Today We Are Four - Day 83

  Carl is back with us for a few days, and Richard from the BTA office is joining us for a couple of days as well. Carl walked part of the day, but he is going to seriously help with shuttling. We got to do a couple of pieces on closed roads today. Nice hiking on those- natural surfaces, trees.

You might say we were five, because Todd T. Toad also came along. He approved stopping at Scott Run for lunch.

This is the Williams Covered Bridge, built in 1872 but recently refurbished by the state.

We crossed Scott Run three times, none of them requiring bags. And I know there's too much sun in the picture, but can you believe I am even saying "too much sun?" I was hiking in shirtsleeves after lunch. First time this trip. It was in the mid-seventies. That isn't going to last, but it sure was nice today.

I think the highlight of the afternoon was Stockport on the Muskingum River. You could hop in the river and arrive at Marietta on the Ohio in just a few miles. We got this nice shot of the town without a drone- all that was needed was a serious hill and a power line cut.

You can see the bridge across the river on the far right, and a low dam with whitewater below that. We had to walk down into town and cross the bridge. At the left end of the bridge is a huge mill building that has been converted to a restaurant and inn.

The roiling below the dam was really impressive.

One of the most amazing things is that there is still an operating lock on the east side of the river. The locks were built in the mid-nineteenth century for commercial navigation. They are still in use to make the river navigable by pleasure craft. It was weird to see a stone-block lock with new fittings.

Many of the ridges we walked today had lovely pastoral scenes.

One of the saddest things was this small, unique octogon house that is in complete disrepair. Note the slate roof.

We saw some merganser ducks, more bluebirds. Always lots of hawks. A couple of big hills, but we conquered them all.

Miles today 15.5. Total miles so far: 1053.9.

See Over the Hills