15.9 Mile Hike in the Cuyahoga Valley Natonal Park

 

All of this hiking is to get this old man into better shape for my upcoming return to the Monongahela National Forest in early October.

Going to the CVNP this Sunday to hike 14 miles

The parking lot was to full to do the 14 mile route!!

2026 Goal to complete a 20 Miler in the CVNP this summer

 

Brandywine Creek Gorge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Video Entry

 

Headed out to the CVNP later!

 Stay tuned folks!

First Hike of 2026 11.9 Miler in the CVNP

I chose to wake up and drive over to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The overnight low was going to be 18 degrees.

I knew that only the silliest of hikers would be out this morning. I saw four woman that must have started when the sun came up lol. They were in their 70’s you go girls!!!

One of the hardest things I think of while hiking below freezing temps is how do I dress?

I carry a pack so I can always take layers off, but if you leave it in the car, you can never have it. So, with that said you need to think of what your pace is going to be and will the heat transfer adequately enough so that your skin stays relatively dry enough.

If the sweat stays on your skin because of the clothing you’re wearing will not allow the sweat to transfer though your layers you will be miserable and cold!!!

I had chosen a nearly 12-mile hike. I had to create this trail loop because it’s a combination of three trails.  The two trails are The Wetmore Bridal, Lake and Salt Run, and part of the Cross Country Trail.

I saw several deer foraging in the woods for food. I did see all kinds of small birds. It was supposed to get to 25 degrees, and I can attest that did not happen ..lol….

Video Compilation from Hiking Brandywine Creek in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on 12.13.2025

 

2025 Turkey Day Spey Day 2

 

Here it is day two of Turkey Day Spey and it’s the last day. The drought has not been kind to the USA and not to the Great Lakes Region. I spent part of the day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park “CVNP”.

I chose to fish the Cuyahoga River “Hoga” today and she was in amazing shape for being low.  The river has always had good flow even in the dead of summer lots of different gradients.

The river was gin clear in two feet or less, but two feet or deeper she was green.  I saw several shad pooled up in the shallows I would imagine because of the cooler temperatures.

I would fish my sinking leader with 12-pound test tippet at the end along with a simple shiner fly pattern. The Skagit line is a 440 grain short head Freightliner by Scientific Angler. The leader set up was an Airflo steelhead sinking leader 1.5”/second.

I finally saw other anglers today. Two of the anglers were locals and one pinner was up by the bridge and did not come down.

The Hoga has a lot of silt, sand, and muck issues. Her banks are in bad shape from all the erosion. The Hogs River basin is rich and fertile for agriculture here in the CVNP.

I got to the river at 1030 am and with the highs today being 37 there was no reason to get there early IMHO.

I was ok with the slow day after all I always have zero expectations of hooking a fish.

It’s nice to be on a section of a river and not see trash and other footprints except for all the wildlife.

I could have fished another river, but I did not want to fish around other people.

Take care folks and be well!

Fishing the Jawbone river in the CVNP

The days for me fishing with others around are rare unless you’re a friend. Even fishing with friends is close to rare as well. With that said I often fish in waters that have very few catchable numbers of fish on purpose.

On this day I choose to fish the Cuyahoga River. They did stock it with steelhead last year and we will see how the return is in three years. They will be stocking this river yearly with steelhead.

The access is plenty, but she has silt issues and has a lot of sand.  She has plenty of gravel sections and deep holes. In a lot of respects, she reminds me of a smaller Manistee River in Michigan.

I just pray that the areas that I have found over the decades will remain the same, but only time will tell.

So, today I headed out to the river. I found her with good flow and with 30” of solid visibility.

I needed a break from the restoration of my antique drafting table project.

I got to the river in one of my favorite spots. This time I saw boot prints on the trail, and this would be the first time I have seen another person’s footprints.

I would be swinging a sinking leader that would sink at a rate of 1.5”/second.  I used a number 6 streamer tied with a white body with an olive hackle collar.

I used 12-pound tippet and tried to redefine the definition of insanity. I walked about 7 miles between the two stretches of water.

I had a solid grab in a throat where two current seams converged. It was nice out today with the overcast skies and a gentle breeze.  I did a lot of bush-wacking to get into one spot lol I won’t be back there again. The wild razzberry bushes nearly ate me alive! Lol

I hope you enjoy the artwork.

Sonder

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Hike - 4.6 Miles - 10-19-2025

 

14.7 Mile Hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I hope you enjoy the artwork. I had to join two trails to make this loop 14.7 miles long. I only ran into other people when you got close to each trailhead.

Video Collage

 

Saturdays 13.6 Mile hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I took a longer route on a hike today in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). I put together a 13.6 Mile route in Basecamp “this is the program that Garmin uses”.

This loop took me into a few places I did not know existed and it was a pleasure for sure. A few small creek crossings and a few goat up hill climbs. I ascended 2012 feet and descended 1999 feet. I did this throughout the hike today.

It has rained and rained a lot here in Buckeye state. So, it surprised me today to see people in sneakers.  There were a lot of trail runners today.  I also ran into a young man who was actually using a small section of a USGS topo-map. I was shocked and thrilled to see this.

IMHO if you start with the basics this will make you a better person when it comes to mountaineering and hiking. I was approaching him after crossing the creek.  He asked me how far a road was from where we stood together. I pulled out my Garmin 64sx and did a straight-line distance measurement and told him.

You could tell he was young and was wearing a lightly used backpack.  He said thank you and that he was doing the trail in small steps, so he does not get overwhelmed. I said great idea and asked him if he had water. He said he did “I said be careful and see you again” on the trail and bidded him a good day.

I ran into a lot of standing water north of Vaughn Road along the Cuyahoga River.

I have high attention to detail when I create my content. I am still learning about my GoPro pros and cons.  I have realized that GoPro 13 does a super job when the sun is out in full force and you’re not in the middle of the forest. It has issues with dimly lit areas.

When used in an environment such as this you get distortion in the video sometimes it is subtle and sometimes it looks awful.

Well through some other social media outlets I have learned a few tricks. The one option when turned off is the hypersmooth.  When I to this you see my head ditty boppin down the path and to be honest its hard to watch and far to distracting.

I am not producing film quality for professional films, but it’s hard to watch.  With I don’t have any video to share from the hike.

I will do a short hike on Memorial Day and tweak my setting yet again.

I am thinking I am willing to lose some detail in the videos I take. It will not detract from the big picture what I am trying to show the viewer I believe.  There will be some motion blur and some pixelation. These issues have been visible, but at this point they have been minor.  For me it does not detract from the over experience that my videos are attempting to show.

I will keep doing it this way and keep learning as I go. Be well folks and until next time.

Sundays Hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for 10.8 Miles

I had to wait for Sunday to do any hiking. We had some heavy rainstorms hit us.  

I wanted to hike for 10 miles. I like this distance in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). 

One issue with a trail that long it’s tough to get away from others. There are trails a person can join that will allow you to do this.  

I took two routes and joined them to make a 10.3 mile hike through Garmin Basecamp.  

I would first have to utilize All Trails to down the two trails.  

I connected them with one mile of roadway. The temperature was balmy 51 degrees. The wind gusts that were over 20 mph made it chilly throughout the hike. 

 I saw very view people when I originally started at 0800.  

Part of my route was on a bridal trail. I never saw any pasture puppies. I was kind of hoping to see a few on this day. Instead, I saw tons of spring flowers, red squirrels, fox squirrels, and a few dogs.  

I am still learning about my GoPro and the low light conditions this morning and how in some areas the videos look great and some they look like dirt lol.