Buckeye Blue - Day 27

  Today I joined the Buckeye Trail/NCT, and began returning westward toward Defiance, Ohio. This is on the towpath of the Miami-Wabash-Erie Canal that ran along the northwest edge of Ohio, parallel to the Maumee River. It was a drizzly, foggy morning. The large island visible is one of the "Missionary Islands" that supposedly have Native American sites to see. I'll have to come back!

Bill hiked with me again. This picture is taken at Providence Metropark where, in summer, there is a canal boat to ride where they put you through a lock, and the Ludwig Mill to visit that uses the power of falling water from a canal overflow. When it's operating, it's one of the coolest places on the trail. I love the canal history!

Buckeye Blue is not the same color as NCT blue. So for the next 800 miles, I'll be looking for these blazes. This one is on a honey locust - not the friendliest tree in the forest!

Speaking of trees, here's another species that mostly grows a little south of where I live. This is hackberry. When it is mature, the bark is really funky!

I love, love, LOVE all the canal history in Ohio. This is a watered section of the canal with a wider towpath, so it looks very much as it might have in 1850, for example.

Here are the remains of Lock 43. I must have hundreds of pictures of old canal locks, but I never seem to get tired of taking more.

After Providence, there are more places where the towpath remnant is a narrow corridor in the former right of way and the canal profile only looks like a ditch (on the right). Of course, there would not have been any trees between the canal and the path or the tow ropes couldn't have been used.

This is very cool! This double stone culvert under the road was built in 1842 by James Durbin (he was head engineer). As you can see, it's still in great condition and in use. Sorry about the wet hazy conditions, but you wanted to come along with me.

The fog increased as the day went on. Finally, we could not tell the river from the sky, and this log floating in the river just seemed lost in space.

Miles today: 16.7 (not sure it felt like that, but that's what the map says). Total so far: 388.2

See Oak Openings