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11/00 Burr Oak Lake Trail [Once again I have neglected to bring my journal with me so this entry will be in retrospect again. Not only this but I left the camera at home too. So I will regale you with an artist's (Dirtbag Darrel) rendering of the weekend.] Buddur the Wonderdog Nigal Tom Day 1 This weekend I hit the trail with a buddy I met on BaseCamp named Tom and his faithful companion Buddur the Wonder Dog. We met at the trailhead on Friday at about 2 pm (yes, I was running late again!) and hit the trail. I had never hiked with Tom and Buddur yet so it was great getting to know each other as we hiked. Buddur is the best dog I have ever met. He is a beautiful, energetic golden Retriever and is better trained than any dog I've ever met. He responds to every voice command Tom gives him. He was so well behaved! We stopped top check out the pioneer graveyard just before stopping and making a gorilla camp on a flat area about 4 miles from the trailhead. We spent the evening talking and enjoying the evening. Day 2 We got up and had breakfast, packed up and got on the trail about 9 am. My feet got cold the night before. I had thin wool socks on and they don't get cold usually but they did. I was using my 3/4 Z Rest with my pack under my feet. This has always worked in the past for me but I think I may need to break out the full length Thermarest UL for the remainder of the winter. My Z Rest is showing signs of being a bit worn. Could this be an excuse to buy a new piece of gear? You bet your sweet bippy! Tom was cooking with a couple homemade beer can stoves this weekend. They were very impressive and have given me the motivation to finally get off my butt and make mine. he carried two of them- one that boiled very well and one that simmered very well. It's nice when your stove is so light you can carry two of them! This section of the trail isn't very rough and the miles came easy today. The weather was pretty nice and just cool enough to hike with no jacket on. This lake is very clean as far Ohio lakes go. There was very little trash along the bank except for the occasional Styrofoam worm container (BTW- slob fisherman suck!). We did about 7 miles today and camped at the north-east end of the lake near the water. It was a nice spot and there were beaver, swans, and lots of noisy geese around. Day3 I got cold again last night. Very cold! My feet never warmed up all night. The Z Rest is definitely done for the year. It was colder last night and this morning than the day before. After mass quantities of coffee we hit the trail about 8:30 am. It is cold enough that I am starting the day's hike with a coat on. I hardly NEVER hike with a coat on. About two miles down the trail we must have gotten off the backpack trail and onto the Buckeye Trail. We ended up doing a bit of road work in a counterclockwise rout that took us to the Wildcat Hollow trailhead and then we picked up the connector trail back to the backpacking trail. This north section of the trail is said to be very tough. The last time I was here I found it to be very nice and not that bad of a hike. It was a different story this time. They were improving the trail on this side of the lake and they made the new trail with a bulldozer. Bulldozer tracks suck for hiking on. This side of the lake ended up being a gut buster. It was a great hike out and didn't take as long as I thought it would. I think I'll avoid this trail until they get the north section done and sorted out. I had a great time hiking with Tom and Buddur and look forward to hiking with them again. CT |
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