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Published: April 27th 2005
"See as much of the world as you can just for the fun of it." -- Pam Flowers
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Hocking Hills State Park Old Man Cave Cedar Falls Ash Cave Conkles Hollow Rock House Cantwell Cliffs Cantwell Cliffs April 19, 2005.
As we drove west, Hocking Hills, Ohio was our destination. The drive was about three and a half hours from Pittsburgh. We stopped in Lancaster, Ohio for lunch at “Four Reasons”,( they had four kids in collage) a neat little place with wonderful choices and a bakery.
Massive sandstone outcroppings, deep cool gorges, towering hemlocks and glistening waterfalls characterize the Hocking region. The area known as Hocking Hills State Park consists of six separate sections encompassing 2,000 acres. They are:
Old Man’s Cave
Cedar Falls
Ash Cave
Conkles Hollow
Rock House
Cantwell Cliffs We registered and got our cabin assignment, #36. Since check-in time was not until 4PM, we began a hike to Old Man’s Cave.
Old Man’s Cave derives its name from the hermit, Richard Rowe, who lived in the large recess cave of the gorge. As we began walking down
Falls
Falls at Old Man's Cave.the trail to the gorge, I couldn’t help notice how well developed the area is, even steps carved out of huge slabs of rock. Ohio has put a lot on money in this place, and it is a very popular spot for visitors. Hikes found along the valley of the Old Man’s Cave include the Upper Falls, Upper Gorge, Middle Falls, Lower Falls, and Lower Gorge. We managed to do it all! In about 2 hours Carved by the creek, the gorge serves as an avenue for visitors to peer into the earths subsurface The day was sunny and warm, and the falls were lovely. Alan, Bob and I hiked and enjoyed the magnificent natural scenery.
We found our cabin and began to settle in. It is quite nice-- full kitchen, with microwave, two bedrooms, living room with TV, bath/shower, and screened in porch. The Lodge does offer a reasonably priced buffet style meal. We opted for a nice meal at the cabin then watched the news as a new Pope was chosen?
April 20, 2005
Up early, we had our leader, Mr. Bob, moving us along to Cedar Falls. The trail leading to Cedar Falls
Old Mans Cave
It is believed the "old man" is buried here. passes through the most austere area of Hocking Hills. This remote chasm is laden with hemlock and bound by steep rock walls, grottos and waterfalls. The early settlers mistook the stately hemlock for cedars and misnamed it! It is a spectacularly beautiful place. We spotted trillium, violets, and trout lily; Ohio’s wildflowers bloom a bit earlier than Pennsylvania. The walk to Cedar Falls is not long, maybe half a mile each way. So we regrouped and found the trailhead for Ash Cave.
The trail to
Ash Cave is two miles with some hills and climbing. The steps that lead down to the valley floor, offered a brilliant displays of more wildflowers. The trail opens up to a gorge with a tremendous overhanging ledge and cave shelter. We hiked down to the massive horseshoe shaped cave. A small tributary cascades over the rim into a small pool below. I imagined on a hot day, this would be a refreshing shower spot! There is access to Ash Cave by way of a short drive, but we chose the hike.
We made a brief stop at the Visitor’s Center and then on to the cabin for lunch. The next walk is to Conkles
Hollow This is a state nature preserve and the trail is wheelchair accessible. Vertical cliffs rising high above the mouth of the gorge surround the trail leading up the narrow half-mile long ravine. It was pleasant hike but too many visitors; cement is not my favorite surface for walking, however, at the end of the trail was yet another waterfall.
Our last stop today, was
Rock House Rock House is unique, as it is the only true cave in the park. It is a tunnel-like corridor situated midway up a 150-foot cliff of Blackhand sandstone. This was a good climbing hike. This cavern was eroded out in the middle, leaving the upper and lower zones to form the ceiling and floor, almost church-like. Beautiful color patterns on the wall display shades of orange, brown, and red. Speaking of color, Rock House has a colorful past. Robbers, horse thieves, murders and bootleggers earned Rock House its reputation as “Robbers Roost”. It certainly is a remote area and would provide a nice hiding place.
On our way back to the cabin, we stopped at Grandma Fayes for some supplies. “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Yes we earned
the right to sit back with an ice cream.
We enjoyed a relaxing shower and another pleasant meal. Then Alan tried to teach us to play Bridge. It was fun but I think I have a lot of dead (memory) brain cells. This game requires skill in bidding, teamwork, and a good memory. It has been a full day.
April 21, 2005
Cantwell Cliffs is on the agenda for today, before we drive back to Pittsburgh. We had a light breakfast and packed up the car, before driving to the trailhead. Last night we had a front come through and the weather has turned cooler. Cantwell Cliffs is in a remote location and this discourages visitors. Yeah! The trails were more challenging, less maintained and in my opinion more picturesque. Erosion accounts for the deep valley, steep cliffs and rock shelters at Cantwell. During our hike we saw no sign of other hikers. We followed the trail to the valley floor and of course had to climb back up to the rim. There we were rewarded with a commanding view at Lookout Point. I think this was my favorite place in Hocking Hills!
On our way back to
Pittsburgh we stopped in Lancaster for a great breakfast sandwich at the Four Reasons. We stopped outside Wheeling at Cabelas to visit this huge sporting good store. Next spring, we hope to have a larger group join us when we return to Hocking Hills.
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