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  1. #1
    Senior Member HamMike's Avatar
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    East Fork State Park OH

    I took a day off Friday and decided to go down and check out East Fork State Park southeast of Cincinatti. I parked at the visitor's center, checked in and grabbed a map. I was told campsite #1 should be reachable but the trail to #2 might be under water. It was sloppy in places but overall nice trails to campsite #1. Just as I reached the shelter Doctari texted me to warn of rain on the way. It was good timing because just then it came down. It just so happened that someone partied a little too hard and had abandoned a vomit filled tent nearby and I found their rainfly discarded and used it to rig up from the front of the shelter for a little extra coverage. As I was hangin my hammock there struck in the loudest and closest lightning strike I have ever witnessed. It sent me jumpin 2 feet and left my heart racing for a good ten minutes. After the storm passed and I started to settle in for a night on my own ( Doctari comin in sometime after 1am) three backpackers showed up. ( Randall, Bill, and Adam) They seemed interested in my hammock but even after I insisted they give it try I couldnt get any takers. Adam did say he was planning on pickin one up.
    I didn't get alot of sleep that night. It turns out the birds liked to fly in and out of the shelter and as it turns out they enjoyed bouncin off the side of my hammock. One of them must have gotten bored with the side of my hammock and decided to try it against my head. At one point I had to shake my TQ at one and it almost got tangled up and came close to hangin in my eno. I got up early to water the bushes and went back to sleep. I woke up to a weary eyed Doctari standing next to the shelter, he got in about 3:30am and still asleep I think. We had breakfast and broke camp to head to Doc's pines. It started to rain again and as we were waitin it out a bit Doc's phone rang but was at the bottom of his pack. As it turned out it was Bonsaihiker checkin to see if Doctari was up for a short trip to East Fork. Worked out great because we were way ahead of him. After Bonsai made his way to camp we headed off to the pines only to find the trail was indeed under water. Lucky for us Doctari used to maintain these trails and knew them well. He led us to a very nice spot in some pines and we setup and had dinner. The last thing I remember about that night was Doc and Bonsai were standing around chatting when I decided to warm up in my Incubator and Burrow. I woke up four hours later to tend the bushes and went back to sleep. No rain all night slept with my porch up and awoke to the piney woods. We reluctantly broke camp, and Doctari had to come to terms with not "winnin" the "pack up race", he says he's makin progress. We made our way back takin several side trips to explore the area. At one point we came across an old Plymouth in the middle of the woods. Big thanx to Doctari for comin out with me and sharing his neck of the woods with me. It was a great surprise to have Bonsaihiker to pop in for a night with us. Great people , Doctari is a very shy person that you have to pry things out of just incase you get a chance to hike with him plan on doin all the talkin.
    Not muck gear talk here with this report maybe more on that later.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member SwampSloth's Avatar
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    thanks for sharing.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Big Papi's Avatar
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    hammike, nice report, looking forward to seeing some of you memorial day weekend at wildcat if you are going to be there. depending on the temps I may or may not stay the night, but i will at least come down to hang out for a minute or so.

  4. #4
    Senior Member ganon414's Avatar
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    Sweet trip report HamMike! Glad to hear you got out with some fellow HF members, something on my to do list. Nice job on weathering out those storms; I had a couple close calls on my last trip too...gotta love Spring!

    That pic of the stranded Plymouth reminded me of some geological mapping I did out in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. I came across an old CJ that must have got a little too far off-road and tumbled about 500 yards down the mountainside. It looked to have been there a while and was pretty well cannibalized...hopefully the occupants survived!

    --Tim
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  5. #5
    Senior Member Can't Wait's Avatar
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    Looks like an intresting trip to say the least .

  6. #6
    Senior Member HamMike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Big Papi View Post
    hammike, nice report, looking forward to seeing some of you memorial day weekend at wildcat if you are going to be there. depending on the temps I may or may not stay the night, but i will at least come down to hang out for a minute or so.
    I'll be there BP!

    Quote Originally Posted by ganon414 View Post
    Sweet trip report HamMike! Glad to hear you got out with some fellow HF members, something on my to do list. Nice job on weathering out those storms; I had a couple close calls on my last trip too...gotta love Spring!

    That pic of the stranded Plymouth reminded me of some geological mapping I did out in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. I came across an old CJ that must have got a little too far off-road and tumbled about 500 yards down the mountainside. It looked to have been there a while and was pretty well cannibalized...hopefully the occupants survived!

    --Tim
    Cool find! I really like happening upon on old things in the woods. I hope the driver wasn't in it when it rolled. No bones huh still grippin the wheel I take it?
    "He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

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  7. #7
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    Yea, a GREAT trip!!!! I love the impromptu stuff & Bonsai's call was a sweet surprise.
    You know you are hardcore when hiking in the rain & mud is actually FUN! I was a bit surprised that part of "My" trail is about 6' - 8' under water.

    For those not worried about widow makers, below is 2 pictures of what ONE mid sized tree can do to a bridge made of pressure treated 4 x 4s. That being said, picture #7 on Mike's original post, the tree crossed by his hiking pole / tarp support has been dead at least 8 years (It was dead when I found that campsite then) BUT I camped right under it,,,, for the 3rd time in 2 years. I am hoping to take a day sometime in the next month to take an axe to it, but it is pretty thick & I'm pretty old, so,,,,,,
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  8. #8
    bonsaihiker's Avatar
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    Just now getting back on the forums. Gary and Mike, thanks for having me along--great trip and just what I needed. Let's do it again!
    --Scott <><

    "I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful... because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience...." --Robert Traver

  9. #9
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
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    Nothing like a close crack o' lightnin' to wake a feller up!!

    I had one this morning as I went to let the dog out...screamed like a little girl.

    Good report with fairly good company

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