Lake Vesuvius Backpacker Trail Link to Lake Vesuvius Backpacker Trail

| The Full Trail | |

| — | — |

| Distance | 18.1 miles (29.1 km) |

| Elevation | 2,119 ft (646 m) |

| Our Abbreviated Version | |

| — | — |

| Distance | 13.8 miles (22.2 km) |

| Elevation | 1,289 ft (394 m) |

Though the name suggests lakeside views, most of the Lake Vesuvius Backpacker Trail winds through secluded forests. Don’t expect sweeping mountain vistas; instead, you’ll find small streams, sandstone formations, but mostly a sense of woodland isolation.

I saw this trail described both as a taster for the lower half of the Appalachian Trail and as difficult hike through brush full of ticks. Our experience of hiking in early March was somewhere between. Perhaps due to the early season (lacking flowers and wildlife) and the absence of grand vistas, we realized afterward that we were a bit unfilled. I don’t know that anyone imagines a wide open landscape when they think of Ohio, so maybe that’s to be expected.

The most interesting part of Lake Vesuvius, was the history that I learned about afterward. This area was “developed” during the 1800s by iron mining companies. The furnaces required lumber from 300 - 350 acres annually. Which lead to the area being clear-cut, planted, and clear-cut on a cycle. After the mines closed, the area around Lake Vesuvius was barren until the 1930s, when a Civilian Conservation Corp began planning the dam, planting trees, and widened the roads left by the mining companies. For more info, the forest servicehas a brief article about the park and the iron blast furnace that it was named after.

Prep and Expectations Link to Prep and Expectations

My only personal goal with this trip was to test my gear and my backpacking skills. Could I walk 18 miles with twenty-five pounds of gear, food, and water on my back? Did I have all of the gear that I would need for a longer trip?

After Kate said that she would like to come, I decided that the second goal would be the one to focus on. I had essentially purchased a whole new set of gear over the previous six months, and I hadn’t been able to test any of it over the winter. Is the Zenbivy as good as it claims to be? Is the a sub 15-pound pack as dreamy as the community says? Could I adapt to a minimalist bag like the Kakwa?

As it is a short trip, there weren’t too many meals to plan. We each brought snacks for ourselves, and I prepared the dehydrated meals. For dinner, quinoa, tomato, and lemon pepper. For breakfast, tofu scramble.

Outside of figuring out the food, the mental prep for this trip was mostly focused on ensuring that Kate wasn’t miserable. Both her and I were hoping that she enjoyed the trip. Backpacking as a shared hobby opens the door to so many adventures that we haven’t dreamed of yet. That wonderful thought, though, put a lot of pressure on making sure this was going to be a fun trip for her.

How we hiked it Link to How we hiked it

The main purpose for this trip was to see if we had the right gear and knowledge to be able to manage an overnight hike. With a trail this short, the plan was to hike over half of the trail on Saturday, and finish it out Sunday morning.

For 18 miles with two meals requiring water, we each carried 4 liters of water. We had planned to hide a water cache at a trailhead between miles 10-12. Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding the trailhead, so we decided to avoid wasting time driving in circles and to just carry all of the water. Likely because of the cooler weather, neither of us drank all of our water.

Starting around 12:30 on Saturday, we planned to walk to the third or fourth campsite and setup for the night. The hope was that we would be at camp by 6pm. We had to setup the tent, cook dinner, brush our teeth, and then do the bear hang before going to bed.

For the second day, the only plan was to be leaving the parking lot before noon. Four miles before noon is not normally a difficult task, but some unexpected circumstances and the time change made that a challenge.

The trip Link to The trip

Going into the weekend, the weather forecast was for the area to be hit with rain the two days prior and for there to be light rain Saturday night. Because of that, we had both prepared for cold weather and wet feet by bringing extra layers, smart-wool socks, and waterproof boots.

It was advice from the book THRUHIKERSthat led us to wear waterproof shoes for the cold weather. In the end, we underestimated how warm 40 degrees would feel while hiking. Both of us should have worn more breathable and more comfortable shoes.

With the drive expected to be two hours long, and the trail expected to take 9 hours to walk. The plan was to arrive before noon, hike for 5-6 hours, setup camp and make dinner, then do the remaining 3-5 hours on Sunday. That put us with a departure time of 9:30 am on Saturday and expected return time around 2:30 pm on Sunday.

A half hour into the drive I realized that I didn’t have my trekking poles. There was a strong consideration to turn around, but losing an hour on a schedule without wiggle room sounded like a bad idea.

Around 11, we stopped for lunch at Subway for a disappointing lunch, and then arrived at the parking lot a little after noon. By 12:25, we were on the trail.

First leg of the first day Link to First leg of the first day

The beginning 3 miles were straightforward and easy. The views of the lake weren’t incredible, but there were quite a few outcroppings of rocks that got me excited about potential bouldering and sport climbing in the area.

It didn’t take long to notice that we needed to follow the white diamonds with yellow markings, which saved me from walking with my phone in hand.

The greatest view of this leg was when the sun was perfectly positioned against the trees so that we couldn’t see their shadows. It was just a wall of beige that made us wonder if we were living in the Truman Show and we had just discovered the border wall.

The other notable feature was a low grade climb where the path was extremely wide and smooth (other than the downed trees that had to climb under and over). We debated whether it was a road or a convenient natural formation. I waffled about it longer than Kate, who ended up being correct. Looking back, this was probably one of the roads built by the mining company.

Soon after, we stopped for the first snack break. I learned from Thru Hikers that I should air out my feet whenever I can, which ended up saving me from getting worse blisters than I did. Despite making this a habit for every break, my hiking boots were a little too tight and I did end up getting blisters on my small toes.

Second leg and third legs of the first day Link to Second leg and third legs of the first day

The biggest hills that we climbed were during this section. With the heavier pack, less comfortable boots, and a different motivation for the hike, these hills were much more difficult for Kate. Halfway up the second climb, I was prompted with the surprising question, “why are we doing this?!”. For me, the answer was obvious. It’s the first step into a new hobby and towards a major goal. But, why were we walking up and down hills? Regardless of what I thought, I knew that silence was the only correct answer.

After catching our breaths, we continued to the top of the hill and found a log to sit on. While not exactly a mountain top, we had a nice moment where we were able talk about the stress of life, our own expectations of the trip, and, importantly, rest up before beginning the descent. She had developed large blisters on the balls of her feet and her heels. Which made each step so much worse. As a silent demonstration of how strong she is, I didn’t hear about the pain or discomfort until I directly asked about it the next morning.

While at the top of the next big hill, I realized that we were not going to be near any of the marked campsites before sunset. The map showed a shortcut through a valley that would let us skip 4-6 miles of the trail and would put us close to the campsite I hoped we would stay at.

The shortcut was probably the most scenic area of the entire trail. The various streams and banks of the creek felt very special, and with the sun getting low, we were treated to shimmering reflections against rock walls. Unless you want the miles, I would suggest that anyone who is out there to enjoy the beauty of nature take this shortcut. I will remind you that there are no vistas, so this half mile trail is the most beautiful thing that you’ll get.

When we connected back to the main trail, made a wrong turn and started backwards on the section we had just skipped. We were both so interested in checking out a foot bridge that it took a quarter mile of walking before I checked the map and we corrected course.

At Camp Link to At Camp

We had enough sunlight to setup the tent, make our beds, and have dinner. We tried to hang the food bag according to best practices: 10 feet up and 10 feet away from the nearest tree. But in the morning light, it was clear that we hadn’t picked two trees that were far enough apart. Thankfully, there was no sign that anything had attempted to get to our food during the night.

Something that we were vaguely aware of was that there was the time change happening that weekend. Springing the clock forward would mean that no matter what we did, we would be losing an hour of our morning. Rest was the priority, so neither of us thought of waking up earlier and keeping to the schedule. We’ve already accepted that the plan was just a guideline, so why be held captive to it?

First leg of the second day Link to First leg of the second day

I would say that the first leg started around 3 am when Kate woke me up and asked if I could share my quilt. She was so cold that she hadn’t been able to sleep yet, so I offered to swap beds so she could enjoy the warmth of the Zenbivy. My old synthetic mummy bag had lost so much loft that it was no longer the same cold weather cocoon that I had relied on while winter camping in Boy Scouts. Unbeknownst to me, synthetic bags degrade overtime. So the years had turned it into more of a disgustingly heavy 50 degree bag.

I probably could have gotten up with the sun, but I let Kate sleep for as long as she needed. Which ended up getting us out of the tent around 9:30. We made breakfast, retrieved the food, had things packed up, and were on the trail by 10:30.

Second leg of the second day Link to Second leg of the second day

Knowing that Kate’s feet were going to hurt more today, I looked ahead at what we were going to encounter. One large and one medium hill, downhill sections after each, and then a flat half mile to finish. That totaled to about 4 miles. We slowed our pace at the start of the day, but ended up pushing through to the end during the last two miles.

We did have a brief break when we came to some ruins at the top of the hill overlooking the lake. If you find yourself visiting with kids, I’m not sure I’d recommend heading up that way from the parking lot. There was some PG-13 graffiti that I imagine most parents would rather not discuss with their young kids or teens.

The hike, when walked clockwise, ends on the docks over the lake. I would say it was a nice way to end it, but I don’t think it helped the trail earn any extra stars in my review. In the end, even with the shortcut, I would give the LVBT 2/5 stars.

The drive back Link to The drive back

I had dehydrated and prepared all of our meals for the trip, but I had not planned a lunch for us. The only food I had in mind was a milkshake, so we set course for the nearest Freddie’s. They also had veggie burgers, so I was able to get a full lunch. The patty was the same as the Culver’s veggie burger but it was actually well cooked.

Reflection Link to Reflection

The First Shakedown Link to The First Shakedown

This trail was my first shakedown hike since my interest in backpacking was revitalized last fall. I chose this trail because of the short distance and mild elevation gain.

The twist with this trip that was that I hadn’t originally planned on Kate, joining me. This was my second backpacking trip (first in over four years) and her first ever. We have car camped together, but I was not confident that it had prepared us for backpacking in March together.

After having finished the hike, the two biggest changes that can be made to improve the next trip are better shoes and a new bed for Kate.

I felt quite satisfied that my gear research had been successful and that I ended up with the perfect gear for me. My pack was lighter than my school bag and felt weightless on my back. The new air pad and quilt were comfortable and warm. Other than the tight boots and the lack of a bearbag, I can’t think of what gear I would need to change out for the next trip.