Maybe a Bit Too Far

Sunday's perfect weather finally lured me out for a run on the Buckeye Trail. Everything was going fine until I puked.

Mrs. Viper had to work that day, and we didn't have anything in the pantry to make breakfast, so it was off to McDonald's for some McMuffins and hashbrowns. Less than an hour later, I dropped my wife off and headed to the trailhead, already having adorned my running gear.

My plan was to run north on the Buckeye from Jaite until it intersected with the Valley Bridle Trail near Brecksville and return on the horse path. I didn't really know how far that would be, but I guessed about five miles. I hadn't run since Oct. 24.

This section of the Buckeye Trail is a bit unfamiliar, having only run it once before — another instance of running farther than intended. This section is also rife with oddities and side attractions.

Evidence of a civilization that was forced to abandon its dwellings in favor of a national park, these tractor remains sit in the middle of the woods, just off the trail. Somewhere out here is a bathtub that many trail runners visit almost as a rite of passage.

Just when nervousness was starting set in that the turn off for the bridle trail had slipped by unnoticed, the sound of motorcycles in distance quelled my anxiety. If the other trail didn't appear soon, I could just split off and bushwhack toward the road. But then it appeared.

The mud had made for a difficult run. The thrill of finding the Valley Bridle Trail quickened my pace. As the path winded toward the road and dropped into a the small valley of a stream bed before turning right back toward a steep hill, something suddenly lurched up inside me.

The tasted of bile filled my mouth. My throat choked it back. Yes, this was a perfect time to walk.

Stomach acid would sting my palate for the remainder of my run. No matter how much water I drank, the taste wouldn't go away. Perhaps McDonald's wasn't the best choice for a pre-run meal.

Atop a large hill on the way back, I could see the row of yellow houses at Jaite. These were company housing of the Jaite Paper Mill, but now are used as offices for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Just around the corner was where my car was parked.

This was the first time I'd run this section of the Valley Bridle Trail. I hoped it would deadhead toward the yellow houses, but as I descended the zenith, the path veered leftward. I should have known. The trail was heading toward the Towpath, where Jamoosh and I had made our turnaround during our run back in May.

Once the trail reached the road, about a half-mile from where those houses are, I had to backtrack toward my car.

What I thought would be about five miles turned out to be almost six. The taste of puke had finally dissipated. It felt good to have run again.

Puzzling Over Trails

If there's one lesson from Tuesday's run, it's my tendency to underestimate distances.

Over the last year or so, I've been obsessed with piecing together the sections of the Buckeye Trail through Akron and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The "blue blazes" that mark the statewide network of hiking paths are everywhere. There are even some running through my neighborhood in West Akron.

With the expansion of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, parts of the Buckeye Trail have migrated to the more convenient and scenic canalway. Now you'll find what seem like random blue blazes throughout the region. Such is the case with my neighborhood.

Until 2005, the Buckeye Trail traveled through Akron on city sidewalks, following what is known locally as the "Portage," a path Native Americans used to transport their canoes from the Cuyahoga River to the Tuscarawus River, and hence the name of the road Portage Path, which is where I see those markings when I'm out running around Highland Square.

There are also snippets of the trail through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but I only know sections such as Jaite to Boston Store, Boston Store to Pine Lane, and O'Neil Woods to Ira Road. This last section I ran for the first time Tuesday night.

From Pine Lane northward, the Buckeye Trail is pretty continuous, although I've only ever run as far Jaite. Southbound, however, the trail starts to break up as you enter the village of Peninsula and merge onto the Towpath.

Between the Pine Lane trailhead and the Ira Road access point, the distance is about six miles, but I'm almost positive the Buckeye Trail doesn't follow the Towpath the whole way, as evidenced by the blue blazes I've seen by the Everett covered bridge.

My plan Tuesday was to run the Buckeye Trail from O'Neil Woods to the Riding Run trail, where I went bushwhacking last week. First, I ran a loop of the 1.8-mile Deer Run trail and then diverted onto the Buckeye Trail toward Ira Road. When I got there, I saw the blue blazes pointing me toward the Towpath instead of straight toward the covered bridge.

That's when I realized that the distance between where I was, where I wanted to run, and how far it would be by the time I got back to my car at the O'Neil Woods parking lot would put me beyond 12 miles and likely past sunset without any light to run in the woods. Five miles was enough.

But still, I'm wondering how it all fits together. I suppose I could just buy a map, but what fun is that?