Bridge of Dreams in Brinkhaven, Ohio, upon completion of my 52 Hike Challenge 2022. | Courtesy of Clark Schwenke
Welcome back, everyone; I hope our mild winter allowed you to get out and enjoy the outdoors. For those who were keeping track, I did finish my 52 Hike Challenge for 2022 in October of last year, with a 10K hike that took me from Glenmont to Brinkhaven on the Holmes County Trail and Mohican Valley Trail.
Since then, I have completed the 52 Hike Challenge Winter Series with 30 Hours of hiking from December to February and am well into my 52 Hike Challenge 2023. So far this year, I have visited seven national parks or national historic sites, hiked in five states, doing a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and set a personal record for my greatest elevation gain in a single hike, with 1,200 feet up in 2 miles on Bob’s Hill in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. In addition, I have hiked various terrain and weather conditions, using many of the tips, tricks and much of the gear I recommended last year.
During my 52 Hike Challenge Winter Series, I managed to get a day off shortly after one of our biggest snows this winter and spent the day at Mohican State Park. I hiked a little over 10 miles that day, and the scenery was worth the temperatures. I started out from the Covered Bridge, hiked the Lyons Falls Trail to Big Lyon Falls, on to Little Lyon Falls and out to Pleasant Hill Dam. From there, I hiked the Pleasant Hill Trail and Hemlock Gorge Trail back to the Class A Campground off of State Route 3. I returned to the Covered Bridge on the Hemlock Gorge Trail,…
