This is an officially designated trail located in Zaleski State Forest, Zaleski, Ohio. ~48km.
The route follows the Zaleski Backpack trail from point A (on the official park map), through all three loops with minimal repetition, back to point A. The only section the route does not use is the "Connector Trail" from point Y to K.
Starting at point A (Hope Schoolhouse) the route runs north, intersecting the south loop at point B, then runs counterclockwise to point K. The route then turns north, from K to N, where it runs east, to the camp site at point P. Continuing counterclockwise, the route follows the north loop, coming back to P, and then again to N. From there, the route crosses SR 278 and follows the west loop to X, passing by the Hope/Iron Furnace. Finally, the route follows the backpack trail from X (parking lot) to Y, then heads east to B, and finally, returns to the start at point A.
Official park map: http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/forestry/PDFs/SF/zaleski_backpack.pdf
- Submitted by Samuel Hartman
Comments
I have a clarifying question regarding this FKT. The Zaleski State Forest land was acquired in the 1920's and the Backpack Trail was constructed in the 1960's and 70's, using the original trailhead just off of Rt. 278 adjacent from the old Hope Furnace. It wasn't until 2016 that a new trailhead was established at the old Hope Schoolhouse, with a completely new trail built to access the backpack trail.... the forest manager told me they changed the location of the trailhead to the schoolhouse to provide a larger parking lot for backpackers. It looks like Sam chose this new trailhead as his FKT route, and he looks to be the person that created the FKT on this website.
From a FKT standpoint, I feel that because this trail is over 50 years old, the "original" trailhead should be used for FKT purposes. I'd love to hear other people's opinions on this. I think FKT's should uphold some level of history of an area, especially an old CCC built backpack trail such as this, as the original infrastructure from the 70's still exists (all trails are the same). The only thing this would eliminate from this posted FKT by Sam is the out and back section from the new trailhead, and it would shorten the route by about 3.4 miles.Â
Maybe since Sam was the first to post this FKT he established the route, but I'd be interested in knowing what a proper "FKT etiquette" would be here. I completed the entire 26.5 Mile Zaleski Backpack Trail from the "original" trailhead in 2015 in a time of 4:21, over a year and a half before the new trailhead and out and back trail was built. I just didn't think about logging it as an FKT because it was part of a 31 mile run in total and I wasn't necessarily aiming for a FKT. Maybe I should have submitted the route in 2015! Anyways, I'm not sure Sam will see this or if anyone will see this but I thought it was a worthy discussion about FKTs.    Â
Hi Michael,
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I agree with you that the addition of point A is new and not in the "original" trail, however, since it was worthy enough for ODNR to include in their official map, and label, it seemed the most logical starting place to start the FKT. In terms of the submission, I followed the guidelines from the FKT site: "The route is notable and distinct enough so that others will be interested in repeating it." In my opinion, the title "Zaleski Backpack Trail" would include all trails in the park. I felt the most logical format was to start at A and proceed alphabetically, as it seemed ODNR had that route in mind when they labeled the trailheads. Given that the majority of the trails are loops, it also felt logical to treat the entire trail as one "big" loop, comprised of three smaller loops, with the gateway to them being the one that section that is an out-and-back, A to B.
I know there are much faster runners out there, like yourself, who could easily go out and set a new FKT on this route. Given that Zaleski had not been submitted yet, I was happy to upload and claim the FKT for the time being. I am sure the record will fall before the year ends.
Samuel