A unusually cool and dry Ohio weekend in late June '04 provided for a great opportunity to backpack the south loop of Zaleski State Forest and see some surrounding sites. Zaleski S.F. is in hilly southeast Ohio and spreads out over some 28,000 acres of forested hills. The thick forest hides many remnants of a once bustling coal mining industry that used to occupy many of these remote valleys and hollows.

The 10 mile south loop of the overall 24 miles of backpack trails provides for an excellent overnight hike to some of the more remote and scenic parts of the forest. Most of the pictures here were taken along the trail with the balance taken at sites in and around the state forest.