Adventures of an AT Section hiker "Mapless"

Category: Uncategorized

  • Niagara Falls and Chautauqua Lake NY

    Niagara Falls and Chautauqua Lake NY

    Friday August 22, 2025 – Adventure / road trip day 10. Up with the sun as usual. Beautiful morning next to the canal. Walked over to the local coffee house near where I camped / parked for the night. For a small town they had a big assortment of bakery and food available. There was a good crowd of people at 8 am so it must be a popular local spot. Had some coffee and wrote in my journal.

    Headed to the auto report shop. I had asked the day before if they could pull the actuators they thought needed replaced and see if there was any obvious issues. They found none. Since I was heading to Cleveland I decided to make a appointment at a Toyota dealer on Monday in North Olmsted and asked them to order / have the parts on hand that was just suggested. The mechanic thought I should be OK as I will have to drive for 2 days to and hope all goes well.

    Drove to Niagara Falls (about a hour) and did some biking on the Greenway Trail past the falls and through the hoards of people viewing the falls. I was a gorgeous clear day with temps and 70’s. Made a loop of Goat island and headed back towards the van but then continues a bit further to extend the ride. Back at the van I packed up and drove to a small park I had passed and had a bit of a picnic lunch.

    After lunch drove to the Chautauqua Lake (NY) area, Had been here a number of times over the years and want to do a driving tour around the lakes. I stopped in Bevis Point and did some walking. Stopped in a restaurant / brewery for a drink… review the ultra high prices on the food menu and thought I would just cook at the campsite tonight !

    Finished the driving tour and drove the Chautauqua Gorge Campground. This was a private campground that seems newer with newer looking building and bathroom. I was going to try to do a boondock / free spot in the area but still have not gotten used to doing this – too chicken to get kicked out.

    Had a nice evening at the camp. Built a small fire with the big supply of wood near by and kept the misquotes at bay. Had dinner, shower and jumped the van before dark – this travel is tiring at times.

  • A good day / bad day

    A good day / bad day

    Thursday August 21, 2025 – Day 9 of the adventure. 7 am packed up the van headed to Middleport NY, a small town on the Erie canal. I found a free place to park / camp on the IOverland app that looked to great place.

    The drive was about 3.5 hours on the NY Thruway, traffic was moderate but not too bad. As I was getting off the highway the check engine light came on. I assumed it was the same code I had on Day 2. I was not happy and obviously stressed about how I was going to resolve this and how it will affect the rest of my trip.

    I got into Middleport and found the Erie Canal Trail. I decided I needed a ride before I dealt with the van issues. I rode 16 miles. The trail was very nice as it followed directly next to the canal. Saw a few boats.

    After the ride I called and traveled to local repair shop. The scanner showed it was the same code I hade before. They thought the issue was a activator switch but the part could not be found. I even drove to Toyota dealer thinking they would have the part but no… frustrating.

    The only logical thing to do was to go to the local tavern for a few hard seltzers and some wings… (if you did not know I am Celiac and have not had a real beer in 8 years )

    The camping / parking spot ended up being a place where boats traveling the Erie canal could dock and stay the night, they had tables, electrical, water, showers and bathroom. It was perfect for the price … free. The location is maintained by the city and they do have signs asking for a donation. The parking was directly behind the police station and when I asked a officer he said it was ok to stay for 1 night, they just don’t want people staying for a extended period or making it a home.

    The cloudy day turned to clear and it was a gorgeous sunny evening to sit by the canal.

  • Rain Day

    Wednesday August 20, 2025 – Day 8 of the road was a wash out… pretty much rained all day. Just stay at the campground. Drank lots of coffee and reviewed plans for the upcoming days.

    Found what looks like for tomorrow my first free boondocking campsite that this now a hike trial trailhead. Excited / nervous

  • Erie Canalway Trail

    Erie Canalway Trail

    Tuesday August 19, 2025 Up at 7 am, breakfast and break down the van set up for a day away from camp. Headed to a trailhead for the Erie Canalway Trail.

    Jump on the trail south of Rome and headed towards Utica. Trail was a mix of blacktop and cinder. Initially following the and old canal and then the modern canalway. Trail was flat as flat can be. Weather was perfect. A sign said Utice was 12 miles so decided to go the full distance. Ended up with 26 miles for the day ,

    Drove to Utica to find a coffee house and wifi. Found Utica coffee near downtown and it was packed…. where do all these people come from on a Tuesday after noon? Computer was dead and no outlet to be found so took my coffee to go.

    Stopped and visited Oriskany Battlefield State Historical Site. I found though my family history research that a ancestor had participated in the battle. Below is a link to his story. My grandmother was Helmer

    https://www.nps.gov/people/adam-helmer.htm

    Ended the day with trip to the laundromat… back to the campground, made dinner and crashed in the van. Rain expected tonight and tomorrow

  • D&H Trail – Simpson PA

    D&H Trail – Simpson PA

    Monday August 18, 2025 – After a full breakfast at the motel in Scranton headed out early to Simpson PA to ride the D&H Trail this is a 39 mile rail trail and runs north to the NY state …. I will not be doing those kind of miles – smiles.

    Starting out northbound from Simpson the trail is a slight up and also has a bit of head wind as well… so it was a slow morning ride ! The temps have finally broken from hot and humid and needed a jacket for the ride. Took an hour to go 7.5 miles and decided to turn around to make a 15 miles ride in total. Trail was a nice wide cinder trail with view of the Lackawanna River.

    The ride passed through the town of Forest City with a very nice parking area for trail. After the ride I headed to this parking area to make some coffee and second breakfast before heading back on the road. I was entrained by a college cross country team training that morning with a very colorful / funny coach. Nver did find out what school they were from.

    Drove about 3 hours to Rome NY and Delta Lake State Park. Have 3 nights planned here. Got check in to the campground and set up the campsite. Good sized campsites… RV heaven here with each site having electricity. Rode my bike around the campground and the park beach area. Very nice park. There had been a drought in the area and the lake water levels where way down.

    So glad the temps have broken to be cool, and clear skies…. so nice. Made dinner, cleaned up and jumped in the van early for the night. Plan is for bike ride on Erie Canalway Trail tomorrow, rain coming the day after.

  • On the road again… Scranton PA

    On the road again… Scranton PA

    Sunday August 17, 2025 – Full breakfast in the morning and final sessions of the ATC meeting. We were finished before noon and they even had a “to go” lunch for us to take with us. So nice.

    The plan was to hit the road and head north to a state park in Pennsylvania with a rail trail ride the next day. The whole weekend in Maryland was hot and humid the low 90’s. I had no desire to camp in that kind of weather. So I booked a room near Scranton PA.

    The driver was going to be about three hours. Was able to stay off 81 for at least half of the ride. Traveling on 15 past Gettysburg. End up get off the highway at one point to drive around a traffic stoppage. Got to the motel about 4 pm and had no issues with check engine light on the car ! Got checked in and headed to local pizza shop for cauliflower pizza and gluten free beer. This pizza place had been around since 1958 and kind of reminded me of the older neighborhoods in Cleveland with lots of businesses with Italian names..smiles.

    Tomorrow will be bike ride on the D& H Trail not very far from the motel. Spent the evening planning.

    No pictures for today, nothing to see here lol

  • Appalachian Trail Conservancy

    Appalachian Trail Conservancy

    August 15 and 16, 2025 — Two 1/2 days at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Volunteer Leadership Meeting.

    The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) mission is to manage, protect and advocate The Appalachian Trail National Scenic Trail. They are the third leg of the three legged stool that has this mission. The other two legs are the Forest Service / National Park Service and the many volunteers from the hiking clubs along the trail.

    As a newer member of the Nantahala Hiking Club in Franklin NC I was asked to attend this 2 1/2 day meeting with the ATC. It was a wonderful experience to meet other volunteers from clubs from the full lenght of the trail from Georgia to Maine. I made new contacts and bonded with others that have similar passions to help keep the AT alive for generations to come.

    Most the sessions I attended dealt with finding way to find new volunteers to join the club and help maintain the trail. Like many service organizations is this always a challenge and hopefully over the coming years I hope to help out club grow.

    The meeting and rooms were at the Claggett Center just south of Frederick VA. I was a beautiful facility with a great view out the back of the meetings. They feed us well in cateria style and even offer me some gluten free options including a gluten free brownie which was awesome. Much more food than I normally eat so going to need some big rides on the rest of the road trip to work it off..

    The learn more about the ATC click here ….https://appalachiantrail.org/

  • First Bike Ride of the Trip

    First Bike Ride of the Trip

    August 14, 2025 – One of the goals of the trip is to bike and on a number of “Rail Trails”. I had found trail just a bit north of Lexington VA that I had planned for the day.

    Got up early at 7am , breakfast and packed up the “camper van” to head for the trail. Did not have cell service at the campground last night so had to drive a bit this morning for service to determine where I was going. Arrived at the Blue Ridge Railway Trail by 8:30

    Trail was nice and shaded, gravel trail. Just enough elevation to get the heart going. Rode to the dead end of the trail which was kind of different. Total ride was 13.7 miles, 1 hour and 28 min for a average pace of 9.3 mph.. Not bad, I am not a fast rider !!

    After the ride I changed clothes and hit the road heading to Fredrick Maryland. Google took my on I-29 north which very scenic and a nice ride for the start of the ride. However things got more and more congested the further north I went due to DC traffic I assume. I route also had numerous traffic light and this got frustrating. In addition to add the the frustration the check engine light appeared…. so I have that going for me…

    The motel I reserved in Frederick looked a little sketchy so I found a different motel near by and check in …. headed to a auto parts store to get the error code form the check engine and found to may be a sensor related to the crankshaft position. They reset the error and it did not come right back on so decided to carry on.

    Traveled to downtown Fredrick looking for a spot for drink after the day of travel and car trouble. Parking was a issue but eventually found a spot and a drink at Jo Jo’s. Once I found they has a full glutted free menu I ordered a check sandwich on a gluten free bun ! yeah

    The rest of the night was uneventful and happy to be in the air conditioning as the temps and humidity were still high.

  • First day on the road

    Wednesday August 13, 2025 – This is my first post for the trip. I has been a hard to find the time and the wifi to post.

    Left Franklin NC bright and early in the morning. It had rained hard all night so was a bit stressed about the possibility of driving in bad rain. Was not as bad as I had thought. Drove to Weaverville to meet my friend Holly for coffee. We had a nice visit and was back on the road by 10:30.

    Drove through rain in parts and a traffic accident on V81 in Virginia. I really hate I81…. too much traffic.

    Not far from my stopping point was the footbridge over the James River for the Appalachian Trail. Stopped for pictures below. Finally made it to the Otter Creek Campground off the Blue Ridge Parkway.. Ther closest major city was Lexington Virginia.

    The weather was very warm and humid. I was soaking wet with sweat just walking around setting thing up. I built a small fire to try to ward off any mosquitoes .

    Tried to lay down inside van. Had to open the doors to try to get some air flow. Thank goodness for som USB fans and my power bank… Hopefully the last day of camping in the hot weather

  • The next adventure

    Monday August 11 – The next adventure begins in two days. I will be attending the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Volunteer Leadership meeting in Maryland and I will participating in Bike the Drive 2025 event in Chicago with my son. I have connected these two events with a road trip of camping and biking on various rail trails. Some of the highlights will be Niagara Falls, hometown Cleveland (and the CVNP towpath trail), and Indiana Dunes National Park. You can see the route starting in Franklin NC in the photo below.