Nomad Life - Day 179

It's the Weekend!  Even though I didn't need to work early, my body wanted to wake me up at 0500.  Somehow, I was able to go back to sleep and didn't actually get out of bed until 0730.  Almost immediately (0745), I went to breakfast in the Lobby of the Microtel (Beaver Falls).  After returning to my room, I worked on my blog and recorded eBird entries.  I'd planned to leave the hotel quickly, to take advantage of the wonderful weather, but ended up in a call with Brenna for almost 90 minutes (between 0945 and 1115).  It was great to catch up with her and I didn't mind the delay.  At 1145, I finally departed the hotel.  Outside, it was very windy but warm (70s!!!).  Hoping to resume the hike I'd done the previous day, my first destination was te NCT Trailhead on Louthan Road NCT.  I arrived there at 1150 and, since it was a "road walk" section, I didn't get out of my car.  Instead, I continued down the street until I located the trailhead at PA-168 (1155).  This drive yielded 0.6 new miles of NCT.  From that point, I explored other nearby trail access points along Hodgson Road, Sterling Road and Watts Mill Road.  At 1215, I parked at the trailhead on the latter road and started a hike (no daypack) towards the east (Vermont Bound).  The map seemed to indicate that I'd be following the edge of the river but it ended up involving a huge climb to a bluff that gave me wonderful views of the valley below.  I passed a nice-looking Lean-To (shelter) in the early phase of the hike. Like yesterday, I was often impressed by the great signage that had been placed by the Wampum Chapter of the North Country Trail Association.  The warm temperatures definitely led to a lot of sweating but, fortunately, I had brought water.  All around me, I could hear the sound of frogs - they were very loud!  Along the way, I passed a local landmark called Indian Rock, which was a huge outcropping that rose several dozen feet above the trail.  I ended up skipping the climb and just continued on towards the east.  When I'd started walking, I had no idea that I would be able to hike all the way to the PA-168 Trailhead I'd found earlier in the day.  Since the trail surface and terrain change wasn't too extreme, I actually had no issues and ended up walking the entire (three mile) distance before I knew it.  Starting my backtrack, though, I started noticing ominously dark rain clouds in the distance and began looking for a way to curtail the time it took to reach my car.  As a result, I got off the NCT at Hodgson Rd and, on foot, retraced my earlier drive to Watts Mill Road.  Even though this decision was a good one - it yielded a quick pace due to the stable and smooth surface - I was not able to avoid the rain (and lightning) that soon covered the area.  Unfortunately, there was no cover from the elements by this point and I just had to hope that the worst of the weather held off until I was finished.  Somehow, that's exactly what happened - when I reached my car (1430), the sky opened and I just barely avoided a HUGE downpour.  As I sat in my car, I figured out that I'd (again) hiked six miles of NCT on the State Game Lands near the Ohio border.  I should mention that some of the game lands had major warning signs about closures during hunting season(s) in the Winter-time.  Meanwhile, there was terrible rain outside my car and I couldn't even see the surrounding scenery.  During a lull, I departed the NCT Trailhead and drove south towards PA-251.  During this drive, I had to drive around trees that had fallen almost completely across the road.  One of these trees looked like it had suffered a direct lightning strike!  Before I reached a main road, the sun actually came out again (I guess I'd driven out of the weather?) and I decided I'd like to cross into Ohio in search of the NCT there.  Fortunately, I had a good map (prepared by the Wampum Chapter).  About a quarter mile from the border, I located the NCT Trailhead (still on the Pennsylvania side) - from there, it was 0.1 miles of driving on PA-251 until I found a huge NCT road sign that said "Welcome to Ohio".  I crossed the border after that and followed OH-154 (synonymous with NCT for part of this drive) until I reached the town of Negley (OH) at 1445.  Only then did I realize that I'd passed the turn to the west (North Dakota Bound).  After turning around (backtracking in my car on the pavement), I found the NCT again at Carmel-Achor Road.  From that corner, I drove another section of trail that took me down Jackman Road.  I followed this latter road until I reached a closed gate (1500) at the two mile mark of my drive (started counting distance at the PA-251 Trailhead).  From there, I backtracked to the north and then drove west to OH-170.  After driving a few more miles to the south, I found an NCT Trailhead with a muddy parking lot.  The best thing about this location was that the NCT then followed OH-170 towards the south.  I restarted my Subaru's odometer and made my way to Clarkson Road.  After reaching the town of Clarkson (1520), I switched to Sprucevale Road and used that road to reach Beaver Creek State Park.  Somehow, I again lost the trail at around 6.6 mile mark (since the last trailhead).  I believe that this occurred because there was a closed State Park road at the turn point,  Knowing that I wasn't on the NCT anymore, I kept driving towards the Beaver Creek bridge in the middle of the park.  At the 7.4 mark on my odometer, I crossed the NCT again where it passed an old stone mill building.  I gave myself credit for 0.1 more miles of NCT and then crossed the Beaver Creek.  Just at that point, the rain got REALLY nasty.  There were more downed trees in the area and I couldn't see anything while I was driving.  As a result, I turned around (Cannon Mills Rd) and backtracked on Sprucevale Road.  Since the weather was still horrible, I parked near the old stone building and waited out the worst of the storm.  Once conditions improved, I drove north and west (through the State Park) until I reached OH-7.  Just after that, I passed a High School that made it very clear they were the (Proud) "Fighting Beavers".  Next, I got on US-30, which I later learned was called the Lou Holtz Freeway.  At the time, I thought "that's kind of an interesting coincidence" but I didn't know more.  My immediate priority was to reach East Liverpool OH so I could attend a church service.  I was successful in this effort and, at 1600, arrived at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Downtown area just in time for their Vigil Mass (it was still raining).  The church was very old and the architecture was interesting.  It was a bit unsettling that there was a cop guarding the door...  The organ was much louder than the choir/cantor so I couldn't follow a few of the responsorial prayers.  However, I did hear one prayer that was "Clue #2" that I had stumbled into an interesting place.  They were praying for the souls of recently departed parishioners and mentioned Lou Holtz.  Since I'm a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and had only recently learned of Coach Holtz's passing, I was definitely more intrigued than when I first entered East Liverpool...  At 1700, the service ended (the rain had ended) and I got back in my car, hoping to find out more about the local area.  First, though, I stopped for gas at a station ("Mainland") that boasted the lowest prices I'd seen for days (Ohio is definitely cheaper than Pennsylvania).  By 1710, I was back on the road and decided (then and there) to cross the Ohio River into the "panhandle" section of West Virginia.  Using US-30, I drove south into Chester (Hancock County, WV) and then followed the river to the west.  Along the way, I had some very good views of the Ohio River in the "Tri-Point" area of the three states.  I passed an intriguing toll bridge ("Cash Only").  Just after that (1720), I reached the town of Newell.  By this point the temps had settled in the 60s.  I had noticed a place on the map called "Hanna’s Tap Room" and stopped there at 1725.  Along the way, I met the owner (Ms. Hanna, a Navy Veteran) and worked my way through their local (WV) beers (tasting).  I also ordered a chicken parmesan sandwich, which was very tasty.  Overall, the patrons and staff were very friendly and I learned a lot about local history, life in Ohio Valley, the East Palestine Rail Disaster and Lou Holtz.  On the last topic, I learned that Coach Holtz had maintained a close relationship with the area ever since he'd learned to coach football from his relatives in East Liverpool.  What an amazing coincidence to have found a small corner of the world where Coach Holtz lived during the exact week when he passed away.  A larger amount of time was focused on the The Fiesta Tableware Company (formerly known as The Homer Laughlin China Company) that practically built the town of Newell and still controls many of the utilities, a toll bridge and other civic functions there.  I very much enjoyed the overall experience.  After finishing my social time (1830), I departed West Virginia (crossed the Ohio River on US-30 again) and drove back towards my hotel.  Along the way, I talked to my dad on the phone (I actually stopped so I wouldn't lose cell signal) and then later listened to audiobooks.  In order to get "home", I used back roads across southeastern Ohio until I (re)entered Pennsylvania.  In a few cases, I had to dodge deer in the darkness.  I will admit that I breathed a good sign of relief when I arrived at my hotel (1940).  Like the night before, I took advantage of having a bathtub (ahhhh...) and then spent the rest of the evening watching movies and reading.  By 2300, I was ready to turn out the lights.  As I dozed off, I felt really good about my NCT trail experience today - but even more about finding Lou Holtz's hometown.  NCT Today = 12.4 miles / Grand Total NCT = 120.7 miles