Breaking in the boots, pt 2

I made another attempt to break in my new boots today, and it started out well. My wife needed half an hour of walking still for a Strava challenge, and since I needed a shorter hike to work on breaking in the boots, we hit the Buckeye Trail again. 

I took my pocket camera this time, a Sony DSC-W800 that I got right at the start of the pandemic for the portability, in that it fits in my pocket. Handy for a quick walk I guess, though I had an older version that fit well into my running belt. For hiking though, I am not sure that I am a fan. I might just need to adjust to it, and maybe I am spoiled by my APS-C sensor cameras. It does seem easier to edit from the Raw files compared to starting with JPG, and the grain on the larger cameras is much nicer. 

From the parking lot, we only went about half an hour onto the trail, minus time to the trailhead. It isn't that I am complaining, I'm still breaking in the shoes. We turned around where a tree fell across the path, which worked out well. I was halfway between the trailhead and my car when the pain started. 

Pain is normal, sometimes. The new boots still had a negligible amount of distance on them, and this really added to them. Dr. Martens really can take a bit to break in, but they are feeling better already. I mean, yeah, another few blocks and I would have been bleeding from my Achilles, but that's the price to pay. I should be able to wear them without issue by Halloween, as long as that doesn't get canceled too. 

Porygon Hunting

With the new school year starting, and with many things still down because of COVID restrictions, getting out and doing much has been a challenge for this month. It made my goal of two posts per week basically impossible, and I didn't have enough of a buffer to keep that up for long. 

A few weeks ago I ordered a new pair of hiking shoes, a pair of Dr. Martens Kamin hiking boots. I am nearing the end of the line for my second pair of DM Ajax 939 hiking boots, and these looked really neat and were only an extra $10. I liked the 939's that I had, though I wasn't a fan of the Ajax style leather's texture. I feel it made the boots look off for a few days after putting fresh Balsam on them. That being said, both of the pairs I had contained neon-colored leather on the shoes' collars that lit up under black light. (It's a weakness of mine.) 

Of course, being Dr. Martens, they need to be broken in, an epic struggle of will power that feels like it will never end, but ends with a shoe that feels great with no idea how there could have been a struggle to get there. I have already worn them out of the house a few times, but today was their first easy hike.

I headed out to a small county park where there is a half-mile boardwalk trail. Not really a test for the shoes per se, but since they are still breaking in, I didn't want to be a mile from the car in rough terrain and unable to walk. I actually made that mistake once with a pair of 1460s that were not broken in yet when I walked seven miles looking for a glove. I hope to have them on the real trails in a few weeks. 

Being that today was Porygon day for Pokemon Go, and the park actually had cell service, I attempted to catch a shiney Porygon. I didn't see any, but I did manage to take the gym. I guess there is some irony in hiking a nature preserve and hunting Pokemon, with signs about not taking items from the park or disturbing wildlife. Still, I got a decent short hike in. I probably should have done a second lap, but I misread the clock. 

It was all misadventure

Charleston Falls is the most popular of Miami County's parks, and ironically, the only one with trails that are mapped in my Fenix. I had the day off, so after dropping my youngest off at school with his band stuff for the year, I headed over.

I took my camera equipment along because I wanted to attempt a long exposure shot of the waterfall, and I do like taking pictures. The parking lot was a little over half full, which surprised me for a weekday morning. That being said, it was far from crowded.

The first thing I noticed as I entered the woods was that it looked like someone had thinned out the trees. A lot. There were many trees cut or knocked down, and it just felt wrong. Maybe there was a reason for it, or maybe it was my imagination. I honestly am not sure.

I continued down the trail to the overlook for the falls. Or it would have been, had the falls been flowing. Sadly, no, I would not be photographing the falls today. So, plan B, the Observation Deck. I took the path down past what would have been the falls and hiked onward. I had thought about going to the observation deck from the beginning, but it wasn't my reason for being at the park. My last time going to the deck was cut short because of bees, and I wasn't sure where on the map it was. I continued on until I got to a junction in the trail that had a map. That map told me I just walked past the tower and somehow didn't notice. 

I admit, I may have been looking at my phone a little while trying to figure out if there was an easy way to attach geospatial data to the photographs, but I didn't think I paid that little attention to my surroundings. I turned around and doubled back to find.... nothing. Maybe not quite nothing, there was a suspicious patch of gravel. I thought to myself that maybe I read that map wrong. I mean, yeah, I have a degree in Geography, but maybe I just misread it. I turned down another path that intersected near where the observation deck was supposed to be and continued on into much thicker woods. No observation deck. I knew I had climbed it a few years earlier, so it had to be somewhere. I didn't find it though. Thinking that it just wasn't worth it, I went back towards my car. 

Near the trailhead I found a park employee doing maintenance. I asked about the observation deck and was informed that it had been torn down without the maps being updated. So... I guess that gravel was the location of the previous deck. 

I can't say that it was a waste of a trip though. I did get a little over two miles of hiking in, with a decent mix terrain. Had I known that the falls were dried up, I would have left the tripod in the car, and probably would have taken my hiking stick as well. There were a few places it would have been helpful to have had. I guess I will just have to make another trip out there, especially while I wait for hunting season to end around the other regional trails. It does look nice when it ices over after all. 

Sycamore State Park (3/75)

 It was foggy when I got up, which was rather nice, so I decided to go after Sycamore State Park. I was debating between this and another park when I realized that it was the first day of Squirrel season, and Deer season is just a short few weeks away. I figured that it would be best to his this park before the deer hunters arrived.

I was a bit surprised when my oldest son decided he would come along. I warned him there would be hiking, and I didn't know what to expect. Still, I grabbed my older camera for him, and off we went.

Like many trails, the start looks nice...

I admit, after the trails at Kiser Lake, I was apprehensive, and my oldest isn't the most known for hiking. I followed the GPS to where the park address was, and it looked like a house with a State Park sign. I continued down the road and made a few turns to come to a trailhead with a few parking spots. 

I grabbed my new hiking stick and the cameras, and we began onto the trail. And came face to face with stairs.

And they were decent!

The stairs were not bad, and the trail opened up again into one of the nicest hiking trails I have been on. (And I'm not just saying that after the mess at Kiser Lake.) It reminded me of some of where I used to hike in Michigan.

We got a bit farther before I noticed the first sign of trouble. There was a spent shotgun shell on the path.

I mentioned it but didn't think too much about it as we continued on. The trail we were on (The North Heron Run trail) skirted a ravine, and there was a smaller trail along with it that we decided to ignore for the time. The ravine helped give some interesting sights, though not really of the ravine itself.

The path continued a little farther when we found a random bench overlooking the ravine. I was really intrigued by the paint job on the back of it. It was a Space Invader!

I walked up to it to see what view it had and got distracted by the seat only having one plank, so it wasn't really a working bench. My son asked me as we continued on the trail why there was a seat without a view, and I pointed out the local bike path has a few. Maybe it looks nicer in winter?

The forest broke into a field where a few horse trails intersected, and the view was nice. The grey skies were a bit of a letdown, I bet it would look amazing with bright blue skies.

We had barely started into the next part of the woods when we saw another person coming towards us. We had stumbled upon one of the squirrel hunters. We talked for a few minutes, and he said the section we were heading to was the best for hunting and recommended a different trail where hunting wasn't allowed. We turned around and headed back to the car.

I think this was one of my favorite State Parks so far. I need to really figure out when hunting season is over, and then I can get back and really explore the park. The trails were great, and the only person we came across was friendly. I find it hard to believe I hadn't heard a lot about the park. It is rather interesting how it was laid out, and should make for a great hiking experience next year.

This does also suggest that I need to be more aware of the hunting season with the parks though. For hiking, I may need to focus on parks that don't allow hunting until spring. Thankfully, there are plenty of places still on the list.

We headed back home after leaving the trailhead and ended up at McDonald's for lunch. It was surreal because it was across the street from a strip mall my family used to love growing up. It was devastated. The entire thing was boarded up, few hints of what used to be there. I honestly can not say if it was just urban collapse that took down the mall near there, or if it was part of the tornado damage from 2019. It was still sad to see. I hadn't been to that area since Best Buy was still there, and I think that was to pick up a Twilight movie for my wife because of the Blu-ray being exclusive to Best Buy. (Now that makes me feel old.)

I actually didn't use my GPS to get home and took back roads all the way home from there. With school starting back in the next few days, it was a nice, if mild, way to end my summer. 

Little Miami State Park (2/75)

I had one of the rare free weekdays available to hit another State Park and decided on Little Miami State Park. I have a fair bit of trouble accepting this as a state park, purely based on it is a 50-mile bike path. I have nothing against bikes, as I currently have five of them. My house is inches away from a spur of the local bike path. My family uses the bike path on a near-daily basis. Our bike path isn't a State Park though, and this just seems mean spirited. I'd love to say how great it is and such, but... it's a bike path. It's not even as long as the local one, which is connected by other routes in Dayton. 

50% bigger. 100% less State Park.

As paths go, I was only on it for a few miles. Maybe it is better further along it in either direction. I admit route 25 has some boring areas. I just still can't wrap my head around it, almost 24 hours later.

It wasn't a bad trip though, by any means. My youngest came along, and "ran" a mile as I took photos. His PR is around 13 min/mile, but he was walking it, having only gotten a tenth of a mile farther than me as I took pictures. We walked a bit farther, looking at trees that seemed to be hiding some great views. Maybe the views will be better this winter, I can't say. We could see Kings Island though.

Some things are taller than trees.

I don't know if the highlight of the trip for my son was seeing Kings Island, one of his favorite places in the world, or if it was the wildlife. He is a bit finicky about seeing wildlife, or at least he is when it comes to rabbits. Bunnies are only ok with him as long as he sees them in even numbers. Two is good, four is great, but five bunnies will annoy him. Thankfully, we didn't see any rabbits. W did see a few deer though. It seems the "even" rule doesn't apply to deer, even though we are unsure if we saw three of them or just two.

The fawn's spots are fading. 

We finished up the walk, and I added the sticker to the book. (The office with stamps was nowhere near us.) 

2 down, 73 to go.

On the way home, we stopped at Field and Stream to look for a hiking pole. I would rather have a single one since I am usually using my camera, but if a set catches my eye... They only had one kind in stock. Two really, since they had it in carbon fiber and aluminum. I wasn't a fan of either one and had expected a much better selection. I have a lead on where to look next, but that will be another day. We got lunch and headed home.

Kiser Lake - park 1/75

 I grabbed my camera and Park Passport and headed off to Kiser Lake, the closest of the 75 Ohio State Parks. Ironically enough, I have never been there before, even though it is a few miles closer than Lake Loramie. I was underwhelmed, which isn't really fair to the park. 

Nice view though.

Now, to be fair, every park has its niche. I like trails and camping. If I still fished or had a horse I'd enjoy the park more. Actually, I do miss fishing a little, but I just can't seem to get back into it.

I meandered along the road from the park office (which was closed for the weekend) and found the start of the North Bay Trail just beyond some fenced off restrooms.

At least the restrooms near the office were open. 

And now for the fun part!

The entrance to the trail seemed to be promising and only slightly hidden. There was a large sign saying no ATVs or horses permitted on the trail, so there was that. A short way in was a neat wooden bridge, a sight I would see a few times, which was interesting. Sure, the path was a little overgrown, but it was pleasant enough.

How quaint!

However, things escalated rapidly from there.

Mud, lake, certain near doom!

I suddenly came to a part where the path was washed out to a point, and I debated turning around. However, I am a stubborn person, so I turned sideways and walked along the cliff of not quite doom. A few moments later I pushed through some brush taller than me and began to wonder if they had forgotten the trail maintenance this year, and maybe a year or two before that. I debated again turning around, but that cliff...

I pressed onwards, debating taking surface streets from the marina at the far end of the trail. Suddenly, a sign of hope!

I mean, yeah, that trail can't be good for horses.

Suddenly the path opened up, it looked maintained, and I got that wonderful false sense of security!

"No horse" signs, yellow blazes, a false sense of security! 

I speed up, and I continued on. Nice groomed trails!

...or not.

Suddenly the groomed trails were gone, and an obstacle course began. Still, downed trees like this were nothing compared to that ledge. I enjoyed scaling the tree, but it was followed by a random poke to my leg.

Beats ticks though.

Now it was just plain uncomfortable, with nature's velcro stuck to my leg. I actually folded up the fabric which helped, for like three steps. I added the burrs to my reason not to turn around. Oh, look, another tree!

Still sort of fun.

Trees aside, and the burrs, it was still a pleasant enough section of path. I was enjoying myself still, and that's half fun. Or at least it was.

Are you kidding me‽‽

I debated climbing it, and I just am not in that good of shape. I couldn't bring myself to crawl under it either. I really wonder how that tree could even be removed in the first place, but that tree was the last straw for me. I turned around and began to devise my exit strategy. I climbed back over and through the other trees until I got back to that wonderful sign about horses not being allowed on the hiking trail, and declared myself to be a horse. Screw it, I was too tired to do that cliff a second time.  (And the sign didn't say no humans on the horse trail!)

It actually was a lot easier on the return section, even dodging mud and "not mud" and I wove my way back towards the trailhead. I turned off where a sign pointed to the restrooms, and I soon popped up at the closed restrooms, a few hundred yards or so north of the trailhead. It was a short walk back to my car, and the end of my hike. 

The horse trail was a lot easier, but not really shorter. Map via Veloviewer and Google.

Being that the park office was closed, I went ahead and used a sticker from the book to mark the page for this park. Maybe I'll get there when they are open for the ink stamp one day, but I don't care to try that trail again anytime soon.

I hate selfies.

I hardly write by hand anymore... I need to practice.

Into the woods

 I decided to try and figure out where the Buckeye Trail heads north of town, as it has been a mystery to me for a while. I have hiked a certain section a few times, but parking is not an option for the far end of the local section, and the maps are not great online. I started at the parking lot closest to the trail in town, and headed towards the wooded area.

It was a nice day out.

The trail goes along Piqua's reservoir dam which has a pleasant view. There is a rock in the man-made lake, and a few lucky people even live around it.

Must be nice to have your own private dock house thing. 

I followed the "blue" blazes towards where I knew the hiking trail would really get going. I have been there a few times and even led a scout troop down the harder part of the trail a few years ago. Still, it was a fair walk to the off road section.

I don't know if I noticed the
North Country trail sign before.

Once I got to the path, into the trees I went, and I got to enjoy some quiet space. There are actually two benches in this area, which is nice, I guess. Maybe one further down would have been better.

You have to know about it I guess.

The first section there is really straight and easy, aside from some strong spider webs. One side had a wire fence along the north side, but it really didn't have a purpose as there were fields on both sides.

Also level!

The trees broke for a cross path between the two fields, though I thought there were more cross paths growing up. I used to camp every year at a festival held at the historic area the trail cuts through and had camped near that very treeline. I don't remember the trail being there. I started into the next section, which is a lot more technical when something bit my leg. I don't know what, and it might have been a spiny plant for all I ever figured out. I went a bit further, knocking out some large spider webs in front of me before the pain in my leg told me continuing was not the best idea. I abandoned completing that section and turned around for the mile hike back to the car. 

I have actually done that section a few times without issue, and it was probably a one-off thing. Without completing it though, I didn't get the opportunity to figure out just where the trail goes from there. 

It was an uneventful hike other than whatever got my leg. It didn't swell up or have any punctures that I could see, and by the next morning, it was back to normal. I might get a hiking pole before I go back though, if for nothing more than breaking the spider webs ahead of me. 

Feeling annoyed about the lack of completing it, I tried to figure out where the path would be from Lockington Dam. Again, the Buckeye Trail maps online were of no help. (I think the website had an issue though. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt there.) I could order the physical maps online for a few bucks, and might eventually do that, but I just happen to be at the boundary between two regions. That means double the maps! I might end up doing that though, but not for now.

I realized though that the one signpost also said North Country National Scenic Trail and I hit up their website. Now that website has some great maps! Sadly though, I found that furthest I have been on the trail is where it goes on roads for a few miles. On the bright side though, it looks like it is a trail again north of Lockington Dam. At least that gives me a fresh starting point for later.