Since this hike was all-road, we thought to pick a cloudy day with less sun for our jaunt (sounds like a strange idea for NEO). Got a nice surprise when we arrived at the church parking lot to begin our day- turns out there were other BT hikers using the same launch point! Unfortunately Heather and Andy were heading south and we were heading north- we chatted a bit and all got on our way. I can’t remember in all our hikes EVER running into fellow BT hikers at a parking spot, but it was a nice way to start the day! We all had some reservations about another all road hike, but once again we were surprised by how pleasant it was on sparsely traveled scenic back roads. The first leg out of Mantua was best, as it skirted around a nature preserve. On Peck road we encountered lots of friendly farm animals- cows, donkeys and horses. They were all very interested in us, but the cows were sooo friendly that they came over and followed us along the road for a bit until they had to stop at a small gulch. The rest of the hike was uneventful but nice, except for the constant drone of lawn mowers- brought back memories of how I spent my Saturdays as a kid…would rather be hiking! As we were beginning to feel this hike in our bones, we were surprised to be finished. Remarkably, as we pulled out of the parking lot to leave, Heather and Andy were pulling in- hope they also had a great day like us!
