A Walk in the Woods

I am gearing up for a Grand Canyon hike from the South Rim down the Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River and then hiking back up the Bright Angel in 1 day. My oldest daughter is planning on making the 1 day hike with me as well. We are both doing separate workouts in preparation for our hike in December. When a old friend asked about getting together and doing some hiking, I thought this might be a good opportunity to use some of my hydration gear and other equipment for a very flat local hike. We decided we would walk the Scout Trail at Oak Openings Metropark outside Toledo. We knew it would be roughly 15 miles and would take quite a few hours, but the views would be wonderful.

There are several wooden walkways in the low lying areas of the trail. Northwest Ohio was once part of the Black Swamp

Frozen pond on our chilly start to the hike

The trail was well marked with guideposts and yellow dots on the trees

We started and ended our hike at Evergreen Lake and hiked in a counterclockwise direction. I would suggest this route, because the highlight of the trail was the last 2 miles near Evergreen Lake and the pine forests. I had download the waypoints from AllTrails the night before, so my new Garmin Instinct Solar did an excellent job of keeping us on the trail. The trail was well marked, if we didn’t have our own navigation devices.

Nice views from the trail

Walking stick optional

Lots of downed trees turning back into soil

There are several wooden walkways & stairs in the swampy areas of the trail

Nice trail near Evergreen Lake

Pine forest was the highlight for me.

The pine forest near Evergreen Lake was awesome

Enjoying our time in the woods

Strava data

Takeaways from today’s hike. I only drank 1 liter of my 2 liter hydration pack, but still had to go to the bathroom 3 times during the hike, so I think my hydration should be fine for our Grand Canyon hike in December. The flat hike did nothing to prepare me for the changes in elevation we will encounter at the Grand Canyon, so I will be climbing lots of stairs the next few weeks. Layers will be essential on the hike in December due to the exertion level of the hiking and variance in temperatures due to the elevation. Overall, the day went by very quickly due to the companionship on the trail and catching up with an old friend.