The Mound Climber

Last Thursday when I went to Tremont, my goal was to do more than just wander around that interesting Cleveland neighborhood.  I had noticed on Google Maps that a portion of the Towpath Trail passes by Tremont.  The Towpath Trail follows more or less the route of the Ohio-Erie Canal, the 19th century waterway that once connected Lake Erie in the north with the Ohio River in the south.  Eighty five miles of the trail have been completed beginning in Cleveland and going south as far as New Philadelphia.  

I was especially intrigued when I saw on Google Maps a feature by the trail called the Towpath Mounds.  At first I thought they might have been built by the Mound Builders, the ancient Native Americans who built earthworks throughout Ohio and other parts of the country.  "How had I never heard of these mounds before?" I wondered.  But after doing a little research, I discovered that the mounds are recent creation of landscape design.   When soil was being carved from the hillside to make the towpath trail, the dirt had to go somewhere.  It was cheaper to pile the soil into hillocks rather than transport it elsewhere.  So now, beside the trail at the edge of Tremont, there is a range of seven conical mounds planted with native prairie grasses and wildflowers.  I intended to not only see them, but to climb the tallest one.

The mounds were easily found by West 7th Street after it crosses above Interstate 490.

The tallest one looked quite steep and daunting.  There are no steps, just a rough trail up to the top.  As I started to climb, a park worker who was picking up trash, told me that the view was worth the effort.

Eventually I was bent over with my hands on the mound for balance.  At last I made it to the summit, and it did afford a fine view.

To the north I could see the skyline of downtown Cleveland.

Interstate 490 crosses the Cuyahoga River Valley as it heads to the east.

The onion domes of the Russian Orthodox cathedral in Tremont poke above the trees.

To the southwest are more mounds, and beyond them the train tracks and factories of the industrial valley.

The view was nice, but now I faced the challenge of descending the mound.  It was too steep to face forward down the path.  I had to face backwards, steady myself with my hands on the hill, and carefully find footholds on the path.  It seemed like an eternity as I inched my way down.  It was far more scary and difficult than any of the pyramids that I have climbed in Mexico.  At last I made it to the bottom.

Opposite the mound there is a viewing platform from which you can see the last of the valley's steel mills.

I left the mounds behind and continued along that blessedly level segment of the Towpath Trail.

As I continued along the trail back toward where I had parked my car in Tremont, I had more views of downtown Cleveland.

I look forward to walking along more portions of the Towpath Trail... as long as it doesn't involve climbing any more mounds!