< more recent | 1-15 November 2021 | older >
3 November 2021: Crossed the last bridge to Long Island a little before midnight last night and it felt good to be home. There was something comforting about the familiar surroundings and warmth of the “old homestead” that made the “end of the road” a reason to celebrate in its own right…
2 November 2021: Started the day off in the “PA Wilds” near Benezette where the Elk Country Visitor Center was bustling with hunters and members of various governmental agencies charged with regulating the hunt. It was strange to return here just after the height of “elk watching” season which is when throngs of visitors come to view the majestic animals and experience the otherworldly “bugling” that accompanies the rut. This time the visitors are a different group, here to try their luck at the hunt. The hunters were already lucky to have won the right to harvest one of 32 antlered or 77 antlerless elk during the one-week general season between Nov. 1-6. One fellow from New York who had just hauled in a beautiful bull was a bit disappointed to learn that he would not be able to simply “quarter” the animal to get the meat home as in years past. This year a new regulation meant that he would have to have all the meat de-boned prior to taking it across state lines, and he would not get to keep the trophy head and antlers. The new law which went into effect this year says: “Hunters are now prohibited from returning to New York with whole carcasses or intact heads of deer, elk, moose, or caribou that they harvest anywhere outside of New York. Only the deboned meat, cleaned skull cap, antlers with no flesh adhering, raw or processed cape or hide, cleaned teeth or lower jaw, and finished taxidermy products of CWD- susceptible animals may be brought into New York.” He took the news in stride with a shake of the head as the next hunter pulled in his truck to record his elk…
2 November 2021: Final leg of the long journey home today, with the last 400-ish miles from Clarion PA to Long Island NY. The day started off a little bit overcast, but the sun broke through in the afternoon, and the drive was smooth. Made a long detour to visit Elk Country, and then a shorter stop at a favorite location in “farm” country — it seemed like it was hard at the end to “wrap up” the trip and return to the more urban spaces of New York…
1 November 2021: Made a late afternoon stop at the Virginia Kendall State Park Historic District of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, just south of Cleveland, to check out The Ledges trail. A short hike through the woodland landscape led to what looked like a series of crevices in the earth, where massive walls of rock split and crumbled into enormous moss covered shelves. The resulting “ledges” are fun to explore, with plenty of hidden spots to discover, including a bat cave that is closed to visitation in order to protect the resident bats, but still cool to see. The trail continues in a loop leading to a great overlook that was especially nice with some of the fall color still remaining on the trees below…
1 November 2021: Hit the road early today and focused on driving as far east as possible. After taking a lot of time exploring on the western legs of the journey, it was necessary to start picking up the daily mileage a bit. While it was a little hard to keep to the Interstate and avoid getting distracted by possible fun detours, the discipline paid off as the road rolled on from Terre Haute IN across Ohio and on to Clarion PA, with just one short stop for a hike at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park…
THIS MONTH:
On the road heading back east, taking the slow road from Arizona to New York with a few fun detours along the way…
COMING UP SOON:
Every Day Is a Clean Up Day in 2021. Ladies Offroad Network has partnered with TreadLightly! to create a year-long program that encourages members to pick up trash on the trails whenever they are out off-roading. Participants simply pick up the trash, weigh it, take a photo, and log the location and time it took, then upload the details. At the end of the year there will be a series of prizes based on pounds of trash removed from the trails as well as participation in other TreadLightly! initiatives. This is a great way to do some good on a local level and make a larger impact via the national program…
Return to Paris for a few weeks to connect with friends and favorite places, with a bit of urban exploration in between. Looking forward to familiar locales and fun times in the city of light once again…
Advanced sand dune training with Barlow Adventures at the Imperial Sand Dunes in southern California. This three day driving and navigation program focuses on moving safely and effectively through large dunefields. Skills-building exercises are intended to improve pace, line choice and vehicle control, as well as developing precision map and compass navigation technique…
Trail Guiding for the California 4-Wheel Drive Association’s second annual Death Valley Experience fundraiser event running in March. Each day will feature a choice of runs to some famous, some infamous and some secretive points of interest within Death Valley National Park. The runs will depart from Furnace Creek and from Stovepipe Wells. Some of the points of interest we will visit during Death Valley Experience 2021 include Zabriskie Point (famous), Barker Ranch (infamous) and the Racetrack (learn the secret of the moving rocks). Other points of interest include Dante’s View, 20 Mule Team Canyon, Artists’ Drive, Chloride Cliffs, Aguereberry Point, Skidoo, Titus Canyon, and Darwin Falls. All of the trail runs are suitable for novice drivers and SUVs with high clearance and 4-wheel drive…
Stay tuned for a new kind of exciting adventure coming up in Summer 2022. Details will be released early next year…
ABOUT THE LEDGES
The Ledges Trail at Cuyahoga Valley National Park traces the edge of ancient rock formations hidden in an eastern woodland forest. The trail itself is 1.8 miles and connects to a larger network of trails in the Virginia Kendall area of the park. The main draw of the trail are the Ritchie Ledges which were created out of Sharon Conglomerate millions of years ago. The Sharon Conglomerate was formed during the Pennsylvanian age by a shallow, braided stream like that of the Platte River. Sediments eroded from what is now New England and Canada were transported by rivers which flowed toward a sea that was once located in Ohio. As the rivers approached the sea they began to lose the energy required to carry sand and gravel-sized sediments. These sediments were left behind in numerous sand and gravel bars which eventually lithified to create this rock unit. Because the Sharon Conglomerate is somewhat resistant to weathering, it has formed steep ledges in many locations, notably here in the Cuyahoga Valley. The Ledges trail circles the plateau of striking rock formations and provides stunning views along the way. It is rocky and unpaved, with at least 80 feet of elevation change over its length. Be especially careful during the winter if the trail is icy or covered in snow. To protect this fragile habitat, the national park does not allow any climbing on the rock formations. The trail leads to the Ledges Overlook where visitors can look west over an expansive view of the Cuyahoga Valley. The bare rock of the Ledges provides a natural viewing platform. From here, visitors can appreciate how the park protects a large tract of forested open space between the cities of Akron and Cleveland…
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
25-31 October – Roadtrip East
17-24 October – LON Top Ten
7-16 October – Rebelle Rally
1-6 October – Rebelle Training
24-30 September – Rebelle Training
16-23 September – Roadtrip West
1-15 September – CT Training
August – Paris
July – LI & CT
June – LI & VA
16-31 May – Long Island
8-15 May – Return to NY
1-7 May – Southeast Utah
23-30 April – LON Bogi’s & 5+
16-22 April – LON Navigation
8-15 April – Sedona
1-7 April – Nevada
16-31 March – New York
8-15 March – Death Valley
1-7 March – Arizona
22-28 Februay – Alabama Hills
15-21 Februay – Mojave Road
8-14 Februay – Death Valley
1-7 Februay – Glamis
15-31 January – Roadtrip Southwest
1-14 January – Long Island
22-31 December – Holiday Roadtrip
15-21 December – Holiday Roadtrip
7-14 December – Holiday Roadtrip
1-6 December – Long Island
15-30 November – Long Island
1-14 November – Long Island
28-31 October – Roadtrip East
Archive
SPECIAL REPORT
All about exploring ghost towns and abandoned places in the USA and beyond, with tips, and information on the many different types of sites to be found across the globe, including detailed guides for eight specific sites… [read]
RE-OPENING
Report from the first trail run with the Off Road Consulting group at Rausch Creek Off Road Park as the post-pandemic phased re-openings begin in Pennsylvania and some of our favorite local trails re-open to the public after the two-month shutdown… [read]
REFLECTIONS
EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS
A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]
SPECIAL REPORT
A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]
