Hiking with Azmia

May 2015

 

 

 

We found ourselves in the Cleveland, OH area to visit family, some from as far away as Kenya. This was our first time meeting Stam and our great niece, Azmia. We had a few free hours and went to a nearby trail for a 1.5 mile hike through some freshly green forest. We had a great visit and maybe next time we can visit and hike/climb something (Kili?) in Kenya!

 

(Many more pictures can be found here)

Riding Run Trail

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Riding Run Trail
November 25, 2011

Distance: 4 miles

Elevation Change: 260 feet

We had the opportunity to take a pushike (me pushing Kellisa while hiking) in Cuyahoga Valley National Park the day after Thanksgiving. According to a Trail Guidebook, the Riding Run Trail has "several steep climbs and about two miles of wide, graveled path". Based on that description, I thought it would be a perfect path to push Kellisa along in her Independence Special Needs Jog Stroller. In my excitement, I did not realize that ONLY 2 of the 4 miles were along a graveled path. The guidebook did not mention the condition of the other 2 miles. It was a good thing, because we might not have ventured out on the Riding Run Trail and a great experience would have been missed.

The trail starts out wide and graveled:

and narrows as soon as we start to gain some of the 260 feet:

It's hard to tell, but half the trail is mud between 6 and 10 inches deep:

Leveling out for a scenic ridgeline walk:

The decent:

A small stream crossing near the end of the trail:

The home stretch:

The entire hiking party:

Back Row: Jim-Diane-Bob-Chris

Front Row Cousins: Jackie-Kellisa-Jen

Trail Map:

 

1,000 thank yous to the hike photographer: Jen!



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Campbell Hill

Kellisa's 4th State Highpoint:

Campbell Hill, Ohio

1,547ft.

May 2006

Campbell Hill was our second Highpoint of the day after stopping at Hoosier Hill in neighboring Indiana. It was another easy summit with a drive-up and short walk along a sidewalk. We were in Ohio to celebrate Kellisa's Uncle Jim's 50th Birthday Party:

 Our gift: Older than Dirt t-shirt

Kellisa enjoying the party in the above two pictures. Kellisa has short hair because she had her head shaved for a shunt revision surgery 6 months earlier in December 2005. Kellisa had a shunt for 2 1/2 years without any issues before she started having some swelling behind her ear over the shunt's tubing. In October 2005, Kellisa had surgery to replace just the tubing. As she healed from the surgery, the swelling returned. In November 2005, the neurosurgeon replaced the tubing a second time. Since the swelling continued for no apparent reason, the doctor decided to remove the shunt and change the location of the new shunt and tubing with a surgery in December 2005. Because the shunt was moved to an area just above her forehead with the tube running along her hairline, back around the left ear and down the neck to the stomach, the doctor had to shave her entire head.

Kellisa had another Bilateral VDRO surgery in January 2006. It would be her 4th surgery in as many months and 19th to date. It was another 6 weeks of constant pain and suffering during the recovery period. You would never know it from Kellisa's face just a couple of months later.