Author: CW Spencer

November 11, 2019 It was hard to miss the long line of hikers crossing the Little Miami River in Milford, Ohio on the sunny afternoon of October 20. Close observers might have even noticed a tear coursing its way down the cheek of a hiker or two. Those tears were most likely generated by a mixture of emotions. Joy in the completion of a five-year 1,400-plus-mile journey around the state of Ohio on the Buckeye Trail. And at the same time, possibly sadness that in a few hundred yards they would be finishing the trail …

by guest blogger Bonnie Spencer   Part 1, Part 2 October 17, 2019 A week and a half passed since our last time out on the trail. I had planned to hit those woods through East Fork State Park after a weekend off, but that Sunday night I began feeling sick. I thought it was something I ate; CW thought it might be from my previous week of pounding the roads in the heat. Whatever it was, I could barely move Monday. While I was flat on my back that day, I did some serious …

by guest blogger Bonnie Spencer   Part 2, Part 3 September 7, 2019 CW and I have been hiking the Buckeye Trail together since the fall of 2015. Since the trail is a loop, we spent nearly 550 miles of it walking away from the finish line before changing direction back toward our goal. Steadily, we’ve made progress, and that goal is finally starting to come into focus—at least in our mind’s eye. When we began, CW’s idea was to do 10-percent hikes. That meant we would complete the BT in ten long hikes. The …

May 29, 2019 Veterans Chad and Luke looked more than ready to begin their 1,400-plus-mile hike on Ohio’s Buckeye Trail. They appeared to be enthusiastic, fit, and equipped with all the latest gear for carrying out their current mission. What you couldn’t see about them, though, is just as important in their story. Returning soldiers carry memories of past missions that took place overseas. Surviving the war was one thing, but surviving the after effects is another. Chad and Luke are on a Warrior Hike this year, one of three Warrior Expedition programs. While their …