Andy Niekamp - Captain Blue on the Blue Blazes

Captain Blue

on the

Blue Blazes

The First Solo Thru-Hike

of Ohios 1,444 Mile

Buckeye Trail

by Andy Niekamp

C opyright 2018 Andrew J. Niekamp III

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be stored, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

All events in this book are true. Any mistakes as to content are in no way intentional; they are products of the authors own recollection and interpretation of his experiences.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9903547-8-9

Cover photo: Hocking State Forest, Ohio by Andy Niekamp; Inset photo, Cox Media Group/ Dayton Daily News

Interior photos: Andy Niekamp; Pages 186, 187, Cox Media Group/ Dayton Daily News

Cover design: Jim Murphy, Murphy & Co. Graphic Communications

Interior design: Jennifer Pinkley

Composition: Darlene Karoly

Maps: Darlene Karoly

The Buckeye Trail map and logo are used with permission from the Buckeye Trail Association.

First Revision - February 2018

Published By:

Outdoor Adventure Connection Press

Dayton, Ohio 45439

Does the person make the journey, or does the journey make the person?

BuckeyeTrailHiker.com

This book is dedicated to Karen Power for her talent,

devotion, and never-ending energy for this project.

Without her passion, this book could not have been written.

Introduction

O n June 15, 2011, Andy Captain Blue Niekamp became a hometown hero when he completed the first solo thru-hike of the 1,444 mile Buckeye Trail. His was not the first thru-hike of the Buckeye Trail, neither was it the first solo hike. A few before him had also solo hiked the trail from end-to-end. The significance of Captain Blues accomplishment is that he is the first to complete the trail as a solo, single continuous journey at its current 1,444-mile length.

Building the Buckeye Trail to its current length was a process that took years. The trail was originally envisioned in 1958 as a 500-mile diagonal footpath that stretched from the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Conneaut on the shores of Lake Erie. The loop around the four corners of Ohio was completed in sections and finally closed by 1993. The trail continued to evolve as it was revised, rerouted, and expanded to include more off-road miles, significant landmarks, and additional historic places. In 2005, the Buckeye Trail reached its current 1,444 mile length, the longest circular trail in the U.S. to date.

When Captain Blue laced up his hiking boots and shouldered his backpack in the spring of 2011, even he wasnt sure the Buckeye Trail was a hike he wanted to complete. Its not a trail that appeals to most long-distance hikers. The challenge, but also the draw of the Buckeye Trail, is that it winds through wilderness, farmland, small towns, big cities, rural and urban areas. However, as Captain Blue re-discovered his home state on foot, a transformation began and a story took shape.

All readers will appreciate the literary theme of the heros journeythe ordinary person who, with the nurture of community, faces obstacles and challenge after challenge until the journey transforms the hero into someone extraordinary, someone who emerges better, stronger, and wiser.

This story is about tenacity, perseverance, friendship, love, blind faith in humanity, personal resourcefulness, and a healthy dose of German stubbornness. Its a story worth reading.

I invite you on this unforgettable journey with Captain Blue. Such a journey is within the grasp of us all.

Karen Tagalong Power, Ph.D.

Assistant Editor, The Antioch Review

Preface

W hen I started this journey in 2011, my goal was to have fun. Fun is what has led me to log over 14,000 miles as a long-distance hiker. It works for me. What I have learned about my kind of fun is that the reward lies in the adventure. Yes, adventurethat risky endeavor filled with excitement. Adventure has become my passion.

I decided before I even began this journey that if the Buckeye Trail couldnt provide adventure, I wasnt going to commit to completing the entire 1,444 miles in a single, continuous journey. To be honest, I began this hike with a fair dose of skepticism as to how much adventure Ohio and the Buckeye Trail would provide. Perhaps if I had known that the spring of 2011 would bring enough rainfall to cause epic flooding in parts of the Midwest and one of the wettest spring seasons on record in Ohio, or that March and April temperatures would be well below normal for Ohio, I would have never attempted a spring hike.

But, hiking a 1,444 mile trail teaches you important things. One is that you cant hike the Buckeye Trail and not have an adventure. Powerful forces keep the adventure alivethe people , the places , the past history of Ohio, and present -day Ohio. Its a theme I call the Four Ps . Ohio was suddenly new to me. My adventure was a walk through time, an up-close and firsthand encounter with present-day Ohio and Ohioans, and an exciting discovery of Northern hospitality.

The Buckeye Trail has changed in positive ways since 2011. My original blog raised an awareness of ways the trail could be improved. Difficult sections have become more navigable, better maintained, and blazing has improved especially in the Whipple Loop.

I expected that I would learn a lot about Ohio on this state-wide, 1,444 mile walking tour. What I didnt expect was how much I would learn about myself. This book tells a story I hope you enjoy.

Andy Captain Blue Niekamp

Acknowledgments

M any people helped me with this book. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all who read, wrote, revised, offered comments and assisted me in the editing, proofreading and design. I am especially indebted to the following: