Phantom Flashing - Day 23

  Today, I headed east on the Wabash Cannonball Trail. I have not previously hiked any of this. It was not even part of the NCT when I did my first hike through here. I sampled a tiny piece a few years later, but not where I was today. Obviously (I hope) this is a rail trail. It does have a more natural surface than asphalt. Most is packed cinders.

This new bridge labeled Stoner's Crossing is right at the beginning of the trail in West Unity.

And some of the historic bridges are still in place, like this one over the Tiffin River.

But here's the weirdness. At one of the first road crossings, far in the distance I could see flashes of light. They were so bright, and in sets, that it looked like someone was using a mirror to send Morse Code signals. In another few seconds, the lights were even brighter, and bobbing, and I thought there was an illegal vehicle coming toward me on the trail.

Then I thought there must be a hiker ahead of me with something shiny on the back of his or her pack that was catching the sunlight (there was some intermittent sun). This was my best guess for quite a while, because I never seemed to get any closer to what was flashing. A few times, I thought it was a loose piece of metal on a post blowing in the wind, but I never got to it.

The flashing stopped, and then it started again, but only a few times. I zoomed the camera far into the distance, and captured this glowing blue spot. By now, I was just making up stories. A phantom train? Some kind of magical stone that was leading me deeper into the forest, never to emerge?

The flashes stopped for a long time, and then there were just a couple more. By now, I was beginning to suspect why I could never reach the source of the flashing. The crossroads were at just a tiny angle to the trail, and the sun was catching windshields or white side panels of trucks as they zipped by the opening in the trees at the trail crossings.

I was seeing these flashes as much as two miles ahead! But what was the glowing blue light?

The sky!

And what about that pointy thing that looks like a blue flame or a glowing crystal? A barn- also seen from more than 2 miles away.

After the trail got east of the little burg of Elmira it was more open, but this lovely avenue is the approach to Elmira. I'm sure it looked nothing like this when the train was actually running.

I also crossed to the south of the Ohio Turnpike today. This is I-80 and I-90. I'll be south of I-80 until part way across Pennsylvania, and I won't cross I-90 again until I get east of Syracuse, NY!

Enjoy a pretty fungus.

We also moved the trailer today, and Sue went home until March. She really got the routine down pat, and she's a good friend. I'll miss her. I'll have a new helper join me in a few days, for a few days. Meanwhile, I'm on my own. I'm now at trailer stop number five. I'm so bad... I did not get a picture of the trailer at #4, or of my hosts, Nikki and her husband. Bummer. I'll try to do better.

We had a little trail magic today, as backpackers Troy and Sandy Carpenter let us park the trailer in their driveway for the day at Alvordton, so we didn't have to drive all the way back to Jonesville to get it after I hiked.

Miles today: 15.4. Total this trip: 340.9.

See To Ohio, with Buddy?