OK, so yesterday morning, I wake up at 5:30 - and yes, it was on my own. By 7:15, we had packed the dogs and our gear and were headed to Hocking Hills for a day of hiking and photography. It was sprinkling a little, but we didn't let that stop us. Besides, there were only about 6 cars in the parking area of the entrance to the trails.
We started with the trail leading to Old Man's Cave which takes you immediately by the first of many waterfalls along the way. This place is beautiful. Old Man's Cave sits back under the most unbelievable outcropping. The photo I took makes the people look like minatures! The trail is one they label as "strenuous." I walk a lot, however, parts of this trail kicked my butt but it is so worth the effort! Oh, and remember I said we had the dogs with us...including Mr. Scaredy Dog (a.k.a. Laredo) who is afraid of his own shadow and as it turns out, stairs. Especially open stairs that lead straight up out of the gorge, approximately 80 feet straight up. And yes, poor John carried him! On the other hand, Stetson is trying his hand at being a mountain goat! There were several stops during the day that had me wondering what I would do if he fell (or leaped) over the edge.
They have done such an amazing job trying to camouflage the bridges and walkways so that they blend right into the surroundings. The a-frame bridge over the gorge was a little scary, though, as each time you took a step the boards gave way a litle and parts of the railing and overhead are rotted out. We didn't linger there!
We hiked about 4 hours taking in the scenic beauty and quiet of our surroundings. After a couple of hours, the sun started to come out and everything took on a new look, but still breathtaking. We hiked out of the gorge, took time for a picnic lunch and proceeded down the road to a place called Rock House. We didn't know what it was and had no clue what we were about to stumble into.
We proceeded down another steep hill, around the corner and into the most amazing thing, cave, tunnel that you have ever seen. It sat about 150 high off the forrest floor and was at least as long as a football field. There were several openings in the rocks where you could peer out over the sheer drop-off. Local lore has it that Rock House was a hide-out for criminals and there are many inscriptions in the rocks, some with dates in the 1800's.
We planned to stop at Cantwell Cliffs next. And we did stop, but I was just too exhausted for another hike. We'll save that for another day.
So we've decided...weather and schedule permitting, we're going to pick someplace new each week and hike it. There are so many places close to home that we haven't explored and why not do it while we still can! I wish we'd done this when our kids were younger. I just hope that they will continue to love nature the way we do and we plan to pass that love onto our grandchild too.
Enjoy what God has given us and treat it with respect.
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