Buddur Time

“Where to start?

A warning first....NEVER under any circumstances use Yahoo Maps or Mapquest without consulting an atlas too. Two out of three TTer's lost in Akron...and expect that if Buddur says "Oh it'll be about a 1 1/2 hour hike" he really means 3 hours. =)

We all made it to Buddur's abode safe and sound but relieved and maybe a bit frustrated. Friday night was relaxing and fun; we were all in our bags by midnight in preparation for the next day's hike.

Buddur took us,(BB, Wolfsister, Tarabull, Smiley Girl, Minne Sota, Birch and myself), to a beautiful spot near an amphitheatre, full of ridges and scrambles up slick clay hills. We all played hard, some of us fell hard too. We found a geao cache and a ropes course and got rained on alittle, but not much. Spent around 3 1/2-4 hours playing and walking in the woods. Took a lunch break @ the winking lizard and gorged ourselves on wings and such. Afterwards BB departed (said something about a hot date with Reese Witherspoon?) and the remaining decided to head out to another spot.

This was to be an hour hike or so, (Buddur time, really 3 hours). We got on the trail and found it to be deep puddles and mud but didn't have far to go before we'd leave the trail. Then all hell broke loose and the sky started to fall on us. We all longed for rain pants as our bootsstarted to fill with the water that ran down our legs. The rain was literally falling sideways and the wind was ferocious. The hike was aborted when the girls staged a mutiny. We eturned to Buddurs soaked and cold, hoping that our boots would dry by the next day. Enjoyed good food and games, excellant company and even a great rendition of "happy Birthday" on the guitar.

Smiley and Minne Sota got on the road at O' dark hundred in the morning. The rest of us enjoyed a leisurely morning and breakfasted on Krispy Creams and biscuits and eggs. We waved farewell to Wolfsister and headed back to the termination point of our hike the previous day. What a gorgeous spot!!! We climbed and scrambled and crossed creeks on logs just because the log was there. We found 2 more geo caches, one sure was simple to find and really close to the other one, lol. Buddurdog suffered a wound from a hawthorn but after minor surgery was rarin' to go again. We had a great hike in a blustery wind, ocassionally graced by sunshine.

At the hike's end Tarabull, Birch and I headed back to MI...wishing the whole way we coulda stayed another day.

Buddur is the host with the most and runs a great guide service! Thanks all for the great weekend!!!!”

“BTW, best dayhikes I've ever been on and makes me wish Michigan wasn't so dern flat!”

“Oh Sass, you just need to spend more time in the rocky northern and western U.P. Someday Sunshine and I will have to do some guiding to a few more vertical areas in the Yoop areas we know. OK, OK, it is closer to drive to Akron than Marquette or Houghton, but that's the Treaty of Toledo's fault.”

“Maybe I should have said I wish my section of Michigan wasn't so dern flat.”

“Great trip repot Sassy,.. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Sounds like lots of fun!”

“To Buddur's credit, I don't think he took into account the smoke breaks when estimating the time.

Minnie Sota and I enjoyed Krispy Kremes on our drive, and managed NOT to get lost this time. Amazing things, those maps. Good thing I bought one when we finally arrived in Akron on Friday. :)

Betcha you didn't know I could hike that fast, huh?”

“Sounds like fun. Got pictures?”

“There should be some great pictures soon. May have to wait awhile for Birch's and mine but tarabull goes for that 1 hour processing business.”

“Sass, just teasing. But the invite to come north is sincere.

I have an old college pal from Monroe. He thought Ingham County was hilly. OTOH, my impression of Ohio in those days was around Toledo, then I drove through the southeast portion.

Anyway, as I age, the flatland hiking doesn't seem such a bad idea.”

“tarabull usually goes for one hour processing, but she decided to wait until after pekkas in town so she can actually finish the role instead of turning it in with 1/3 of pics not taken. she really needs to be more frugal.


I had a great a wonerful weekend. I especially enjoyed the Day-Two hike. The climbing and scrambling was a blast! It was gorgeous on those narrow ridges!

I really wish the sky hadn't fallen in the afternoon. I would have loved to continue hiking on Saturday so we could have explored more places over all. But, you can't have your way every time.

Buddur is a great host. Great guide. Great entertainer. And, he's just so darn funny! Thanks, BuddurMan.

Funny... I never really thought I'd be daydreaming about Ohio... But, I am! Can't wait to do it all again.”

“Were those narrow ridges call Eskers?

Now, lets see who knows what an Esker is...without looking it up or doing some type of internet search. Pekka? You should know.”

“Reese Witherspoon will never be the same!

Sounds like yall had a blast. Can't believe the rain made you duck for cover. Nothing beats a day hike with a storm going on in the process! Rain is fun. It one of the joys of nature when you except it!
Can't wait to see the pictures!”

“Chief, here's some info from a Minnesotan:

From "Listening to the Esker's Song" by Anne Marie Erickson, in North Writers II:

"Eskers were shaped by sands deposited in the beds of subglacial streams. The streams carried meltwater from a downwasting glacier. ...

Esker -- a curious word, I think -- comes from the Old Irish escir. Another name, os, is from an Old Norse word for ridge. Eskers occur in Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, and Canada, and in the northern United States. ... Most eskers are found in areas of low relief. They stand high above the surrounding lowlands like earthen forts..."

So if you were in an area where there was glaciation, then an 'esker' the ridge might be. But, alas, if the glaciers did not reach that part of Ohio, then an 'esker' it isn't.

For hiking in esker country and other glacial land forms, the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin is a prime attraction.”

“No, You don't understand, when something flew out of a tree and smacked me in the mouth, I started to lean towards the other womens' point of veiw. Before that it was a rush! I don't really like to hike in wet underware either.
Thanks for the B.day song Budd. you going to be a rock star one day for sure!
My little side trip on the way home was very productive=2 canisters of fuel,2 micro-lights at 9.99 each,a can of silicone water-guard with which I intend to spray my new fangled nylon bag bivy cover thing 19.00,a compass/thermometer zipper pull gizmo with windchill chart on the back and 4, count 'em, that's right, four bright shiny Rapala rattlin' suspending silver plated HUSKY JERKS -for you people who don't fish, it's a lure, for 2.99 each-that's half price! Oh yea, if you send me your addy Sass and Birch got a little present for ya.
A sort of -sorryabouthecoffeepot-gift. Ok,ok, I'll tell ya-it's just Esbit tabs. And I ordered our cannisters from Sportsman's Guide at 2 for 13.47 (told you I could get em cheap).”

“walkindude - The wind/rain was something else. It was horizontal. I don't usually mind the rain cause I love the adventure... But, when it was suggested that we turn back, there was no argument from me!

Way to go, wolfsister. Glad to hear your shopping event was fruitful. Glad to see you again, by the way!”

“BTW, Wolfsister, the book is

A Walk Across America - Peter Jenkins

I'll try to start reading it soon.”

“OH, That's a great book! You'll love it!!”

“Aw Wolfsister, you didn't have to do that....the pot still works fine. Thank you very much for thinking of us and our esbit stove too. I'll send you an email soon or if you'd rather you can hang onto it until we meet again for our buckeye trail trip.”

“Day two was my ALL TIME favorite dayhike. Those ridges were incredible.

As usuall the company was super-cool. Thanks again Buddur!”

“And to think day two's hike wasn't even on the intinerery...and we didn't get to hit the 2 other spots that were in the original plan.

I've put on my raingear at the house and taken the dog for a walk during intense rainstorms, however, that one on Sat afternoon was THE MOST intense rainwindstorm I think I've been out in. Lots of trees downed and power outages from OH to PA from that tempest.

Beer beer beer beer! Thank you all for the beer! And also the chocolate cake and icecream...I have 1 serving left.

And I hear ya, Ms.Wolfsister regarding yer shoping spree...it too me about 24 hours to break down and buy that MH Grade 6 jacket.

There were many eskers in W PA near my hometown, some have been preserved but most have been tapped for their sands and gravel...cool ridges they are, lots of roads still exist that were built atop them. Moraine State Park is just south of all the esker locations...imagine that!!!

Y'all know you're welcome at my house at any time. And Ms.Smileygirl, tell Jodie that if she's ever in Akron again for work to not hesitate look me up for some more hiking and whatnot.”

“Whatnot...hehehehehe

I wish we coulda hiked more Buddur. Next time.”

“I need to remember to poofreed!”

“I'm really bummed we missed the Sunday hike! I will let Jodi know about the open invitation. She said she probably won't post until she gets internet at home since there's talk of lay-offs where she works, she doesn't want to give them an excuse to get rid of her.

Again, she had a great time, and really liked meeting all of you. Thanks again Buddur for giving us a place to rest and playing tour guide!”

“Having grown up in Minnesota also, I lived and walked the Eskers just beyond my backyard all the time.

There were a series of three or four. As you got deeper into the woods, the eskers got taller, then they would get shorter beyond that. There were a bunch of glacial mounds also. They were cool too.

Brings back alot of good memories, those eskers!”

“Took the kids to the local outfitters for some wishshopping between the hilkes. There was a display that someone made showing the Buckeye Trail in OH and those who worked on it. One of the pics has a bunch of people (very prestigeous people from what I hear) posing for a pic...and wouldn't you know it, Ms.Wolfsister was in it.”

“Speaking of the BTA...we have a work party set for March 23-24 at Hocking Hills. Anyone up for a little trail work. www.thebuckeyetrail.org”

“Chief, you would probably enjoy both the whole esker essay and the others in the North Writers II book, as well as the first, North Writers: A Strong Woods Collection, both from U. of Minn. Press.”

“We won't make it that weekend, Wolfsister. Pekka is coming to MI and we're doing an overnighter in the area. Thanks for the offer!”

“Let's see, hike with pekka and enjoy fresh Wisconsin cheese curds, or sign on with a "work party"? In that context, even I sound like fun!”

“I was thimking more of Budder for this than you other people-I'd rather go to Mich. too, but duty calls. I like hangin' with the BTA people from time to time.”

“I'm also going to see if I can stir up some intrest in setting up that trail maintence get-together we talked about at Budder's.”

“pekka - you sound like fun in any context! of course, if you weren't bringing the cheese... it'd be a whole different story. ;)”

“Sorry, but no trail maintenance this month...my upcoming weekends are all booked up.”

“My house is so quiet now.”

“TWEET! Does that sound familliar? lmao”

“Oh yeah, did you get those put back up?”

“That's ok Bud-You will prob. miss out on getting your picture taken that will be placed in some very important place where it may impress your friends. Or maybe not?”

“Oh yea, I forgot- TWEET!”