Hocking Hills Cabins @ Frontier Log Cabins

After sending her daughter to college, Fran Reisner, the author of the book ,”The Dogs of Central Park,” embarked on her new life RV-ing across the country with her canine companions, Jazzie and Sadie. At every opportunity, her 20-year-old daughter is on a plane to meet up with Fran and the dogs. Fran is blogging about her adventure and this post, along with many more photos, first appeared here.  More about the Hocking Hills Guest Blogger Program can be found here.

To Ohio’s Hocking Hills

For my recent trip, I had my sights set on the Hocking Hills of Ohio.  My destination was Hocking Hills State Park. The afternoon I was researching this park as a possible destination my friend Tony Courter, after reading that Ohio was coming up on my route, chimed in suggesting the very same place. Tony has never lead me wrong with his recommendations, which sealed it for me. I have to admit that, even after reading about it, Hocking Hills was one of the most unexpected surprises I’ve come upon during my journey. I’ve always thought of Ohio as a “plains state”, and did not anticipate the varying elevation, the dense foliage and the sheer rock cliffs to quite this magnitude. [Note- the one drawback for me was being completely off-grid, with no cell service and therefore no wifi either. Connection continues to be a big obstacle since not only my writing and communications, but also my planning is completely reliant on it.]
After settling into our campsite I took the dogs on the 15 minute drive into the nearest town for a quick “log on” and some groceries. On our way back we did two short hikes, first to Lower Cedar Falls, and then to Ash Cave.

Lower Cedar Falls

ash cave

waterfall spilling over Ash Cave

The following morning we headed out early to enjoy the most popular destination in the park, Old Man’s Cave, before the masses rolled out of their beds/sleeping bags. The story goes that this place got its name because a 19th century hermit made the cave his home. Read more about that at the link provided! If the story is true, I hope the old man found a sense of peace here. I surely did!

Bridge at Old Man’s Cave

Old Man’s Cave

Tree Roots and Old Man’s Cave

Bridge over creek at Old Man’s Cave

waterfall under Old Man’s Cave

After our hike at Old Man’s Cave we hopped in the car and drove up the road to hike at Conkles Hollow. After parking, filling water bottles, reorganizing my gear (which becomes a bit disheveled as I’m swapping out lenses and such) and leashing up the girls, we walked down the road to the trailhead only to find a sign stating that dogs were not allowed on the trails. Conkles Hollow is a State Nature Preserve, as opposed to part of the State Park, and I had not seen their literature so was completely unaware.
Thinking that fate may have been in play, I took the girls back to the motorhome, grabbed my laptop and notepads, and headed back into town in search of a restaurant with free wifi. Over a bowl of soup I worked much of the afternoon away… bill paying, responding to the pile up of “marked unread” email, researching, making route and camping plans, and looking for a convenient place near my route to take my motorhome for some tech work on a slide-out (which, at writing weeks later, is STILL not fixed. I’ll refrain from that frustrating story.)
After stopping to walk the dogs in the campground I headed back out to Conkles Hollow. First I set out on the 3 miles long Rim Trail, which almost completely encircles the gorge from nearly 200 feet above. Much of this trail is only steps away from the edge of the rim, so I was extremely glad that I did not have Jazzy and Sadie along with me! I would not even take a small child on this trail, and for that matter I would not take ANY child without some form of harness system. This is not a hike for anyone who is uncomfortable with heights, but for me it was a fun hike with a breathtaking view.

View from Conkles Hollow Rim Trail

Looking down into Conkles Hollow from Rim Trail

The gorge floor on the other hand, is an easy one-mile walk, and wheelchair accessible all the way to the end. Although I encountered 6 or 7 other people while hiking these two trails, I hiked completely on my own. I wish I knew how to adequately describe my impression of this gorge. It was dense with foliage, most prominently trees and large fern, with plenty of moss and lichen growing on the trees and rocks. The entire trail meandered beside, and at times across, a creek that was flowing with the run-off from recent hard rains. On both sides of the trail the hills, created by years of rock giving way from the walls above, jutted quickly to the sheer walls that form the gorge. The impression on me was prehistoric… I half expected to see dinosaur darting amongst the foliage, or flying between me and the treetops. It didn’t feel creepy or frightening to me at all, so although some of the dinosaur I envisioned were big enough to shake the earth, none of them were menacing in the least!
One other thing I noticed was the extreme change in temperature between the trail above (even in the shade) and the shaded gorge trail below. If I had to guess I’d say the difference was at least 20 degrees. This is a great trail and I love that it can be enjoyed by everyone!

Leaves of spring in Conkles Hollow gorge

Lush green gorge of Conkles Hollow

I finished my hikes at Conkles Hollow with enough time to spare for the Rock House hike a bit farther up the road. The trail leading to the rock cave was slightly less dense with foliage than some of the others, with rock walls leading the way. The cave itself is very spacious, with a couple of easily accessed “doorways” to climb through. The other openings provided sheer drop, watch that first step, type views of the surrounding cliff sides. Understandably the parents of several small children, who were testing the unusual acoustics with deafening screams, were busily herding their little flocks away from those openings.

Tree on the trail to Rock House

Rock House Trail

Rock House

The following morning I took Jazzy and Sadie on one more hike back out Old Man’s Cave trail, this time taking in Lower Falls as well.

hiking with the girls

And is if to wish us farewell, the sun shone through the trees in a magical way as we finished our last hike in Hocking Hills.

Photos: Fran Reisner

About the Guest Blogger:

Fran Reisner, an international award-winning photographer, has a passion for capturing the beauty of this world in her images. After earning her BA degree in commercial photography from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., Fran operated a successful photography business in the San Francisco Bay area for a number of years. When life took her to Texas in 1997, she reestablished herself in what would become a highly acclaimed portrait and wedding studio in the Dallas area.
After sending her daughter to college, the author of the book,”The Dogs of Central Park,” embarked on her new life RV-ing across the country with her canine companions, Jazzie and Sadie. At every opportunity, her 20-year-old daughter is on a plane to meet up with Fran and the dogs.

• Guest Blog Post: A Trip to Old Man’s Cave and Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills