Over the course of his life, Upper Arlington resident Tom Logsdon estimates he’s hiked about 7,000 miles.
The Cleveland native started out young. At 7 years old, he was hiking through his city’s old factories, abandoned vineyards and on railroad tracks. Logsdon served in the Vietnam War – an endeavor that demanded a lot of physical and mental strength.
“I’ve been an outdoors person all my life,” Logsdon says. “I’ve been fit my whole life. There are so many ways to be fit.”
Logsdon says he’s never set foot in a gym. Instead, he worked on his home. He dug out a basement by hand.
“I stayed fit by doing things that had purpose,” Logsdon says.
Logsdon moved to Upper Arlington in 1986. In the early 1990s, he started taking hiking seriously. He talked his son into joining the Upper Arlington Boy Scouts, which involved several father-son hiking expeditions. While his son lost interest in hiking, Logsdon stuck with it.
In 2003, he took on the Appalachian Trail. In 2013, he completed the famous 2,650-mile
Pacific Crest trail after tackling it in sections. Next year, he says, he might hike to New York City; his son resides in Brooklyn.
Back at home, he enjoys walking around Upper Arlington in lieu of driving, even in the colder months. Logsdon routinely walks five miles a day in Upper Arlington, but he can usually log about 100 miles a week. He’s also hiked about 60 miles of the 1,444-mile Buckeye Trail, which loops through the state and hits sites such as Hocking Hills and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
He turns to Outdoor Source at the Kingsdale Shopping Center for his hiking equipment. However, when it comes to gear, Logsdon is a minimalist.
“People take too much (on hikes),” Logsdon says. “People want to take so much with them because they want to be comfortable.”
He doesn’t leave home without his boots, he says.
While Logsdon says technology has taken away a lot of the mystery of hiking, he does point out it more or less keeps hikers from getting lost and finding themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
“There are more things you should leave at home than leave with. … It boils down to being
able to use your own two feet and walk. Bring your balance and flexibility,” Logsdon says. “Don’t worry about deadlines. Don’t be texting people. (Hikers) are so connected on the trail. No one pays any attention. Very few people on the trails can tell one tree from another.”
Logsdon has witnessed firsthand not only the physical benefits of hiking, but the mental benefits. He’s spent time hiking with war veterans living with PTSD, and has watched much of their anger fade.
“The thing about nature is that nature will look after you,” Logsdon says. “It doesn’t require anything from you, but people don’t look to nature.”
Looking into the future, Logsdon says he would love to hike El Camino de Santiago in northern Spain, one of the world’s oldest pilgrimage routes, with a group. He’s only ever hiked in the United States and parts of Canada, so trying his hand at Europe could be the next step.
Logsdon also hosts hiking informational sessions at the Upper Arlington Public Library, and is working on a book.
Hannah Bealer is an editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
