Bert the caretaker at Joy of Living Camp and wife Tana were gracious hosts. Bert saw me off at the beginning of the day at the "Bridge of Dreams" 370 foot covered bridge on the Mohican Trail. Flakes of snow lit upon the trike canopy just as I was departing. I think many adventurers will relate that it is often the amazing helpful people you meet along the way who make the adventure. Two men were very good to meet today. Let me tell you about Tom & Steve. Tom Alexander is a member of the Ohio to Erie board of directors. In just the past couple weeks Tom completed posting the directional trail signs at intersections for the Ohio to Erie Trail through Holmes County. Those "Ohio 1" signs were invaluable in getting me along the trail without any wrong turns. Tom also operates a hostel in the town of Glenmont, Ohio which will soon become part of the trail when it eventually is rerouted through his area. In recent years he attempted a through hike of the Appalachian Trail and got all but 270 miles from the end of the trail in Maine and fell and broke his collarbone. His trail name is the "raisin bran kid". Tom plans to finish the trek this July. Tom bought our lunch today at the Millersburg Hotel. We had only an hour together and I did not find out the origin of his nickname. Here's a link to Tom's facebook page Steve Upperman is equally interesting - a photographer, naturalist and avid cyclist. He even races his bicycle. As a certified naturalist with the Department of Natural Resources he volunteers his work, including today's project to help me plant trees at Killbuck Marsh Preserve. We rode together from Killbuck, Ohio on the Holmesville Trail and spotted, a dozen deer bounding across the trail in front of us, many birds, and a rare sighting of a mink crossing our path. Without Steve to guide me I would not have been able to get up and down all the hills to get to the planting site at Killbuck marsh at 2 o'clock. There we planted seven swamp white oak trees. Pam Gum (OCVN, Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist) met us there with the trees in a pick up and assisted with the planting. Thank you Pam & Steve.
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Brent DevittFollow my thoughts on adventure and the environment. Archives
April 2018
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