Have you ever heard of the Buckeye Trail? Neither had I, but it’s a well established, interesting walking/hiking route that circumnavigates the entire state of Ohio in a long, lazy circle. If you’ve read any of my past blog posts you’ll know I like walking and am always on the lookout for a new chunk of trail to explore. I set off from Vancouver at the end of August on a 3 month (ish) road trip around the U.S. and stumbled on the Buckeye Trail in my advance research so last month gave it a try on my way through Ohio.

The United States has plenty of walking opportunities to chose from. Many routes are more hikes than walks, zigzagging through national forests and woodland, but I prefer walks that include a little urban flavor too. I like to see towns and neighborhoods on a walk, and I don’t like to have to carry all the food and water required on extended hikes in the woods, away from population.

The Buckeye Trail seemed like a good bet. It offers a nice mix of rural vs. urban, covers the entire state and because it’s circular you can start and stop anywhere you like along the way. I emailed the Buckeye Trail Association and with the assistance of the helpful and generous Steve Walker – the president of the association no less (what a name!) – I came up with a rough plan. Talk about welcoming, he and his wife Karen fed me, lodged me and ferried me to and from the trail making my brief but enjoyable experience a real treat.

 

At a little over 1,400 miles (2,250 km) the Buckeye Trail is a proper walk. It’s a circular trail, winding around Ohio in a big loop. It touches every corner of the state, from the Lake Erie shores near Cleveland to the Ohio River near Cincinnati. Because it’s a circle a walker can start or stop anywhere along the route; it’s “endless” as the Buckeye Trail Association points out on its website, allowing you to start anywhere and keep walking indefinitely without ever reaching the end.

Sadly I didn’t have time to walk for eternity on an Escher-like endless path around Ohio so I settled on a much more modest 6 day out-and-back from Canal Fulton to the Atwood Lakes area, a roughly 80 mile route in the northeast of the state near the cities of Akron and Canton. It’s a very populated part of the state but the trail dodged mostly all of the heavy urban features and instead wound through wooded trails and along quiet country roads.

Where I started in the small town of Canal Fulton the trail follows the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath for the first couple of days, which was very interesting.

The Ohio and Erie Canal carried waterborne freight traffic from 1827 to 1861 when the construction of railroads all but put a stop to it. From then to around 1913 the canal served as a water source for industries and towns in the regions but then during 1913 heavy flooding caused much of the canal system to be abandoned once and for all. In its heyday it must have been a real hub of activity judging by the breadth and scope of the drawings and old photographs I’ve seen.

 

Before the advent of steam – and consequently steam ships and railways – goods were commonly moved in heavy barges through networks of canals, pulled along by mules and horses tethered to the boats. The mules walked alongside the canals on “towpaths”, towing the barges up and down the network. Land muscle moving aquatic loads.

I’d read about it in advance and thought there was just the one main canal running north to south (the one I was following); I later learned there were a half dozen long canals connecting various regions of the state, themselves connecting to yet other canals in other states. The place is filthy with them.

 

 

It was interesting to see the remaining contour of the now deserted canals. There wouldn’t have been any trees along the towpath or sticking out of the canal as there are now (which would have interfered with the ropes required to haul the barges), and the small settlements, rest stops, maintenance and works yards that you can see in photographs of the time are of course long gone. A few crumbling locks pop up here and there but have long been dormant.

 

In addition to the canal and towpath system, several of the towns I passed were very interesting. Zoar village, for instance was well worth a look and night’s camp. The small town was founded in 1817 by German separatists escaping religious persecution in their homeland. More than 200 of them lived for more than 80 years in Zoar making it “one of the most successful communal settlements in American history” according to the town’s website (http://www.historiczoarvillage.com). Its historic houses and barns are beautifully preserved and there’s an excellent coffee shop and general store (sadly my phone was out of juice and I didn’t get any photos – you can see some on their website though).

The Buckeye Trail Association has worked with Zoar in designating a wild camping spot in the woods just east of town at the end of an abandoned dirt track, now overgrown. I pitched my tent for the night then bought a sandwich and can of beer from the general store and enjoyed the few stars that hung around stubbornly in an increasingly overcast sky. Rain rattled the roof of my tent most of the night. I staggered soggy into the cafe in the morning for excellent coffee and two scones and a muffin then carried on.

 

Bolivar is another pretty and interesting little town, a “Not so sleepy village” (according to their website at http://www.villageofbolivar.com) and the “Gateway to Tuscarawas ounty”. It’s home to around 1,000 people and I must have met most of them during the evening I propped up a bar stool in the local pub. “Sublime Smoke BBQ and Craft Beer” on Main Street is a real gem boasting an excellent selection of craft beer and tasty food, and friendly, welcoming locals.

The townsfolk were interested in what I was doing there so I had no trouble striking up conversations. Two different people bought me beer and Maria, who works for the town council (and whose artist daughter Taylor works behind the bar) introduced me to Robert who offered me a spot on the floor of his brand new trailer where I could spread out my sleeping bag for the night. I accepted and was grateful not to have to schlep back into the woods in the dark to find a place for my tent. That and the fact that the trailer was one block away from the bar made it a welcome invitation.

 

Here are a few pros and cons of the trail. Admittedly I walked a very short section of the trail and only walked it once in one season of one year so take this with a grain of salt but, for what it’s worth, here goes:

Pros

1. The trail sections I walked are well off the beaten track and go through typical, rural northern Ohio countryside offering the walker an authentic Ohio experience. People were very friendly and helpful and there was little to no traffic, hassle or complications.

2. The towpath trail is very interesting. It’s only a little more than 100 years ago that it stopped operating so it’s still relatively easy to see the remains of the canal and the path the horses would have used to haul barges, in many sections at least. It’s amazing to compare what I imagined was the bustle of the canal system in the old days with the abandoned feel of the area now. In another hundred years I wonder what will be left to notice.

3. Wild camping is no problem along the trail. Despite few official campsites there are a lot of places the savvy walker can pitch his tent. I camped in areas that were loosely affiliated with the Buckeye Trail Association (sort of) but there were many other spots that would easily support wild camping where no one would bother you.

 

4. The trail is not crowded with other walkers. I suppose this point could also go into the “cons” column, as it means there is less infrastructure and fewer people to chat with, but it’s a big plus as well: nothing is crowded, locals aren’t sick of walkers traipsing through their towns and you get to see the real Ohio along the way.

 

5. If you hiked the entire trail, or at least covered a greater distance than I did you’d be treated to great cultural variety and historical interest. Ohio is a very interesting state with a colorful and complicated history. Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati and Columbus are all different, representing very different parts of the state so if you were so inclined to read-up and pay attention to the history of the regions you’d be continually entertained as you circled the state.

Cons

1. Very few people have heard of the Buckeye Trail. I was amazed actually. Ohio is the “Buckeye” state, and the Buckeye Trail is their official trail but hardly anyone I talked with – even in places that were actually on the trail route – had heard of it. Steve Walker told me this was the case, and that recognition differs depending on which bit of the trail you’re talking about, but still I was surprised. It’s good in a way, but overall it means there is much less infrastructure and fewer amenities than more popular, well-known trails and you can’t necessarily rely on locals to help you with overall trail logistics.

2. It was hard finding a shower. The first four days of my walk were very hot and humid; that combined with the near absence of any breeze inside the forest meant I was constantly sweating and sticky. Anyone who has hiked in hot weather knows the unbridled joy of climbing hot, wet and mucky into a sleeping bag inside a stuffy tent at the end of the day and the further pleasure that awaits you as you drag yesterday’s t-shirt back on over your still-sweaty back the next morning. Wild camping and little infrastructure equates to lack of bathing options. I waded into the Tuscarawas river several times each day for a wash, which was lovely and refreshing at the time but considering Ohio’s industrial past I might not have been much cleaner getting out than I’d been getting in.

 

3. Food is scarce. I was only on the trail for 6 days and managed to scrape together meals, but many of the other sections of the trail are less populated and have no services at all. You’d need to carry a lot of water and food on those sections, which adds significantly to your pack weight and complicates logistics. Lodging too is scarce along many sections of the trail.

4. Hunting is a common activity at certain times of the year in the forested section of the routes. I was cautioned to wear bright, visible clothing through a few of the wooded sections and be aware of bow hunters. This is not unique to the Buckeye Trail, but it’s definitely cause for pause and something you don’t need to think about on many other trails.

 

4. Transportation to and from your start/finish is nearly impossible without your own vehicle or local support. Luckily I had Steve and Karen helping me – including driving me to and from my start/stop point – but there are no trains, buses or other kinds of public transport around much of Ohio as best I could tell.

I really enjoyed my walk and am happy I discovered it. I spent additional time in Ohio before and after the walk and found other interesting and worthwhile places to explore. Recommended!

 

Contact the Buckeye Trail Association for more information at http://www.buckeyetrail.org. Tell Steve and Karen I sent you.

Stay tuned!

(To see these photos and more, check out my SmugMug photo sharing website here).