BUTLER, Ohio – A new hiking trail has started to take shape through parts of the Mohican countryside thanks to the efforts of Boy Scout Order of the Arrow Portage Lodge 619.
Approximately 65 Lodge Boy Scouts were tasked with clearing 4.2 miles of trail in Mohican River Valley as part of the Order of the Arrow’s Centennial Celebration. When completed, the trail will encompass a seven-mile hike extending from the B&O Bike Trail in Butler to Malabar Farm.
Boy Scout Jared Repas said this is a new project for Portage Lodge, as the troop has never created a trail before. Fittingly, the project date falls on National Trail Day by pure coincidence.
“It’s meaningful service to us and we’ve never done something like this before, so it being our 100th anniversary we wanted to go big or go home,” said Repas. “And trails are awesome.”
The Boy Scouts worked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday creating a “down-to-dirt” trail that required clearing a large amount of vegetation. Repas explained the new trail must be two-feet wide with a four-foot clearance on either side and a seven-foot clearance on top so the average person can walk through the trail without being brushed by plants or branches.
“The vegetation is very different down here than what it is up north,” said Repas, originally from Elyria. “You see plants that are indigenous to this area and you also see a lot of invasive species in this area, which is unfortunate. We’re in a very dense area right now and some of our trails have been pretty dense.”
The trail project is especially meaningful to the North Central Ohio Land Conservancy (NCOLC), a nonprofit organization that acquires and protects land of ecological and cultural importance to establish as nature preserves. The NCOLC, led by trustee Eric Miller, has worked for more than 20 years to acquire land to create the trail that will allow the public to experience a vast amount of unique flora and fauna in the area.
“There are waterfalls and such that people haven’t been able to see for more than 20 years because the land has been privatized, and now the public will get to see these things again,” said Zach Pocock with the NCOLC. “I wish more people would step away from their phones and breathe in nature, and realize the beauty that’s out there instead of looking at pictures on Google.”
Mike Woogerd with the NCOLC said the new trail will be strictly for walking. He explained private landowners signed contracts of easements with hiking privileges. The trail will run through approximately nine private properties, including Mohican Outdoor School, Ohio Dreams and First Congregation Church.
“I know Mohican Outdoor School would like to see recreation on their land; this trail will give them some publicity,” said Woogerd. “The most important part of having this trail is to be able to preserve a place in Richland County for people to enjoy.”
Woogerd noted there has been some debate regarding whether constructing the trail will damage preserved land.
“But what’s something worth if people can’t appreciate it?” said Woogerd. “We are taking a risk opening it up to the public, but we think the people that will use it will respect it and be responsible.”
“It’s meaningful service to us and we’ve never done something like this before, so it being our 100th anniversary we wanted to go big or go home,” said Scout Jared Repas. “And trails are awesome.”
