Hocking Hills Hysteria '09

“After a long winter of having no color I'm planning on a great weekend of nice green ferns, green cedars, pines and moss. While this would be classified as a "get together" because there isn't backpacking here there are miles upon miles of trail to hike.

The plan is to get one of the groups camp sites and everyone can come when they like. I plan on being there Friday and leave Sunday morning.

Hiking options are at everyone's own discretion. A long day hike from the upper falls all the way down to Ash Cave is about a 10-12 mile hike and offers the most sites to see (upper falls, Devils Bathtub, Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave). There are other natural areas in the Hocking Hills area to see if you want to split up your hiking into a few different areas. Conckle's Hollow is a must see.

Hocking Hills State Park

All state parks in the area.

Inside Rock House

Upper Falls

Cedar Falls

Ash Cave

Conkles Hollow

Complete Hocking Hills Photobucket Album”

“i'm there, dude. unless im not”

“me too...until I bail”

“I'm in, especially since it's only an hour from where I live. Now to decide on whether to bring the tent or the camper ;-) I concur on Conkle's Hollow, best part of the park besides the falls.”

“Now to decide on whether to bring the tent or the camper ;-)

Just think of 15 TTers taking over and drinking/sleeping in your camper. I think we both know the answer. Besides, I'll tell Fridge on ya. LOL!

And try not to break anything before this trip Dub.”

“I'm down as a maybe. Gotta find babysitters and all that jazz. But I want to be there. Will change status closer to the trip.”

“I was thinking we could make this a kid friendly hike Sass (despite my comment about drinking TTers to Dub). I picked late March because it shouldn't be too cold. Unless of course you want an adult weekend which is great too.

Hocking Hills gets quite a bit of people there in the season and being close to Athens and The Ohio University the rangers don't tolerate too much partying so we have to be on the down low for this one.”

“do my eyes deceive me, is nigal planning a mobfest?...this is the weekend of my b-day so it all depends on if my fam plans something”

“I generally don't plan trips simply because I refuse to organize an irresponsible mobfest but because we will be in a group site I have no problem with it.”

“I don't know Nige... I'll see, but usually it's not so much fun unless there are other kids around. Plus a nice 10-12 mile hike wouldn't be possible. Shes probably good for 5-7 tops. And there would be whining @ the 7 seven end.”

“This place was listed as a weekend trip in this months NG Adventure.”

“It is SO unOhio. I'm hoping there won't be too many people there that weekend.”

“The article mentioned some huge winter festival held there every year.”

“The camper will sleep 10 people and it's heated...not to mention the toilet...so depending on the number that sign up we could have a TT camper takeover, it's what I bought the thing for, hiking basecamp. If I come alone I'll tent if the wife comes she will make me bring it.”

“

Dub after all the TT'ers use his pottie.
last edited: 12/29/08 2:17:30 PM”

“The group sites are tent only aren't they?”

“Those little pocket wilderness areas around Hocking Hills are worth seeing - again, so I signed up as a maybe until I see about getting some more time off work. Plus this trip ties in well with other plans I already have the following weekend (hence the "more time off" request needed).

And, Sass has it right about tents only in the group sites.”

“Last time I was there I was in site 161, I could move the camper on down to site 24 or 71 which is really close to the group area. Of course if it's still snowy at this time which usually it isn't, no way I'm trying to pull a camper up that monster hill to get the campsites. But I'll probably only bring it if the wife is coming which means the baby is coming, so if anyone else is bringing small kids feel free to stay with us...running water, a pottie, and heat are great things to help with the little ones.”

“mapquest is telling me that my fuel costs for this trip would be $29.80.
that's for 1232km.
WTF??”

“ I refuse to organize an irresponsible mobfest

the thing is about tt trips (at least the ones ive been on) is that even the huge mobfests have never been irresponsible. we've always cleaned up after ourselves (often leaving a site in better condition than what we found it in), camped on durable surfaces, practiced lnt in all aspects including campfires (sometimes going without one) and noise considerations etc”

“Helinka, I'd be glad to ride share if it's just you. Couldn't fit the kids too though. This place is really lovely, worth the trip. Let me know if you are going to bring the boys, please. Will help w/ my choice for or against a babysitter.

Cow Patty, ditto above!”

“the thing is about tt trips (at least the ones ive been on) is that even the huge mobfests have never been irresponsible. we've always cleaned up after ourselves (often leaving a site in better condition than what we found it in), camped on durable surfaces, practiced lnt in all aspects including campfires (sometimes going without one) and noise considerations etc

It's really all about personal perception and preferences. IMHO, again, IMHO anything in the back country should be limited to 10 and that's on the high side. I personally consider anything over 10 to be irresponsible and avoid groups bigger than 10. Just MHO and it doesn't make me better than anyone else or anything.”

“Dub you do realize that if you bring a 30' camper to a TT outing there can be no mercy and we will see a level of ball busting we have yet not attained on TT, right? LOL!”

“I personally consider anything over 10 to be irresponsible

in general, i agree.

the point of the 10-or-less "rule" or guideline is that larger groups make larger impacts. and i believe that even the really big tt groups follow the spirit of the law (create a smaller impact on the environment) much better than some groups several times smaller”

“Sass--i was down there a few years ago -one of nigal's trips i think?-...i thought then that kids would love it. not sure how to keep them outta the water tho.

that weekend happens to be the end of march break up here...do i really want to spend 6 hours crammed into a little car after a whole week of no school???”

“hmmm, if this turns into a kids trip maybe we could use dubs camper to "hold" all the kids”

“Why do you need a camper to hold kids? Ductape works fine.”

“I'm scheduled to be in lower MI the previous weekend but Tarabull and I might be able to change up a few things.”

“As if a camper could hold them!”

“Or ducktape for that matter. I'm hoping to make this trip!”

“Or ducktape for that matter. I'm hoping to make this trip!”

“I am down as a maybe. I don't have my new schedule at work yet so don't know what I am doing those 3 days yet. But I would come alone so there is room in the car if I am able to go.”

““Dub you do realize that if you bring a 30' camper to a TT outing there can be no mercy and we will see a level of ball busting we have yet not attained on TT, right? LOL!”
Nigal
5:42:26 AM
12/30/08

Haha, I can only imagine but that won't stop me from enjoying a nice sleep in my queen sized bed in a heated camper with a bathroom and fridge ;-) Cleanup is a cinch...roll in the electric awning, hook to truck and go!”

“http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/52755,3.php

:-P”

“I'm gonna sneak into Dubs heated bathroom and drop a deuce so big he'll have to take it in to have it serviced.”

“LMAO! I just spit tea on the keyboard, dammit.”

“I'm in, subject to about 100 possible reasons why things might not work out... but, trying to be positive, yes, I want to go on this hike!”

“hey goofyhiker we should carpool!”

“Crash, Golf, count me in on the car pooling if possible.”

“Hey now, nothing is funny about the deadly poop pyramid that we RVers suffer sometimes...it's really a #&%!$ty situation”

“Crash & Windi.... carpooling is a great idea. We can work out details as we get closer. Happy New Year!!!”

“Sounds like fun, and it's the weekend after my birthday... :-) I'm down as a maybe with Thinkbubelz... It will depend upon whether his band has a gig that weekend... Will let everyone know closer to the date. :-)”

“Here's my tent and equipment I'll be bringing.

My tent and my tent transport vehicle.


Tent door to the back of the tent.


My thermarest and a 0 degree cotton sleeping blanket.


Three spare thermarests and sleeping bags, the fourth one is hidden.


Back of the small tent looking forward

Note, I thought about leaving the 27" LCD HDTV out to save a few ounces for all those hills.

The Badness guarding the queen air mattress couch.


My "lil" half ton v8. Big 3 Lovers, Hate me all you want but it's good to be KING.


Sorry that the pics aren't that good, I left the camera in the truck last night and couldn't get the condensation to go away in the morning once I got everything setup. Also was too lazy to hook up my external flash for less noise. I'll get it next time when it's not 20F outside.”

“SOMEBODY'S compensating

;-)”

“Anyone have a desire to have a cook-off on this trip? Crash can attest to the cook-off we hade years ago on the Ithacia trip.”

“I'd be up for that. On the last SchoolHouse trip we had a cooking event in which participants experimented with trail meals they hadn't tried before.”

“you could do a cook off one night and a chili dump another”

“If I remember this right, you can enter as may dishes as you want, however everything was divided up into groups

Main/Entree
Side
Dessert

You can start as early as you want, however all dishes wished to be judged have to be placed on the judging table at a agreed to time, no exceptions.

To be fair, we found campers that had no affiliation with our group to sample each dish.”

“Oh and Dub cannot use that camp stove that he posted a picture of above. All outdoor cooking!”