You’re never sure what you’ll find hiking in Mohican. And sometimes when you do find it, you’re still not sure.
On a recent hike to Lyons Falls, I remembered when I first saw this iconic Mohican landmark. It was around 35 years ago, maybe longer. I stumbled upon it while spurnpiking.
More: Knox County hike – climbing the Devil’s Backbone
“Spurnpiking” is a term used by us back roads aficionados. We spurn the interstates and turnpikes — opting for less-traveled roads. The more remote, the better. If they’re not paved, better still.
I’ve been a spurnpiker for as long as I can remember. As a boy growing up on the West Side of Cleveland, I constantly roamed the alleys. They were far more interesting than the busy streets that paralleled them.
Irv Oslin
Strolling down the narrow red brick alleyways, you learned a lot about your neighbors.
Their backyards revealed more about them than the fronts of their houses — with windows concealed behind overgrown hedges and veiled with yellowed lace curtains or tattered blinds.
From the alleys you could see so much more. You saw your neighbors’ laundry hanging out to dry. That told you how many people lived there, their gender and ages. And their proclivity for hygiene. You met their dogs, and occasionally raided their trash if you noticed something that looked interesting.
Mom never found any of it interesting and inevitably made me take it back to where I found it
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Harness racing trainer Laurence Hanrahan is hoping to finish the West Coast circuit on a high with Last Of the Mohicans when he contests the Rosco Contractors LTD Reefton Cup (3200m) on Thursday. 
