Boy Scout Jamboree

As we drove along the service road into Fort Ancient State Historical Site it was clear that this week's hike was going to have a good story to it. It was a chilly and damp day. The temperature was 45 degrees - a 35 degree difference from last week's hike!!!! Our first stop was to the museum to pay our entrance fee. Fort Ancient is an archaeologist's dream. It boasts earthworks and mounds constructed by the Hopewell Native Americans around A.D. 1200. Lorrie, Morgan and I hiked 3.2 miles in about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Finding the trail head was probably the hardest part of the hike this week.  It's been awhile since that happened. The unusual thing we faced was that there were people everywhere - boy scouts - LOTS! The cars, tents and bodies obstructed the view of our surroundings. It reminded me of an old Flintstones episode called "Cave Scout Jamboree".  During this episode there is a flood at the gravel pit, so Fred decides to take his family and the Rubbles on a camping trip.  They set up camp at the Shangri-La-Dee-Da Campground and when they wake up in the morning, they are surrounded by Cave Scouts! Not the peaceful retreat that Fred desired.  I felt a little like Fred. It was as if our space was being invaded. Three females walking around tents looking lost.

Before we actually hit the trail, we checked out the earthworks. It took the Hopewell about 200 years to create the walls of earth that span 3.5 miles. There are 70 openings in the walls through which parts of the trail weave.  This was an out-and-back hike, so our plan was to hike to the Serpent Effigy and return along the same path. We stopped to enjoy the South Overlook and then started walking the trail. We were grateful that the drizzle from earlier stopped as we traveled across the muddy and rocky trail. This is a moderate hike.  There are lots of places with bridges, stairs and platforms to help keep the trail passable; thanks to the many Eagle Scouts who built them for their Eagle Scout Projects. I can't imagine hiking this trail without them!

After weaving through the forest we reached the bike path that runs along the Little Miami River. We followed the bike path some distance before reaching State Route 350. As we hiked along this curvy road there was quite a bit of traffic for being out in the country. After crossing the Little Miami, we came to a grassy meadow where we had to follow the tree line to reach the Serpent Effigy. It was discovered in 1983 by John White and others from Youngstown State University.  It's believed that this 46.9 meter stone effigy was constructed as a marker to pinpoint the winter solstice.  It doesn't look like much from the pictures, but when you think about how long ago this structure was put together and the science behind it, it's pretty amazing!

On the way back to our starting point, we decided to take a slightly different route. After climbing a very steep set of stairs, we took a trail that was a little less traveled and very muddy.  We heard some people in the woods and then realized that they were on a platform for a zip line. It was very cool to see them swinging through the air into the valley.  Considering the number of Boy Scouts and their adult chaperones up at the campsite, we were surprised that we didn't run into more people on the trail. Other than the brave souls on the zip line, we only ran into two other small groups of hikers.

The Boy Scout Jamboree really didn't impact the quality of this awesome hiking location. The Native American history and the beautiful setting make it a great place to explore the outdoors. It is definitely a place I would like to go to again and maybe even try to take on the zip line.

This weekend marks the beginning of "two hikes a week." I am wondering what this will be like as one hike a week has already been quite a time commitment. Because of the mild winter, I am slightly ahead of schedule, so some weeks hopefully won't be as bad as others.

21 hikes down and 68.42 miles under my belt!