A Questionable Use Of Ohio Bikeways

My annual trip to ride the Little Miami Trail provided a bit of a surprise for me this year [2002]. I stumbled onto a trail activity I'd never seen. Here's the full story...

For those who ride Ohio trails regularly, it's not unusual to come upon a trail maintenance vehicle or work crew. State or county construction crews are also a common sight where trails pass under bridges or nearby road construction. The same applies to utility crews that use trail corridors to maintain their pipe lines or cables. In short, experienced trail users are familiar with those that use Ohio trails for purposes other than recreation.

I, like most people, understand the necessary work that these various crews provide -- much of which is of direct benefit to the trail itself -- and don't see them as any type of inconvenience or bother. But on our ride north of Loveland along the Little Miami this year, we came upon something quite different.

As we rode toward a vehicle parked on the trail, I slowed expecting the usual maintenance or construction project. As we drew closer I noticed someone in uniform leaning into the cab of a truck. Realizing this was not the type of maintenance encounter I was accustomed to, I approached more slowly.

It appeared to be a ranger. Ranger on the trail, hmmm... Could someone be hurt? Are we approaching an accident scene? As we came upon the truck the woman in uniform made no move to warn or stop us from riding through. Ok, there must not be any gruesome accident here, I thought. Nothing potentially dangerous or the trail would surely be blocked off.

As we passed slowly by I carefully watched the ranger, still leaning into her pickup truck. I had some concern because her brand new (or practically new) full size pickup was taking up half the width of the trail. And with her door wide open, there remained only a small strip of asphalt trail for us to navigate by her. I watched closely in case she made a sudden move or pulled a long object out of the truck and into our path.

We passed slowly and safely. As we made our way by the truck there appeared to be nothing unusual on the trail here. No accident scene. No downed tree branches. Nothing but wide open trail.

I puzzled over this as we resumed our speed and rode on. What was that all about? I'd never seen a vehicle on a trail for no apparent purpose. Then I realized that I didn't have the opportunity to look at the side of the truck for an insignia to confirm that it was in fact a ranger we'd passed.

I soon forgot about the encounter as we made our way further north along the Little Miami. We would venture out another 10 or 12 miles before retracing our steps and returning to our car.

On the return ride we came upon the ranger again in roughly the same area. This time she was standing on the edge of the trail looking down at the river with binoculars. As we passed the truck I looked to see Watercraft Patrol on the door. Watercraft patrol? Since the watercraft were on the river at the bottom of the valley and she remained above the river hidden by the trees, it was obvious that she was spying on the canoers below.

A ranger spying on canoers is nothing new. But using a recreational trail for such purposes is a new one, at least in my book. We had a write up in our local newspaper a number of years ago that described rangers hiding in trees looking for canoers to tip a beer can on the rivers in Mohican Country. It's an interesting use of taxpayer money. After all, our cities are still dealing with crack houses and real criminals. Don't get me wrong. A crime is a crime. Jay walking is also against the law. But I don't see cops or cameras being designated to target that activity.

Our law enforcement system is typically a reactionary one. That is, when a problem becomes too widespread we decide it's time to do something about it. When the highway fatality rate climbs, we decide to lower speed limits and require seatbelts be worn. When terrorism strikes us at home, we decide on tougher restrictions and more manpower and laws to combat it.

But in this case, for some reason, we're trying to be proactive with law enforcement against recreational canoers. Why be proactive in this case? Is the canoe crowd getting out of hand? I'm suggesting it's a proactive approach, however, since I haven't read a thing about the growing number of alcohol-related deaths along Ohio rivers due to drunken canoers. Or about canoers pillaging campgrounds along the river. I'm sure the newspapers would enjoy printing such stories... if they existed. (Since I don't live in the Miami Valley area, I realize there may be serious problems along the river. If you know of actual canoe atrocities, please email me.)

There are probably a number of reasons why canoers are targeted by law enforcement. For one thing, it's easier than raiding a crack house. Safer too. And how many canoers are packing heat? Heck, if I was in law enforcement I'd volunteer to be on the canoe busting brigade.

I understand that using the trail for these purposes makes the rangers' job easier. They don't have to stumble through thick brush and briars to find a hiding place. And they don't have to sit there on hot days and stink up their uniform while they wait for dangerous offenders to float by. On the trail they can simply walk over to their trucks and open their coolers.

But before I get off my soap box, let me mention an interesting footnote. When we passed the officer we also noticed a helicopter buzzing above the river valley in that same spot. We had discussed the possibility of a river rescue or some other accident that might call for air assistance, but we hadn't yet realized that the copter and watercraft officer could be working together. Later we would realize that we saw both copter and ranger in the same area on both occasions.

Valleys are like echo chambers and any shouts or noises from a rescue could easily be heard if you are in the immediate area, which we were. We saw no rescue/emergency personnel and heard no commotion (other than happy canoers) along the river. In view of that, I would have to say that there is a strong possibility that the chopper and its passengers were also on the payroll for this noble, canoe-busting activity. Seems a bit expensive, doesn't it?

I wonder if the folks who funded, built and maintain the Little Miami Trail realize their work is being used for this activity. If so, they would certainly want to amend their Trail Use Guidelines --

1) Users are to pull off the trail when stopping to avoid blocking the trail -- unless you are a Ranger spying on canoers.

And finally, I must say that I did get some pleasure from the fact that when we made our final pass by the ranger a small crowd had gathered to watch the ranger watch the canoers. I was amused by this and realized that the onlookers might draw attention from the canoers on the river below. I smiled as we rode by the gathering crowd. I noticed a smile on the ranger's face as well.