Presented by: Roads Rivers & Trails Outfitter in Milford.

 Presentation: Thru Hiking The Buckeye Trail - A 1,400 Mile Journey Around Ohio

This presentation is free and open to the public. Bring a friend!

On March 20th, 2011 Andy "Captain Blue" Niekamp set out on a hiking journey on Ohio's Buckeye Trail. His journey started at Deeds Point in Dayton. The goal of his hike was to hike on the Buckeye Trail for as long as it was fun. Over 1,400 miles and 88 days later Captain Blue returned to Dayton on the Buckeye Trail, the longest circular trail in the nation, after completing the entire Buckeye Trail. Andy is the 6th person to complete a thru hike of  the Buckeye Trail.

His presentation titled "Thru Hiking The Buckeye Trail - A 1,400 Mile Journey Around Ohio" will take you on a foot journey around Ohio. His beautiful photos and narrative will surely inspire you to hike on the Buckeye Trail. Come get acquainted with Ohio's backyard trail. Learn how Andy started his hike not knowing much about the Buckeye Trail or the Association which created and maintains it. Before his hike was over Andy was appointed to the board of directors of the Buckeye Trail Association and became the section supervisor for the Buckeye Trail in Dayton.

Donate to the Buckeye Trail Association and get a "Life Is Better On The Buckeye Trail" t-shirt. Get yours at the presentation tonight! Suggested minimum donation is $10. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar by the $10,000 Matching Grant Challenge. More Info

To read about Captain Blue's journey visit: www.buckeyetrailhiker.com

Press coverage of Captain Blue's hike:

• June 30 - FOX/45 Morning Show interview with Andy.  

• June 22 - iN75 Magazine Article (Piqua & Troy)
• June 19 - Dayton Daily News article
• June 15 - Dayton Daily News pictures
• June 14 - Dayton Most Metro Blog article

Since 1994 Andy "Captain Blue" Niekamp has hiked over 7,400 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT), a continuous footpath that runs through fourteen states from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine. He has been awarded three "2,000 miler" certificates by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which is conferred on hikers who have completed the entire AT. Andy first became interested in backpacking in Boy Scouts, took his first solo hike on the AT in 1989, and since then has hiked the trail in sections end-to-end over three times.

Andy is the founder and leader of the Dayton Hikers group which is Dayton's largest and most active hiking group. The Dayton Hikers group has over 600 members and offers a variety of day hike and backpacking trips. You can learn more about the group at DaytonHikers.Org.

Andy is an avid hiker and backpacker. In 2010 he logged over 1,000 miles of backpacking on 16 different trips in 15 states. In all Andy hiked over 1,600 miles last year. Most of his hiking is solo hiking. Andy is a life member of the Buckeye Trail Association.