About 50 Hikes in Ohio

It Began With Tight Pants

November 15th 2023

In mid-June of 2023, I discovered I had become the heaviest I’d ever been. After buying new pants, I discovered that my waist size had increased by almost three inches. I was not overweight but at the very top end of my BMI. I set a goal to lose ten to fifteen pounds by October 1st, 2023.  I started by walking every night at a local park ten minutes from home. I started with just one mile each day, but within a couple of weeks, it was up to three, then five. 

By late June, I was becoming bored walking the same route, so that weekend, I made the drive to Yellow Springs to check out John Bryan State Park.  After completing the trail, I walked through the village of Yellow Springs and entered Dark Star Books to browse. When I walked in the door, the first book I saw was Ralph Ramey’s book 50 Hikes in Ohio. I picked it up and was leafing through it when the idea hit me to set a goal to hike all fifty of the hikes in the book.

On Saturday, July 1st, my journey began with Hocking Hills State Park hike number seven. Since then, I usually try randomly picking one or two hikes from the book each weekend while still getting a few miles at the park close to my home on weekdays. By mid-September, I had reached my weight loss goal!

As I write this, in mid-November, I’ve completed eighteen of the fifty hikes. It’s been rewarding to discover all the places to hike in Ohio and the natural beauty of the trails, drive along Ohio’s back roads, and discover our small towns. 

As the pictures accumulated on my phone, I started thinking about how I could document and share my experience. I tried a written journal, Facebook posts, and a couple of attempts at YouTube videos, but I finally landed here with this Blog.

I hope all the pictures and information I provide on these pages will inspire and enable you to get out and experience Ohio’s parks and hiking trails.

Buy the Book 50 Hikes in Ohio by Ralph Ramey from Amazon

Click Here for a complete list of all the hikes in the book and which ones I have completed.