North Chagrin Reservation Metropark

I just got back from my first trip to a Cleveland Metropark (CMP)- a 7 mile hike in North Chagrin Reservation. It was me and Melissa today, and this was our longest hike yet. It was an absolutely beautiful day - around 70 degrees even at midday.

I downloaded a pretty good map from the website. However, the map is definitely lacking in detail around the parking lots, and got confusing over near the nature center where the density of trails was very high. Anyway, once we got on the trails they were pretty easy to follow, with only a couple of exceptions. However, the trails are really only marked at the major trail intersections, making it somewhat ambiguous at intersections with minor trails and with unmarked trails.

Anyway, we parked over at the nature center so we could look around the little ponds that are over there. They are pretty neat - the one was almost covered with lily pads. I used my new binocs to spot a small heron-ish bird, and there was a fun little turtle who kept hiding whenever Melissa tried to take a picture.

Our main path around the park consisted of the Castle Trail, up to the Scenic Loop Trail, (including a brief stint on Squire's Lane Trail), and then down Hemlock trail back to the parking lot. All of the trails were really pretty simlar - well-trodden trails through beech-maple forest with some hemlock groves. Most of the trails were on the edges of ravines with little creeks at the bottom. For the most part, the creeks were very small with very little water flow, but I can imagine they would be a bit more impressive after some good rain or snow-melt. Occasionally, the paths would dip into the ravines and back up, and the paths were well chosen to make for quite reasonable gradients. This added a bit of ruggedness to the trails, but the total elevation change from highest to lowest point was probably less than 200 feet. We saw very little wildlife on the trails, except for frogs and some fish, but we heard some interesting birds, including woodpeckers. For the most part we were alone on the trails and only passed someone occasionally, except there were noticeably more people within about half a mile of any parking lot.

New Cold/Rain Gear

Yesterday I got my first shipment of the new mostly cold and rain gear that I bought for both Melissa and me. I really wanted to have decent cold and rain gear for Yellowstone so that no matter what the weather we can get some good hiking in. I basically just looked at Campmor and Sierra Trading post for everything, and went with whichever place I could get the better deal. Generally, I have an easier time finding stuff at Campmor, but sometimes Sierra has some amazing deals. Anyway here's what we got:

Binocs - I wanted a pair of small hiking binocs, because my astro binocs are too big and bulky. I just got the cheapest I could find - a 10x28 pair for $25.

Rain Coat - The single item that started this whole shopping spree. I knew I needed a decent rain coat before Yellowstone - Melissa has the one her Dad gave her from Sheila. I was a bit disappointed to not find anything under $40. I went with the small lightweight version to fit in my bag as opposed to a very nice, heavier, bulkier one I found from Sierra on serious markdown.

Rain Pants - I figured these would be nice if we get caught in the rain, and were only 10 bucks each.

Rain Pack Covers - Again, another $10 a piece that I just thought would make life better in the rain.

Long Underwear - This seemed essential for cold weather, which is a definite possibility in Yellowstone, but also for hiking in the fall/winter in Ohio. As is all of our hiking clothing, made of nylon. Another $10+ each for three pieces - top and bottom for me, and bottom for Melissa (she already had a top - but I just realized I should check if it is nylon!).

T-shirts - I got Melissa two nylon hiking tees- partly for the nylon, partly to have tees to get beat up. I had bought two nylon tees from Campmor ($7 a piece!) a month or so ago.

Long Sleeve Tees - One for each of us.

Fleece Jackets - These were the biggest thing I was unsure about on the list - quite possibly overkill. But I am now thinking that they are going to be very useful in the fall (and quite possibly in Yellowstone) and we will be glad we have them - they really seem quite nice and warm. I guess the question was really whether hoodies wouldn't work just as well, but we really got these for the same reason we got a lot of the other clothing - to be lightweight, nylon, and OK to beat up. Besides they were only $25 each and they look pretty nice - especially the color I got for Melissa.

All the stuff above was from Campmor. The stuff below I should get from Sierra on Monday.

Socks - We wanted to both have 3 pairs of liners/socks before Yellowstone. I needed 2 liners and 2 socks, and Melissa got 3 liners and 1 sock.

Convertible Pants - We wanted to have dedicated hiking pants for the usual reasons - nylon and beat-up-able. The convertibles will be nice too, since they can be either shorts or pants.

That's it! Over $300 :(. Stuff still to think about getting - one more t-shirt for each of us, a water treatment kit for emergencies, a nylon long underwear shirt for Melissa, waterproof gloves... I am sure there is plenty of other shit.