Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday
Tuesday morning didn't rain as it was expected to. I packed up around nine, made myself a cup of coffee and then hit the road at ten. It would be all road walking today. I had planned sixteen miles.
It was humid in the morning and cloudy. In the afternoon the clouds cleared and it became a sunny day.
My favorite thing today: Leaving the town of Wamsley, about a mile out I came upon a house. The property parallels the road with a creek between the two. Walking past at first you see several dogs and I thought, huh they have a lot of dogs. As the dogs began barking it alerts other dogs on the property of a stranger (me). They come out of there homes, from under the porch and everywhere. More and more as I walk further past the property. This had to be a dog sanctuary, there were at least 100 dogs. All different breeds, most muts. I heard their collective bark for a mile past the house.
I was headed to Ben's Happy Trails Horse Camp. Except it wasn't where my guide book said it was. I decided to walk eight more miles to Shawnee State Park to camp. Four miles later I pass the Horse Camp. Although my feet were sore from my new shoes not being broken in, I push on. Another four and I reach Turkey Creek Lake in Shawnee SP.
Was super hungry so I made two dinners. I calorie counted and I'm only getting 2500/day. I need to eat more. It feels like it's going to be a windy night.
Wednesday morning I woke up to the obnoxious sound that geese make. These things need to fly back home and let spring get under way. As soon as I got out of the tent I regretted it. It was cold with a serious windchill. It took me extra long to pack up. I kept cursing the sun for not rising fast enough. I walked two miles to the main campground, found a good spot and set up again. Fortunately by this time the sun was up and it was warming.
I planned to rest today. I gathered firewood, built a small fire and made a cup of coffee. Around 1:00pm I went to the shower house/laundry room. I put all my clothes in the washer machine and headed into the shower. The hole in the shower head is about the size of a pencil. A little difficult to shower this way. Fortunately you can adjust the pressure; so I made it like a pressure hose and massaged my neck and shoulders. My towel is in the washing machine, so I drip dry/use the hand dryer. I'm sorta dry. I put my clothes in the dryer and walk over to the camp store. I purchased hot dogs, a can of baked beans and marshmallows. After my clothes finish I head back to camp.
I built up the fire, cooked dinner and made four hot cocoas and ate an entire bag of marshmallows. Tried looking up at the stars to see the meteor shower but could not see any.
Thursday morning I had a half day planned so we got moving a little late. Only walked about eight or nine miles. Found a hollow, set my tent up, built a fire pit and rested. I ate my dinner by the fire and then turned in.
Friday morning I awoke to rain hitting the tent. Thunderstorms forecasted for the day. I waited for a break in the rain and packed up. We hiked up a ridge on trail and across the top of it on Sunny Ridge Road. However, when I got there the rain returned and would continue in varying degrees of strength most of the day. I found my first morel mushroom! Pretty exciting. I descended the ridge on an old unmaintained road. The road reaches a hollow and becomes maintained again.
As I came down the road a car was passing and pulled over to me. They asked if I was hiking the Buckeye Trail? I told the couple I was on the ADT. They asked where I was gonna sleep that night? I said I was headed to a camp to pitch my tent. They offered to let me use a hunting cabin on their property, just up the road. Since the ground, myself and my tent is wet I accept. There's pictures of deer on the walls in here like posters in a teenagers room. It's got a kitchen and bunk beds.
Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow, I've got to get to Bentonville. I'm out of dog food and human food.
Saturday morning I made coffee in a coffee pot. Packed up my things and locked the cabin door behind me. There are no more trails, it's road walking from here to Cincinnati.
It was a nice warm day, I definitely got a little sun burned. We took two breaks today both at churches. Unlocked churches must have been a West Virginia thing because non in Ohio have been. One home I passed today a kind lady gave me an orange soda, chocolate chip cookies, and a whole bag of dog biscuits. This was awesome because we shared a cliff bar for breakfast that morning.
When we finally reached Bentonville, there were no groceries. I wish my ADT guidebook was more recent than 2008.... I located the next town on my phone. Three and a half miles NE, there is a Walmart and a motel out front. I felt bad making Brown walk further, he's got a huge gash in one of his toe pads and limps when he walks on gravel. I carried his pack and we walked along a highway with no shoulder to Walmart. A twenty two mile day.
As I get closer, I can see the signs, there is every fast food option lined up. I'm starving. I get to the motel, they don't allow pets. I grabbed some food at Long John Silvers and tried to figure out a new plan. I set my tent up behind some semi-trucks parked in the Walmart parking lot. Then I went into Walmart to get dog food and ice cream. I'm hoping I'm OK here tonight/tomorrow morning.
Thank you readers.
Tuesday morning didn't rain as it was expected to. I packed up around nine, made myself a cup of coffee and then hit the road at ten. It would be all road walking today. I had planned sixteen miles.
It was humid in the morning and cloudy. In the afternoon the clouds cleared and it became a sunny day.
My favorite thing today: Leaving the town of Wamsley, about a mile out I came upon a house. The property parallels the road with a creek between the two. Walking past at first you see several dogs and I thought, huh they have a lot of dogs. As the dogs began barking it alerts other dogs on the property of a stranger (me). They come out of there homes, from under the porch and everywhere. More and more as I walk further past the property. This had to be a dog sanctuary, there were at least 100 dogs. All different breeds, most muts. I heard their collective bark for a mile past the house.
I was headed to Ben's Happy Trails Horse Camp. Except it wasn't where my guide book said it was. I decided to walk eight more miles to Shawnee State Park to camp. Four miles later I pass the Horse Camp. Although my feet were sore from my new shoes not being broken in, I push on. Another four and I reach Turkey Creek Lake in Shawnee SP.
Was super hungry so I made two dinners. I calorie counted and I'm only getting 2500/day. I need to eat more. It feels like it's going to be a windy night.
Wednesday morning I woke up to the obnoxious sound that geese make. These things need to fly back home and let spring get under way. As soon as I got out of the tent I regretted it. It was cold with a serious windchill. It took me extra long to pack up. I kept cursing the sun for not rising fast enough. I walked two miles to the main campground, found a good spot and set up again. Fortunately by this time the sun was up and it was warming.
I planned to rest today. I gathered firewood, built a small fire and made a cup of coffee. Around 1:00pm I went to the shower house/laundry room. I put all my clothes in the washer machine and headed into the shower. The hole in the shower head is about the size of a pencil. A little difficult to shower this way. Fortunately you can adjust the pressure; so I made it like a pressure hose and massaged my neck and shoulders. My towel is in the washing machine, so I drip dry/use the hand dryer. I'm sorta dry. I put my clothes in the dryer and walk over to the camp store. I purchased hot dogs, a can of baked beans and marshmallows. After my clothes finish I head back to camp.
I built up the fire, cooked dinner and made four hot cocoas and ate an entire bag of marshmallows. Tried looking up at the stars to see the meteor shower but could not see any.
Thursday morning I had a half day planned so we got moving a little late. Only walked about eight or nine miles. Found a hollow, set my tent up, built a fire pit and rested. I ate my dinner by the fire and then turned in.
Friday morning I awoke to rain hitting the tent. Thunderstorms forecasted for the day. I waited for a break in the rain and packed up. We hiked up a ridge on trail and across the top of it on Sunny Ridge Road. However, when I got there the rain returned and would continue in varying degrees of strength most of the day. I found my first morel mushroom! Pretty exciting. I descended the ridge on an old unmaintained road. The road reaches a hollow and becomes maintained again.
As I came down the road a car was passing and pulled over to me. They asked if I was hiking the Buckeye Trail? I told the couple I was on the ADT. They asked where I was gonna sleep that night? I said I was headed to a camp to pitch my tent. They offered to let me use a hunting cabin on their property, just up the road. Since the ground, myself and my tent is wet I accept. There's pictures of deer on the walls in here like posters in a teenagers room. It's got a kitchen and bunk beds.
Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow, I've got to get to Bentonville. I'm out of dog food and human food.
Saturday morning I made coffee in a coffee pot. Packed up my things and locked the cabin door behind me. There are no more trails, it's road walking from here to Cincinnati.
It was a nice warm day, I definitely got a little sun burned. We took two breaks today both at churches. Unlocked churches must have been a West Virginia thing because non in Ohio have been. One home I passed today a kind lady gave me an orange soda, chocolate chip cookies, and a whole bag of dog biscuits. This was awesome because we shared a cliff bar for breakfast that morning.
When we finally reached Bentonville, there were no groceries. I wish my ADT guidebook was more recent than 2008.... I located the next town on my phone. Three and a half miles NE, there is a Walmart and a motel out front. I felt bad making Brown walk further, he's got a huge gash in one of his toe pads and limps when he walks on gravel. I carried his pack and we walked along a highway with no shoulder to Walmart. A twenty two mile day.
As I get closer, I can see the signs, there is every fast food option lined up. I'm starving. I get to the motel, they don't allow pets. I grabbed some food at Long John Silvers and tried to figure out a new plan. I set my tent up behind some semi-trucks parked in the Walmart parking lot. Then I went into Walmart to get dog food and ice cream. I'm hoping I'm OK here tonight/tomorrow morning.
Thank you readers.
Quad cocoa
a little bit of Florida in the cabin
my first morel!
Another drained lake
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