From U.S. mountain ranges to the icy terrain of Antarctica, there’s always a story to be told by northwest Ohio’s adventurers.

"With all the ways to travel vicariously today, and with social media, it's kind of a throwback to come and hear somebody speak in person,” said Scott Carpenter, a spokesman for Metroparks Toledo.

Every Saturday through March 30, Metroparks Toledo is partnering with the local travel club Maumee Valley Adventurers to host a presentation as part of its decades-long Travel Circle Series. The series brings in area travelers who have visited places across the country and abroad — and through all means, be it backpacking or biking, a cruise, tour group, or even living in a town long enough to experience life as a local.

Saturday’s presenter is Findlay-based photographer Ben Ayling, who will share stories of his many visits to the Great Smoky Mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border — through a photographer’s lens.

Ayling, a retired choral conductor from Ohio Northern University who only began photography in 2017, plans to share photos covering “everything from fog-filled valleys, to babbling brooks and streams with lush green moss over rocks,” he said.

“I'm putting the talk together so that it's informative for someone who has never been [to the mountains] before,” Ayling said, “[and] hopefully informative for someone who's been there before but hasn't necessarily looked at them through this angle.”

Ayling launched this month Nature Photo Workshops, along with his friend Tom Yackley, which will lead photography workshops through National Parks. Two four-day trips to the Great Smoky Mountains are scheduled for May and October. More information is at naturephotoworkshops.com.

The well-traveled photographer has also visited places like Africa, Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, and Russia.

There will be an optional hike at 1 p.m., followed by the talk beginning at 2 p.m. in the Ward Pavilion at Wildwood Preserve Metropark, located at 4830 Central Ave., Toledo.

Talks generally alternate between Wildwood and Oak Openings Preserve Metropark each week. A complete schedule of programming is available at metroparkstoledo.com.

Tim Schetter, chief natural resources officer for Metroparks Toledo, presented last week on his five-month, 2,600-mile trek up the Continental Divide Trail, from Mexico to Canada, through the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. Nearly 150 attendees overflowed into the hallway of the lodge at Oak Openings, the Metroparks’ largest gathering venue.

He’s backpacked more than 5,000 miles over the last 20 years, and hopes to tackle the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail — which would complete the Triple Crown of hiking — while he still can.

Schetter shared photos on Saturday of the wildlife, terrain, scenery, and weather he encountered, the food he “pigged out” on when going into town, and loved ones who came to meet him at various points along his primarily solitary journey. Some of his backpacking gear was set up for attendees to look at.

He didn’t hold back from sharing the harsh realities of such a journey, but focused on the lessons he took away and continues to process since his September return to life, work, and crowds.

“It was exhilarating, I was physically so exhausted, I was extremely hungry, and I really missed friends and family. I just wanted to go home,” he said of reaching the end of the trail, noting he understands the Forrest Gump scene where the titular character stops running and decides he’s ready to go home.

“If there was anything that I learned from this entire five-month journey it is just how important people are in my life,” Schetter said in his talk. “I sought this experience because I wanted the premier experience in wilderness, solitude, and nature. And I got that, there's no question, but it was really the people that made this hike for me.”

Into next month, on Feb. 3, Cara Douglas and Travel Circle organizer Anthony DiVitto will present on Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks; on Feb. 10, Mike and Julia Walsh will present on a South African safari; on Feb. 17, Barbara Laird will present on China’s Hainan Island; and on Feb. 24, Michael McGivern will present on visits to South Africa and Antarctica.

First Published January 25, 2024, 12:10 p.m.