will be provided free (donations accepted) for the first 20 volunteers to sign up with Jay Holwick at holwick@columbus.rr.com by July 2, 2017. Please note: if you are arriving Friday, the Friday night meal is NOT included - please bring your own.

Mapping: See the location for this event in Google Maps

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For those wishing to attend the event itself, an RSVP is requested at https://www.meetup.com/BuckeyeTrailFriends/events/240768281/ (this link may be time sensitive).

This event was submitted today to the Marietta - Washington Convention and Visitors Bureau's calendar.  It is currently undergoing review.

Whipple Maintenance 06/04/2017

Intersections between Whipple 01 - 04 were re-blazed, with the exception of Segment B and the remainder of C.  My 2008 Chevy HHR LS has a manual transmission and a parking brake cable snapped.  It has about 181k miles and 1st gear isn't holding on any sort of incline.  So, I had lunch in Marietta and purchased wheel chalks from a nearby auto parts store.  I went back to continue re-blazing when a tree that I needed had some ivy on it.  I didn't bother to check if it was poison ivy, but I realized that I wasn't prepared for any today and it was more likely than not that I was going to encounter it down trail.  So, I wrapped it up and called it a day there.

I missed the turn to finish Segment C and start D.  The road to get into there is Bean Ridge and I think it was hidden on a curve on C9?  Segment D is Whipple Section, Pt. 05 - 06 and the two points have to be approached on opposite ends because Brooks Rd/ T94 in Lawrence Township of Washington County is rough between them.  I avoid that portion of road whenever I can.

Bathing and Wading Spots - The Wilderness Loop

There are two places to bathe or wade in the Little Muskingum River on the Road Fork and Whipple Sections.  They're both on federal property in the Marietta Unit - Wayne National Forest.  The first is at the Ring Mill on the Road Fork.  The road in results in a cul-de-sac.  Just north of the cul-de-sac, there's a fisherman's access on the north side.  The river there usually maintains a depth of a couple feet or so.

The second site is in Whipple's Little Muskingum River Flats.  Down on that mile, the place that I know of is if one were hiking Buckeye/ North Country National Scenic Trail heading clockwise/ westbound, there's a usually dry steam bed that ejects into the river early in the flats from that direction.  One could use it to get down into the river.  But this one's not as good because the river tends to be very shallow here in the summer.

A good bath in the river should make you feel clean.  If your in there, while your at it, you can do a little laundry too.  The Little Muskingum might have hard metals in it.  There are former mines on it's fingers, streams and fork. so I do not recommend purifying or filtering it for oral consumption.  It has a south westernly flow that meets the Ohio River at the Census Designated Place of Reno (where the NFS field office is for the Marietta Unit).

Log 2016052701

I was at a bar and hotel in Corydon, Pennsylvania in 2011, just across the line from New York State.  And the locals were telling me a suspicion that they had about PA DNR having released some rattlesnakes on Tracy Ridge somewhere south of there just off of the North Country National Scenic Trail  I dismissed it at first, but as I hiked through there, the one thing that I noticed was that the place seemed overrun by chipmunks.  And the NCT has areas of thick, high vegetation that hugs the path (I couldn't see through it).  Sometimes, there would be something that had to be at least 20lbs that would just take off under there about 6ft to the east of the trail.  I couldn't discern any footfalls, so I think that it had to move along the ground.  North of Kellettville, I caught the "cucumber" smell several times out there.

I came through the Tracy Ridge area during a holiday weekend and there were more than a dozen people on trail.  About a day after, there was no one and no cell signal.  I went into isolation symptoms at 2.5 days where I really learned about the darkest side of myself.  It was growing to no end.  I pulled an aggressive 24 miler, running the downhills and flats on the last leg because I wanted to "get the hell out of there."

That trip ended with me loosing my wallet.  And lucky for me, my family lived about 100 miles away and my brother came and got me.  Now I know to store my money and ID cards in two different places.  Because my bank can wire my money, but I can't pick it up without an ID.

What I did was purchased some low grade canvas, Velcro, a hot glue gun and sticks for it from Jo Ann Fabrics.  And I used a card to form it while I hot glued around 3 sides.  On the final side, I hot glued the Velcro in place and that made a little slot to store them in.  It lasted for years.