X marks the spot!

 Well, a pin actually.

Scioto Audubon Metro Park, 2016

A strange thing happened recently, when I found myself in the possession of some treasure maps. Treasure, that is, if you're fond of the old axiom "One man's trash..."

We're just into March 2016, and I've recently completed the Columbus Metro Parks Winter Hike series. Twelve cold-weather excursions scheduled in the first eight weeks of the year. If you finish more than half, they give you a patch.

In the four years that I've participated, I've clocked well over 100 miles. Due to a lost phone last summer (in a completely unrelated incident) the only comprehensive records to survive are from this year. I found some things.

Slate Run 2015

I used Google's free app My Tracks to record my wanderings during the Winter Hike season. Some of the maps I created reveal the location of farm dumps that are decades old, rusted machinery and other items left to rot off in the woods. Other maps show just how little of an area I really covered. There could be more to find!

-[Google is no longer supporting development of My Tracks, so don't go looking for their version. It's slated for deletion some time in April 2016.]-

The Booty

Big 16 found at Prairie Oaks

If you're into old glass, rusty bicycles and bed springs and everythings, Indiana Jones, or just wading through thorns, you might just find a treasure or two. (and clean up the park while you're at it). Certain parks are an indescribable mess in some areas.

Not everything can be spirited away in a backpack, however. Some of these artifacts are in it for the long haul. Here's a snippet from Glacier Ridge, filmed over the last two years.

I'm not sure if every park is hiding something. And it didn't occur to me to keep track of the ones that I had spotted until late in the season. Only a couple of the maps actually have exact locations noted, so I'm going to keep digging. Feel free to join me.

ps. Always talk to your park ranger, as removing certain items from the park is a crime.