Today’s hike of 8.5 miles was between Bedford and Solon, in the Bedford Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. It was about half and half, bridle path and single-track with hills. The bridle path was muddy, the kind of squishy muddy that you have to be careful on.
The single-track was especially challenging because everything was covered in leaves, such that it was difficult to see where the trail was. I found myself spotting a marker and hiking to it, then stopping to look for the next marker, which makes for slow going. There also were quite a number of places where fallen trees and branches blocked the path and I had to work around them.
It was interesting seeing Shadow Lake, near Richmond Road in Solon, and the views of Tinker’s Creek were beautiful. I also had to take a picture of the fallen tree with the blue blaze marking the trail on it. Fortunately, I was almost finished at that point.