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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by OSUBCS#1 View Post
    T-dubs, are you still going to be on the trail next month? I should be on the Approach trail on 4-23. See you on the trail.
    (Not to take this thread off course)

    My plans may change some. My 'worn-out-old-man' plantar fasciitis is acting up again. If it doesn't improve soon, I'll have to postpone my section hike. I also have a job interview next Monday so this 'worn-out-once-retired-guy' may be back in the work force.

    Have a good hike,
    TWS

  2. #22
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    Good luck to you, I hope everything works out.

  3. #23

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    I don't have my maps handy, but a couple years ago we did a loop hike that incorporated Ash and Old Mans. The return trail was (something) horse trail. The horse trail was a slurry of horse crap and water. Luckily, my trail runners were just about wore out when I did this hike as they stunk too bad to keep. I threw them away the next day with no misgivings whatsoever.

  4. #24

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    Check out my video clips on the Buckeye stretch and for the love of GOD pay attention as there are some very unmarked and overgrown areas.

    I camped in Hocking Hills state park in the middle of the river and tented on a rock.

    I feel if you are in the wilderness and use proper LNT then camp where ever. Pay attention to private land and dont camp by roads, but there are PLENTY of places to camp along the Buckeye stretch if you want to.

    here are some of the Buckeye Stretches

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=xHpJBgzpzgg&feature=user

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=oiIZyP4Nu7c&feature=user

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=hL49loOl6Rw&feature=user

    Be prepared to bushwahck

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by OSUBCS#1 View Post
    I don't know how I overlooked Zaleski,
    You live in Ohio and haven't been to Zaleski? Weird. Sort of thought that is where every Ohio backpacker cut their teeth.

    I've been there a few times. The first time I went, my brother and I did the whole thing (~25 miles), including the rarely walked (and poorly blazed) north loop. Here a map of the place. A buddy was there 1-2 years ago, and mentioned that some of the trails had re-routes due to logging. Might want to check the SF site (or better yet call them) to see if that is still going on. At each of the 3 camp sites (C, D, H) there is a vault toilet and water (stored in a huge underground water tank).

    FWIW, the trails in Shawnee offer a bigger butt whoopin' than those in Zaleski. Plus there are 40+ miles of trails in Shawnee. Most of the campsites are like those in Zaleski (vault toilet and water), but at least one does not have water.

    If you want something even closer, check out Tar Hollow. Over 20 miles of trails. You can camp only in a few select locations. It is only 70 minutes from Columbus. I go there often for long day hikes (hiking the either the ~12mile North or ~8mile South loop). I have camped at the backpacker's camp located at the fire tower which is at the waist (center) of the two loops. So, you could hike the south loop, camp, hike north loop, repeat. The north loop is a bit tougher, but it isn't too bad. The South loop really only has 1 hard part and that is a very steep downhill about 2miles before you reach the camp. The loops are only marked in one direction (counter clockwise).

    The other place in Ohio worth checking out is Lake Vesuvius. The outter loop trail is about 18 miles long. You can camp anywhere in the NE section of the trail. I day hiked the whole thing a few years ago. It isn't too difficult (though a bit overgrown), and there is a beautiful camping spot in this huge pine forest at the NE end of the lake.

    PM me if you want more details....
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  6. #26

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    I was just there last weekend and it was absolutely beautiful! The snow was melting and the falls were flowing. I still need to post up pics. Do the Grandma Gatewood trail. The most popular of all the Hocking Hills areas is Old Man's Cave, located on State Route 664. Here at the Upper Falls, the Grandma Gatewood Trail begins its six-mile course connecting three of the park's areas: Old Man's Cave to Cedar Falls to Ash Cave. This same trail has been designated as part of Ohio's Buckeye Trail as well as part of two national systems - the North Country Scenic Trail and America's Discovery Trail. Camping is only a mile or so away and is very cheap. But make sure to go on the off season. Shoot me a PM and I can answer any question you may have.

  7. #27

    Default Lion King

    Since lion king just came through here and yelled about our buckeye trail, I became a member and now I am maintaining about 10 miles north of old mans cave. I Just hope the next person to come through wont have it as bad as lion kiing did.

    I would get the buckeye trail maps and use that to determine where to camp, the maps tell ya where you can camp for free. www.buckeyetrail.org

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by LIVESTRONG View Post
    Since lion king just came through here and yelled about our buckeye trail, I became a member and now I am maintaining about 10 miles north of old mans cave. I Just hope the next person to come through wont have it as bad as lion kiing did.

    I would get the buckeye trail maps and use that to determine where to camp, the maps tell ya where you can camp for free. www.buckeyetrail.org
    Awesome!

    Thanks for your support of what could be a really great trail to hike for locals and out of staters.

    It is very diverese and it covers a lot of distinct terrian and the folks there are super!

    I think a bit of my bitching had to do with the fact that it was like 100 degrees everyday and humid and there was no water anywhere, plus the overgrown poison ivy didnt help

    Those pics above with water flowing at HHSP are amazing as all water was barely a drip when I went through this summer.

  9. #29
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    Since lion king just came through here and yelled about our buckeye trail, I became a member and now I am maintaining about 10 miles north of old mans cave. I Just hope the next person to come through wont have it as bad as lion kiing did.

    I would get the buckeye trail maps and use that to determine where to camp, the maps tell ya where you can camp for free. www.buckeyetrail.org
    That's really cool. I just got the map for the Old Man's Cave section the other day. My plans for my shakedown have changed a little though. I plan on doing a couple days at Zaleski S.P. and possibly a day at HHSP. However, after looking into the BT and getting some info from the BTA, it has me interested in getting involved with the trail whether it be maintenence, education or whatever. My plate's a little full right now with my thru coming up in a month, but definitely something I intend on looking into when I get back. Maybe pick some people's brain's while on the AT and put some of those lessons to use back home, when I get back. In between the farmland, there really is some nice scenery here in Ohio.

  10. #30

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    Great thread. I am in Dayton and have been looking for some good weekend hikes. Zaleski seems perfect. It's 11.5 miles the first day (then a campground with water) and 12 miles the second. I'm going to head that way April 5th and 6th.

  11. #31
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    Default Have a blast!

    This thread does seem to be stimulating people from Ohio to get outside and get involved!

    Don't forget to post about your experiences when you return home.

  12. #32

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    Good idea - I will Shades. I'll take some pictures as well and post them.

  13. #33

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    Have fun KA. Here is a good topo map for ya to print out and get an idea of elevations. Also here is the link for topos of Ohio. Definitely post up pics!

    http://www.dot.state.oh.us/aerial/Qu...pi/Zaleski.GIF

    (just click on map to magnify)



    OHIO TOPOS

    http://www.dot.state.oh.us/aerial/Qu...D=100dpi&F=GIF

  14. #34
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    Well, I decided to do Zaleski rather than Old Man's Cave. Thank you everyone for the heads up, Zaleski was really cool. I did 12.5 on day one then 14.5 the second day. I had planned to do another 9 on the third day, but I still had to drive to West Virginia to visit my grandmother, and after two days of rain the trail was basically a mudpit. I was concerned that it would take me a lot longer than expected, and I wanted to visit with Grandma for a while before I took the long walk, so I ended up only walking the 1.8 back to my car.

    Anyway, everything went great. I got wet, muddy, cold, sore, tired and hungry and loved every minute of it. All of my gear seems to be in working order, and NO BLISTERS!! I was actually very surprised at how rugged it was. I pretty much had the forest to myself, I ran into three groups that were leaving as I was walking in, and then didn't see another person for about a day and a half. As I strolled into camp at the end of my second day there was a man and his two teenage sons already camped there with a fire going. They asked me where I had hiked and if I was training for something. When I told them, this led to a million questions about the trail, and the next thing I knew I was eating pork chops and warming up next to a fire. My first taste of trail magic. Very nice folks. Kudos to the ODNR, they seem to be managing the area very well, tons of large oak trees, and I saw two very large turkeys. Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures, it rained a lot and I left my camera sealed up in my pack most of the time. I feel pretty confident in most of my gear and don't expect any big surprises, maybe a few small things that can be taken care of on the trail. This trip was exactly what I needed, after months of being cooped up indoors, all the planning was starting get tedious. It felt really good to finally put my feet to the trail, and now my spirits are soaring and I'm counting the days. 23 to go! Thanks again everyone.

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by OSUBCS#1 View Post
    Well, I decided to do Zaleski rather than Old Man's Cave. Thank you everyone for the heads up, Zaleski was really cool. I did 12.5 on day one then 14.5 the second day. I had planned to do another 9 on the third day,
    From your mileage I can't figure out your exact route (I assumed you were using the Zaleski map)? A-H the first day. Sleep at H. Hike out via 'O' after doing the NE loop (H --> H)? Where would you have done the "another 9" miles? Hike the lower loop using the cutoff trail (A-F-A)?

    If so, how was the NE loop? The only time I hiked the NE loop, it was overgrown (appeared to be rarely used) and very poorly marked (lots of fading blazes), with quite a few crossing trails (which made it difficult given the fading blazes).
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  16. #36
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    From your mileage I can't figure out your exact route (I assumed you were using the Zaleski map)? A-H the first day. Sleep at H. Hike out via 'O' after doing the NE loop (H --> H)? Where would you have done the "another 9" miles? Hike the lower loop using the cutoff trail (A-F-A)?
    A-H, sleep at H on day one. H-C on day two via the NW loop, continuing through the parking area and back to C, and planned on continuing back around the lower loop and using the cutoff trail back to the parking lot.

    The NW loop could use some serious maintanence. There were quite a few blow downs, and at several points the blazing was confusing. In many areas, briars were growing all the way across the trail. It wasn't too bad this early in the year, but it looked like it would be pretty overgrown in the summer months. If it were cleaned up a little it would be really nice. The Carbondale forest was awesome, I didn't expect to be walking through 60 acres of 100ft pine trees. There were also some cool ponds and waterfalls. There was also more trash in this area, where it looked like people used to dump their garbage in the woods, many years ago. I saw part of a broken Dr. Pepper bottle that was at least 20 years old (16oz bottles that you returned to the store in the eight pack). It was obviously less used than the south loop. Who maintains the trails there? Could be some good opportunities to volunteer.

  17. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by OSUBCS#1 View Post
    The NW loop could use some serious maintanence.
    I assume you mean the NE loop (H--H), correct? If so, it sounds like not much has changed from my last trip around that loop (a few years ago). I think most folks just use the larger southern loop, and never go around the NE loop.

    I'd have to think most weekend type hikers (and/or 'groups') typically do...

    F: Parking-->C
    Sa: C-->H (or just D if they are really lazy)
    Su:H (via O) -->Parking

    Or if they show up for a single overnight...

    Parking-->D-->Parking.

    Plus many folks are aware of the "gray blazed" C<-->D cutoff trail and use it as a shorter route to D from the parking lot.

    I've seen campsite C and D quite crowed on a couple of trips. Quite a few groups (scouts, schools, churches, etc.) use Zaleski. And a few outfitters and/or hiking clubs use it for their 'Backpacking 101' trip.

    Was their much logging? Last I heard there was some logging somewhere between D and H. Maybe it wasn't visible from the trail?
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by OSUBCS#1 View Post
    There were also some cool ponds and waterfalls.
    Did you find the BM marker on the NE loop at the intersection of the 3 counties? It is labeled on the map as '15'. I remember at that location there were several 1.5'+ dia trees had been recently taken down by a beaver. We referred to the beaver as the "Tri-county monster beaver'" the rest of the trip.
    Yellow Jacket -- Words of Wisdom (tm) go here.

  19. #39
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    Yeah, I did mean NE loop. There was some evidence of logging but it didn't look like it was recently. There was one section between D and H where quite a few trees were gone. I got a picture of a tree probably about 1' in diameter that was totally chewed in half by a beaver, I'll try to post it later. However it was on the south loop where it looked like the creek was possibly dammed by a beaver (racoon creek? not sure). I passed '15' on the NE loop, but missed the marker, it did seem like there were a lot of downed trees in that area though, but it was raining and the temp had dropped so I kept moving.

  20. #40

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    Lots of great info here. I'm going to Zaleski this weekend. We're starting Saturday morning and doing A -> H, camping H, then doing H -> A (23.5 miles total). I was hoping for cold weather so I could see how my new sleeping bag held up (Big Agnes Zirkel)...but it looks like it's going to be a high of 65 and a low of 45. I guess I can't complain about that too much!

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