Glouster to Chesterhill; Distance = 25 Miles; People Met = 10
Before leaving Glouster we stopped in at Sikorski’s Home Plate restaurant to use their wifi. Kurt and Jenny (a Sikorski) waited on us with breakfast on the house. We were there for three hours, time enough to witness female senior citizens come in during the lunch hour to play cards. We were there so long we got to say goodbye to Pastor Rick again, who came to pick up our computers and the key to his church.
Jenny and Kurt
Pastor Rick
Upon arriving at Burr Oak State Park we met employee Eric Borchers, who actually worked for the Hocking Hills park system but was helping out at Burr Oak. We found out from Eric that only the lodge was closing, not the entire State Park. Still, we could understand how sizable a hit to the economy that could be when we finally got a glimpse of the lodge. We mainly chatted with Eric about climbing Mt. Katahdin.
Eric Borchers loves Mt. Katahdin
We followed the shore of the lake along the Buckeye Trail until we came to what is called Dock-3, where we found Lady Bug and Andrew Bashaw. Lady Bug is the Buckeye Trail thru-hiker we were first told about by the Roads Rivers and Trails folks. She started the 1500 mile trail on September 20. We found out she was from Cincinnati and also had hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails.
Buckeye Trail thru-hiker Lady Bug
Andrew is the Director for the Buckeye Trail. He lives in Glouster and came up to help Lady Bug slack pack for a stretch. The whole Buckeye Trail crew of supervisors goes the extra mile to help out hikers.
Buckeye Trail Director Andrew Bashaw
In the evening we stayed at the Pisgah UMC, which was opened up for us by neighbor and parishioner Sharon Williams. We cooked supper outside and spent a pleasant evening listening to birdsong. Sharon brought us some goodies for breakfast the next morning.
Sharon Williams
The next day felt like spring in full force with clear skies and warm temperatures. We met Rick Webb on this day. Rick hailed us as we were hiking by his home and we stopped to chat. He brought out soda pop and candy for us and talked about his family. Rick raised four grandkids, a reoccurring story we’ve heard across the country. He was quite proud of them all, showing us pictures of his granddaughters and great granddaughter. Rick also took great pride in his grandson that serves in the military with tours in Afghanistan.
Rick Webb
Rick really wanted us to stick around. He invited us to stay for supper and to stay the night. We had to refuse on both counts, as we had yet another UMC floor waiting for us in Chesterhill. He insisted on giving me a watch made in Korea, one of three given to him in turn by his grandson.
As we neared Chesterhill we encountered our first Amish on the trip. The horse pulling the buggy was frightened by our backpacks and shied away.
Amish buggy
At the Chesterhill UMC we met Pastor Phil Thomas. The church gets double duty from Pastor Phil, as he helps with construction projects such as building handicap ramps. He also raises a few head of cattle. Pastor Phil hails from just over the border in West Virginia originally, though to me he had the persona of a friendly western rancher.
Just before we went to bed Lions Stan and Nancy Starling dropped in on the church, bringing us food for breakfast. We missed an opportunity to speak at a Lions Club, as they had their meeting that very evening. Instead, I let Stan do the talking about the many good things the Chesterhill Lions Club is involved in. I’ll make a podcast out of this for a future newsletter.
Other Photos
Grandchild Cassie and Bonnie
No doubt full of hot hair (yeah, I know, that one's too easy)
They must grow giant redwoods
