Saying goodbye to the bike trail for now (End of the Loveland BT Section)
Looking back at O'Neall Rd. from the other side
Caesar Creek Reservoir
Trail Miles: 8
Today was a perfect day for hiking. It was warm, but not hot. There were no mosquitoes, and only a few large bees that did not bother me. It has been a long wait for me to get back to the Buckeye Trail, and I couldn't have asked for a better day.
I started back in Oregonia, which is a couple of miles from the end of the Loveland section, that I started hiking on July 1st of last year. There are really no decent places to leave a vehicle, and I did not take the time to ask around. There are plenty of no trespassing signs in the area, which makes me think a lot of people that use the trail must like to park where ever they please. I decided the best place to leave a car was all the way up at Caesar Creek State Park.
I was looking forward to taking a break from the paved bike trails and road walking and getting my first chance at some good old dirt trails. When I got to the end of O'Neall Rd. at the guard rail, it looked like there might be a lot of vegetation to hack through, but once I entered the small opening by the guard rail, the trail was in good shape.
There was some heavy erosion in some areas, and I wouldn't walk it at night, but the trail was nice and clear. I continued on along Caesar Creek and crossed a bridge. I took an abandoned paved road up to a grassy mowed area that led to Clarksville Rd by the Flat Fork Recreation area. I continued on toward the visitor center, and then walked back to the Flat Fork parking lot to move my car up to the visitor center.
I had originally planned to camp at the horseman's camp further up along the reservoir, but tomorrow is one of my daughter's last day of school, and there is a school play I shouldn't miss. I hiked with my full pack anyhow.
After I moved my car up to the visitor center, I walked around a short loop trail that I originally throught was the Buckeye Trail. If I had read my map properly, I would have seen that the BT starts above the old farmer's pond. I walked back up toward the pond and continued down the right trail.
Since I was not going to camp tonight, I decided to not hike all the way to point 5 on the trail map, which is the Day Lodge near Middletown Rd. I walked about half way there and turned around and walked back to the visitor's center. The next time I come back to the trail, I will start from the visitor center again and continue as far as I can.
There was one stream crossing between points 4 and 5, which was not a problem, since the stream was low. I am sure the level gets much higher, so it is a good idea to have a plan for crossing streams in this area. I had some cheap sandals I bought that I could have used if I had to.
I could have gotten more miles in, but I did not have a way to shuttle the car again, and I did not feel like walking out and back the rest of the day.
I always like to read up on the history of the area. I learned that the Caesar Creek area was named for Caesar, who was a black slave captured by the Shawnee during a raid along the Ohio River. The Shawnee adopted Caesar and gave him the valley to be his own hunting ground. It is said that Caesar went on raids with Blue Turtle, who was the Shawnee war chief at the time.
To see a set of all my photos for this trip, go to:
http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm96/SteveHikes/Buckeye%20Trail%202008/To get maps for the Buckeye Trail, please visit the Buckeye Trail Association website at:
http://www.buckeyetrail.org/For maps and info for the Caesar Creek State Park, visit:
http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks/tabid/720/default.aspx
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