Tag: Buckeye Trail

Reaching the Halfway Point—Part Three

by guest blogger Bonnie Spencer   Part 1, Part 2 October 30, 2017 All week, we have been watching the forecast for eastern Ohio. It appears as though there will be no escaping some rain, perhaps heavy; some winds, perhaps blustery; and some chilly mornings. Our rain gear and warmer clothes are packed. I’ve been reading the trail map for the Bowerston section. It is peppered with words and phrases such as “ascends,” “climbs,” “descends,” “over the hill,” “over the steep hill” (italics mine), “ridge top,” “undulate,” and “up the long hill.” Whew! I’m not …

Reaching the Halfway Point—Part Two

by guest blogger Bonnie Spencer   Part 1, Part 3 October 16, 2017 Day 6 (Monday): Mogadore to Hartville (10.5 trail miles) We are rested up and in good shape for another week of hiking. The stitches have been removed from my nose, so I don’t have to bother with Band-Aids to cover them. A cold sore that appeared in the corner of my mouth on the previous trip up while hiking and stressing in all that heat is finally better. It was super painful and wouldn’t heal. This is the first morning I didn’t …

Reaching the Halfway Point—Part One

by guest blogger Bonnie Spencer   Part 2, Part 3 October 2, 2017 This will be the fifth 10-percenter that CW and I have hiked together (a 10-percenter being roughly ten percent of the Buckeye Trail). Since we’ve already gone from the southwest corner of Ohio to the northeast corner, it seems as though we have hiked half the trail. However, we won’t actually reach the halfway mark in miles until sometime during the second week of this fall hike. We will be doing the Mogadore, Massillon, and Bowerston sections of the BT. Recently we …

Playing Hooky in Tar Hollow

September 19, 2017 I sent a group text with pictures from Tar Hollow to the Wednesday night men’s group in my church recently to prove (jokingly) that I wasn’t just skipping that week’s Bible study for no good reason. I had some trail maintenance to do. A couple of men responded (jokingly—I think) that they wanted to do trail maintenance, too. Most, if not all, of the men in our group are outdoorsmen, and there is something almost spiritual about outdoor projects to men like that. There sure is for me. Tar Hollow State Park …

Ice Cream Heaven

August 14, 2017 Recently I traveled to northeast Ohio to visit my Aunt Mary and cousin Don. We had a great time together; it had been a while. After goodbyes and hugs to my aunt, Don and I went to the Heavenly Creamery in Conneaut, housed in what was formerly a Lutheran Church. I’ve had coffee in a church sanctuary, but I think this is the first time for ice cream. And not just any ice cream. It was some of the best I ever had (and I’ve had a lot). It was made right …

A Hike for Suicide Awareness

June 17, 2017 I hope you had a chance to read the latest from my “guest” blogger. Bonnie described our 186-mile journey we took this spring. I am having a blast hiking a second loop around the Buckeye Trail, especially since I’m hiking it with Bonnie. Though the main focus is on Bonnie’s eventual completion of all 1,400-plus miles of the BT, there’s a second major goal we have in mind as we hike. That is to share with the people we meet the reason that I made my first trip around the BT, to …