Are We Ever Going to Be Able to Do the Trail?

3 days ago

4 min read

Two dogs, one rail trail, and a very tired arm at Buckhorn Creek in Newcomerstown, OH

The trailhead at Buckhorn Creek Trail in Newcomerstown, OH.

What you should know

Location: Newcomerstown, Tuscarawas County, OH

Footwear: Tennis shoes should be fine in dry conditions; sturdier shoes would be better after rain

Off-leash: No.*

Difficulty: Easy

“Are you ready to turn around?”

“Absolutely. How far have we gone?

“About 1.15 miles. We’ll have around 2.3 miles in by the time we get back to the car.”

“Oh, god. We’re never going to be able to do the Trail, are we?”

My arm was already exhausted from having to restrain our very strong, very determined Weimaraner-Vizsla mix named Pike.

The trail I was referring to was the Appalachian Trail, and hiking it — or portions of it — had recently made its way onto our bucket list.

A man and dog walk on a rustic wooded trail.

Over the summer, we took a trip to Kennerdell, PA, which awakened something inside me that I didn’t even know existed: a love of nature and a desire to spend as much time as possible in it. The irony is that I lived in the state for 30 years and grew up less than an hour away from the area but never once visited and probably couldn’t have even located it on a map if anyone had asked me to. But I would go back there right now and never leave if the opportunity were to present itself.

The brief time spent on the trails there led to the memory of one of Ted’s goals from years back: hiking the AT. He didn’t do it then, but maybe we could do it now. Together. ALL together, meaning us and the dogs.

So we’ve been taking Gus and Pike to different places to see how they’d react — to gauge whether or not this hiking thing could actually happen, or whether it’s just a beautiful pipe dream.

Since the Buckeyes had a late-afternoon game and we were still mentally in vacation mode, having taken the previous week off, we decided to load them up and head down the road to walk the Buckhorn Creek Trail in Newcomerstown, OH.

Buckhorn Creek Trail is a roughly four-mile rail trail that follows its namesake creek through the woods before opening up to farmland. It’s not the kind of Acorn TV landscape that makes you gasp and say to yourself, I-want-to-go-to-there, but it’s pretty in a rustic way, and it’s almost hard to believe you’re a short walk from a main road at any point along it.

A pasture barely visible through the brambles.

It’s also not exactly the Appalachian Trail. But that’s sort of the point. If Gus and Pike can’t handle a flat, friendly rail trail, they’re not ready for the real thing, and now we know where we stand.

So, how did they do?

In all honesty, I thought they would be much better than they were. I thought they’d be tired from the hike we’d done earlier in the week. They’d also done some off-leash runs with Ted, and I thought that would have tired them out mentally. I was wrong.

A charming birdhouse along a trail path.

Pike did his classic overly-excited-drunken-sailor zigzag walking while Gus channeled his inner train and plowed ahead as though we were doing the Ohio version of the Iditarod.

It was, in a word, exhausting. Maybe a little defeating as well.

I know we have plenty of time. Ted doesn’t retire until the end of the school year, which is months away. And no one is saying we have to head out on our first trek the day after he’s done. But I did think that we might be closer to adventure time than we might actually be.

Fortunately, I’ve created a list of spots in Ohio where we can continue to practice our trail skills and manners. In a worst-case scenario, we’ll at least get to see some beautiful areas that are close to home. And you'll get to read about them as I potentially serve as a cautionary tale.

Thinking about heading to Buckhorn Creek Trail? Here's what you need to know.

About the trail: Rail trail on the former Cleveland and Mahoning Valley Railroad route, maintained by the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition with help from Tuscarawas County Parks and local volunteers, including the Newcomerstown Rotary.

Hours: Daily, dawn to dusk

Trail length: Approximately 4 miles currently open

Parking: A gravel parking lot is located at the Newcomerstown trailhead, near College Street and Creekside Drive.

Dogs: Yes, on leash

Off-leash potential: No.*

Surface: Crushed stone, dirt and grass; some uneven areas

Footwear: Tennis shoes should be fine in dry conditions; sturdier shoes would be better after rain

Difficulty: Easy

*Technically, you could probably get away with letting your dog off leash, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Foot traffic varies, and the trail runs close to the road. You could be one quick deer chase away from disaster. Better to show some #LeashLove and make sure everyone gets home safe.

Day Trippin' with Dogs is a My Barking Life series about exploring the world with our dogs, one adventure at a time.