I checked in at the Hueston Woods Lodge & Confrence Center at about 1745hrs today. And on the way in, I spotted a hunter in artic camo, who was carrying a compound bow, which was also camouflaged. And I didn't bring my orange vest... that is in storage. So, I took a trip to Super Walmart today and got a 47L orange rucksack and some hardware to help me mount my snow shoes in case I have to take them off in mid-hike tomorrow.
When I got back, I got my Hueston Woods State Park map and and "got the itch." I'm down here because I'm on a mapping mission. I own the American Discovery Trail's GPS Data for Ohio & Kentucky. But it's only waypoint data and it didn't give me enough to write a track for its route in Hueston Woods SP.
The trails depicted in Ohio State Park maps are sometimes imprecise. So, I knew that this was going to be an adventure. Well my adventure started with parking the HHR in an icy, downhill parking lot. Because I knew that I'd never get it out of there, so I put my hazard lights one and parked on a spot of visable pavement on a kola-sac in a way that would give me enough traction and a straight enough shot to get back up hill (also on a slick) and out there.
On foot, it was night. And my last optometry exam came up a perfect 20/20 for the first time since I was 15 years old. I didn't use a flash light, but my natural night vision was just as perfect. But American Discovery isn't marked like the Buckeye, or North Country Trails. They don't use painted blazes. Instead, they use their logo, which is shaped like an arrowhead and it points you where to go from one intersection to another.
Well, some of those stickers are old. And one did not point correctly. Also, the trail is routed through a birding area and I was following a lot of dead ends, looking to see if it continued on, but was lesser maintained? My goal was to map the ADT from Hueston's archery range to the trail's last known (to me) on-road position at the state highway to the south of the park. I now have enough data to start writing the GPS track when I get back home. Tomorrow, I'll map the remaining trail.
Meanwhile, a passing hiker called my car in as suspicious. When the ranger got there, they also found it suspicious. And they called in back-up from the local police department to help look for me in the forest. Also, meanwhile, they put a call in to the Lake County Sheriff's Department, who apparently told my parents that I might be missing.
To those who read this... the one thing you should never, ever, ever do is give your family any more reason to worry than they already do. When the ranger told me that they got the deputy in Lake County to knock on their door, I thought "OMG... I just confirmed somebodies worst hypothetical scenario regarding me."
I can prevent this next time by leaving a letter in a plastic Ziploc bag pinned to my windshield that explains what I was doing and why the car was there. Normally, this procedure is only necessary when parking on-road. With the hazard light and the slippery, unmaintained state park road, I'd of thought it'd be natural that it looked like I was going to attempt to make it back up the hill again. The ice is so thick in that parking lot along the hill side, that I would have needed studded tires to get out of it.
But the ranger and officers seemed like
they were following sensible, and probably standard procedures. When was approaching my car, there were 3 cars parked. And there were flashlights beaming around the woods. When I got closer, I could see that they were police interceptors and that's when I realized that they were looking for me.
I think there was a time before the flashlights that I thought that I arrived just in time for them to tow the Chevy to the impound??? Considering what happened today, I think I wish they did. A 20 mile hike and $193 later, I'd have my car back and I'd be back in Lake County like nothing happened. What happens in Oxford, stays in Oxford. But apparently
not.
Out of everything that I've ever been taught in the last 4 years, my experience could not have made this better. This type of lesson is so exceptional. I've never heard of this happening, but I've never heard of anybody having to park like I did. And this is probably my 4th encounter with law enforcement so far. In fact, I think that a buddy of mine has used one of them in his trail presentations that he gives before the public.
On another note, I will say this... this lodge is the nicest lodging establishment that I've ever stayed in. I got it for $78 a night. It's on the 2nd floor with a balcony overlooking Acton Lake, which is completely frozen right now.
