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Preparing for Your Trip
Just because you are hiking in the seventh most populated state, don't expect one of Ohio's great citizens to be in earshot of your cries for help after negligent trip planning leaves you in a precarious state. Remember, the lands you are walking on are state or federally owned parks or forests, which means no people live there. True, you don't have to worry about altitude sickness, tumbling down a scree slope or being attacked by a grizzly in Ohio, but twisting an ankle or getting lost in Wayne National Forest or in Shawnee State Forest during a solo trip certainly poses risks of its own.
There are many good books and online resources covering the techniques of hiking and
backpacking ad nauseam, so that material will not be discussed in detail here. For
reference, a list of basic gear you may need on your trip is provided in the next
section. Hiking in Ohio typically does not require any unique pieces of gear. Most
of the gear you have purchased was probably chosen by recommendation or personal
preference and will suffice on the trail. Common sense packing based on weather
forecasts, seasons, etc. will determine what items find their way into your pack.
When in doubt, packing a little extra and being prepared is always better than
under packing and being unprepared.
Most of Ohio's backpack trails are constructed of compacted dirt, occasionally
interrupted by roots and rocks. A quality, sturdy hiking shoe or boot is always
recommended over athletic footwear, even though trails here are a little more
forgiving on your feet and ankles than mountain trails. Wearing waterproof footwear
will save you from wet feet after an accidental slip during one of the many stream
crossings you'll encounter. Lightweight, collapsible trekking poles have gained
popularity in recent years and serve the role as a supporting "third leg", thus
reducing the impact of hiking on leg muscles and knee joints, resulting in increased
stamina. Poles are helpful in providing extra balance on uneven sections of trail
or when crossing a stream or stepping over a downed tree. Buy models containing
built-in shock absorption. If you prefer one unencumbered hand, then consider
carrying a collapsible hiking staff.
For those new to backpacking, it is important to understand that you may not ge
it right the first time. Backpacking takes practice, and only experience on the
trail will tell what pieces of gear work and don't work for you. Until you've worked
out the major kinks, it is best to stick with single night trips of easy to moderate
distance. In the end, you'll learn a lot about yourself and what your capabilities
are. Once you figure out the magic formula, the experience only gets better.
Basic Day Hike Gear List
It doesn't matter if you're on an overnighter in Wayne National Forest or spending a week
on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains--you gotta eat. The good thing is
you'll burn between 2,500 and 4,000 calories per day on the trail, so that candy bar
you'll have halfway through your day's mileage will be incinerated before it has a
chance to come close to your waistline. A candy bar or two is okay for a little indulgence,
but for the long haul you'll want to rely on carbohydrates and proteins. "Grazing" on
fast-snacks such as nuts and dried fruits throughout the day provides your muscles with
a stable flow of energy and is a smarter strategy than stopping for one large
lunchtime meal. For meals at camp, consider quick fix low-weight, low-bulk foods such
as pasta, rice or soup mixes. Powdered drink mixes can offer a nice break from plain
iodine treated water. Instant oatmeal and granola bars are easy choices for breakfast.
When preparing for your trip, pre-package your meals in heavy-duty resealable plastic
bags, they will keep your food from getting wet and then can double as trash bags. In
recent years, freeze-dried foods have improved considerably in taste. The convenience
does come at a price though, between $5 and $7 for one entrée, or about the same cost
as a modest meal at a small town diner, and probably better tasting. Is the cost
justifiable? You'll have to consider if, at the end of a long day, you are going to
have enough energy to do more than boil water.
At 8 pounds per gallon, water will be the heaviest single item in
your pack. Just to satisfy your body, figure on swallowing at least one gallon per day
while on the trail. No matter how clear water appears, it is never advisable to drink
water directly from a stream or lake with out first boiling, filtering or chemically
treating it. Natural water sources can contain nasty little microscopic pests and
chemicals. Giardiasis is the most common ailment contracted by drinking straight from
a natural water source. Giardiasis is a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled,
microscopic parasite, Giardia lamblia. It spreads when mammals defecate into a stream
or lake. If ingested by humans, Giardia is likely to cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea
and bloating. Symptoms of giardiasis normally begin 1 to 2 weeks (average 7 days) after
becoming infected, and may last 2 to 6 weeks. Prescription drugs are available to treat
Giardia.
Carrying your own water from home or a reliable source is the most assured way to avoid
contaminated water in the backcountry. However, multi-day trip plans may not make this
practical. One option is to cache water somewhere along your planned route prior to
stepping out on the trail. In Ohio, most backpack trails cross at least one road
along the way. A water jug hidden under sticks or rocks at the intersection of trail
and road can serve as a functional refueling station. Many state park and state forest
overnight trails have been designed to eliminate water worries by making potable water
readily available along the trail or at designated camping areas. It is not an
uncommon practice for backpackers to assume the tanks will be full at these locations
and carry only enough water for drinking while on the hike in. It is always advisable
to carry some water for emergency backup and to call trail administrators for the status of water at these
supplied points prior to your trip. Wayne National Forest trails have no supplied
water sources, so water will need to carried, cached or treated (see below).
Treating raw surface water is yet another option for collecting safe drinking water
in the backcountry. The three methods for accomplishing this are: boiling, filtration
and chemical treatment. Boiling is 100% effective against parasites and viruses.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) both recommend bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute to kill microorganisms.
The drawbacks are the drain on your fuel supply and the "flat" taste of water after boiling.
Purifying water through a mechanical filter containing a very fine porous element has become
the most popular water treatment method for backcountry visitors. For Giardia, the CDC
recommends using a filter that has an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller. Most
filters designed for backpackers will have pore size much smaller than that, commonly
0.2 microns. Filters require hand pumping and can be a chore to operate but are portable
and lightweight. Proper cleaning is necessary for maintained maximum efficiency. Chemically
treating water with iodine or chlorine is the last method of purification. Consumer products
in tablet form are available for backcountry travelers (e.g. Potable Aqua). One of the
biggest drawbacks of chemical treatment is the unpleasant taste of treated water.
Additionally, chemically treated water is not available for immediate consumption. A period
of time, approximately 30 minutes, must elapse to allow for the products to work.
Ohio averages 35 inches of rainfall annually and streams are plentiful in hill country.
Finding backcountry water sources suitable for purification using any of the three methods
described above usually isn't a problem, except in periods of extended dry weather. When
selecting a water source, choose calm clear pools over more turbulent flow. Try to avoid
drawing water from large, murky lakes, which, if using a filter, will cause more rapid
clogging. Instead, along lakeside trails at Burr Oak and Lake Vesuvius, for example,
draw and treat water from clearer feeder streams. Any stream contaminated by acid mine
drainage, called a yellowboy, and distinctively yellow or orange in color, should be
avoided at all costs.
An itinerary is a plan of your proposed hike: start date, number of nights, proposed
campsites, return date, etc, and someone other than just you should know what it is.
Even though most state managed trails require you to register at the trailhead, your
hike itinerary should always be left at home with a family member or friend, along
with a contact phone number of the park or forest headquarters in case you do not
return as scheduled. Wayne National Forest trails do not require registration, thus
emphasizing the importance of notifying someone of your plans. In addition, follow
your itinerary as closely as possible. Greatly altering your plans mid-trip could
have search and rescue (SAR) personnel searching in the wrong areas in case a
mishap causes you to miss your scheduled return.
In Ohio's hill country, reliable cell phone service is largely restricted to population
centers and major highway corridors. The most likely location to receive a signal along
the trail will be at high elevations atop hills and ridges. The hills will block signals
from reaching valley locations. Other factors affecting the quality of service include
weather conditions and cell phone carrier. Cell phones can be an important safety item
to have on you but should never be relied on to bail you out of a jam--never overlook
other safety precautions. If you choose to carry one, keep it turned off until needed
to save battery power, which is more rapidly drained when phones are in roaming mode
or searching for service.
Fortunately, on Ohio's overnight trails about the only navigation skill required is
where to look for the next trail marker. You'll find most trails to be adequately
marked by either a paint swatch (blaze) or plastic colored symbol, with side trails
and day-hike cutoffs typically marked in an alternate color. It is not uncommon,
though, to find unofficial trails intersecting the official trail or for the official
trail to exit a section of road walk relatively unnoticed. If it is realized you are
not walking the officially marked trail, return to the last marked location and consult
a trail map.
A trail map is an important navigational aid to have in your possession, even if you
never pull it out of your pack or pocket. Trail maps are available at the trailhead
of most state park and state forest managed trails. A map showing all of Wayne National
Forest's overnight trails can be purchased at any forest office or through their web
site. Detailed maps and trail descriptions are also available
on this site. Always have a compass handy in case you get turned around and need to orient
your map to the north.
Not only are trail maps important navigation aids, they are also great planning tools.
Based on typical terrain in Ohio hill country, a backpacker's moving speed will average
between 2 - 2.5 miles per hour, not including time for breaks. Divide the overall
distance to that day's destination (in miles), calculated by using the map's scale,
by 2 if your pace is a little slow or 2.5 for a faster pace to determine the
approximate time (in hours) it will take to arrive. Alternately, multiply your
average hiking speed by how many hours in the day you desire to hike, and then
consult a map for suitable campsites in the vicinity of your day's end location.
Avoid getting caught by darkness or changing weather by employing either of these
simple techniques to adjust your plans once you've arrived at the trailhead.
Pad the results a bit to allow time for breaks.
Rarely on the trail will Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation be needed.
Handheld GPS units can be fun for tracking stats like your moving speed, mileage
hiked, elevation gained or for finding points of interest. GPS units can help
you relocate water you've cached before a hike. If you have plans to explore
areas away from camp or the main trail, then carrying a GPS is probably a good
idea. Using the waypoint feature common to most GPS units, you can mark the
start point of your bushwhack and continue to mark points along the way as
desired. On the return trip, the GPS will guide you to the waypoints previously
recorded. In Ohio's backcountry, where wooded ridges and hollows seem to repeat
themselves, having a little handheld friend to guide you back to where you
started can be a lifesaver. Many models allow you to pre-load maps, which
enable you to visualize your route and position in relation to the
surrounding environment.
Method: Point-to-Point or Base Camping
The two methods discussed in this section don't apply to single overnight trips,
which go something like this: you hike in the first day, set-up camp, pack it up
in the morning and hike back out. Not much flexibility for options. However, when
you plan a trip for two or more nights then you have the freedom to choose which
you dislike the most, camping in the same spot more than once or lugging 30 lbs.
of dead weight on your back each day. If you prefer a change in campsite scenery,
then you'll prefer a point-to-point trip. Essentially, you will pack up camp each
morning and set it up somewhere else along the trail that evening. This is true
backpacking in the traditional sense. If your goal is to maximize the amount of
time without piggybacking the equivalent weight of a small child around, then
base camping may be the method of choice. The basics here involve setting up camp
once, hiking and exploring throughout the day and then returning nightly to the
same camp. You can afford to pack a few extras since you'll be minimizing time
strapped under your fully loaded pack. Don't forget to include a daypack for
your daily jaunts. Be mindful of trail rules limiting the number of nights allowed
at a single campsite, especially on state managed trails.
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