Ohio Folks

“We will be on the road by 3pm. So if all goes well we will arrive at the trailhead at 9pm.”

“I hope you all have a blast. I wish it would have worked out for me, I like this bunch.

I have my pack packed and in the truck ready to go. As soon as I can get away I'm driving up to Minnesota to finish the SHT. 750 miles driving alone - yuk. The weather says lows of low 30's highs of low 50's all week. Should be interesting.

I'll be back in a week. Try not to nuke anyone while I'm gone.”

“Be careful LeSubtil! I bet it's going to be gorgeous up there!!”

“Yeah...be careful of the georgousness!”

“We should be on the road around 2. Joy/Birch - are we the only ones meeting at 9pm? It seems everyone else is hiking in earlier. We'll hang around and wait for you guys since we have never been to this place before.

Will anyone else be hiking in at night? I'd like to know so we can make sure we wait for anyone that is coming.

Buddur - my dog knew something was going on, too. She knows what it means when the tent, etc are pulled out. But, she's injured so she can't make it :( I'm glad there will be a dog around this weekend!

Le Subtil - Have a wonderful trip. Be safe. Enjoy the solitude.

BB - ??????”

“Hey, have a great weekend guys! If you go to Moonville tunnle, be sure and take a picture of everybody moonin' the camera! 8P”

“Man, this must be the longest day in history... t-10 minutes and counting!!!”

“I decided this weekend that instead of backpacking that I would go see someplace I’ve never hiked before. Hocking Hills. I’ve never hiked there because it is always crawling with people. We’re talking, the campgrounds fill up nearly every weekend from March to November. There is a total of 25 miles of trails there but they are pretty scattered except for a 6 mile stretch that goes from Old Man’s Cave down to Cedar Falls and then down to Ash Cave. Part of this stretch is made up of the Grandma Gatewood Trail named after Grandma Gatewood. Round trip it made for a great day hike. There are very few places I’ve been where words and film will never be able to describe. It is not what you’d think of when you think of Ohio landscape.

I was amazed at how much green there was. There were small ferns, and moss on everything and there were pines and cedars everywhere. I can’t think of anything I needed more in the middle of winter than a good shot green. When it’s really cold all the countless waterfalls freeze. When I was done hiking there I went to a nearby nature preserve called Conckel’s Hollow. This has to be the most beautiful ½ mile stretch of trail I’ve ever seen! There were few campers in the campgrounds and it was very quiet and cold. I saw wild turkey and deer were everywhere.

The trails are very well maintained and are developed with bridges and stairs but it is good workout. You have to do a lot of stairs, scrambling over/around boulders, squeeze through cracks and slump caves, and even walk through and down tunnels. At an average pace you get about 1 MPH out of the hike.

I know I’m a bit anti social when it comes to group hikes but I thought this would be a perfect place to maybe have one. The group camp is only $2 a night and it gets ya away from the masses. I won’t really attempt this after March though as it starts getting crowded the first warm weekend. Because it's not hardcore backpacking it's a great trip to bring the kids along. Any takers? Michigan Mountaineers?

Hocking Hills Photos ”

“I was at Hocking hills the last week of March '96 and there were stil lice formations everywhere. Everything was melting and you had to watch out for falling icicles, I know because a gentleman approached me and said that a hugh piece of ice fell on a spot where I was standing a minute before. I tried hitting all the spots but never made it to Conkles Hollow, and from what I've heard since then that should've been the FIRST place I hit.

Anywho... while hiking the CVNP today I got the thought of having a TT gettogether at my house for a weekend and do a Sat (and early Sun, maybe) dayhike of some areas. It's a beautiful place, especially the nook and crannys that no trails will take you to, which of course is where I'd take a TTcrew. There's no camping, but there's lots to do at night around here, and I got'sk lot'za room at ma shack. Even if someone was going to be in the area or just passing through, get ahold of me and we'll hike.”

“I'm in agreement with Nigal & I'm not one of the Ohio folks! Those little pockets of wilderness are gorgeous and the Granny Gatewood trail is a very, very nice hike. In late November a few years ago there were no other people there on the trails.”

“Yeah, I like that place. Stayed at the cabins one time off season. Really nice cabins - much nicer than Grayling. No crowds when I went.

So, I would love to do both. CVNRA is really only 2 or 3 hours away for me. Hocking Hills is like 5.”

“Yeah, I'll be there. There is so much to do and see that everyone can just do what they want.

Budder I'd love to come up sometime. I'd like to come up sometimes when there's a good concert yer always goin' to.”

“It sounds like you had a good time....:)”

“I wanna go! Tell us when.”

“Yep, I agree with Sass. Sounds like a great overnighter!”

“Or weekend trip.”

“Nigal, I'd love to go. Are you thinking March? Or late Feb? I'm sure I could wrangle a day off work if necessary. I'm going to check Mapquest right now!”

“The time is the hard part. It's either within the next two months or wait til next winter. It all depends on how many people you want to run into on the trail. Because we'd be in group camping we don't have to deal with kar kampers (except each other) but the trail traffic is another thing. The group camp holds like 80 and for a trip like this I don't care how many would come. I'm looking at this as a cool get together in a cool area, not a wilderness experience.

Or if ya don't mind the people we can do it in the warm season and partake of all the area has to offer (miniture golf for shots and drunken go cart racing).”

“I did think of a fairly accurate discription of the area. If you took Hartwick Pines and dropped it in a gorge you'd have Hocking Hills.”

“i lived in ohio for 3 years while going to law school, not a bad place. hocking hills is nice, CVNP is also- brandywine, blue hen and buttermilk falls, like the ledges. cool little state park near hiram, called nelson-kennedy ledges, is nice, some waterfalls, little slot gorge through the bedrock.”

“DID YOU SAY GO KARTS????? There are no friends on the Go Kart track... only enemies.

Serioulsy, though, I would like to go in the winter months. I sure don't mind missing the crowds. And, I'd love to see some of the frozen waterfalls.

On the other hand, I'm pretty easy going. So, if most of the people want to go in warmer weather - I'd be up for that, too.”

“Just checked the map. Is that close to the Zaleski area? That's not a bad drive at all.”

“It's only about 1-1.5 hours south of Columbass. 45 minutes as the Michiganian drives!”

“Great. Tell me when and I'll do what I can to be there!”

“If/when a date is picked, I will see if I could go. Sounds like a good time and I love the op to meet TTer's I haven't met already and hangout with the ones that I do know.”

“you know I'm in!”

“i might maybe could be persuaded to head on down toward that direction some weekend....”

“If I were to do a CVNP extravaganza, it'd have to be before Spring or after late Fall so the temps will be reasonable and there'll be easy access through the woods without thick lush vegetation in our way.”

“Could ya post an approx area where this is at?”

“The CVNP is between Akron and Cleveland.

Hocking Hills is somewhere near Athens.”

“Nigal - it looks like you have some takers -The "Michiganiacs" are usually up for anything.

The end of this month and beginning of next is good for me, too. (All weekends are good except March 16/17 cause of a baby shower).”

“I got my B.A. at Ohio University, which is in Athens, OH. Hocking HIlls, and the entire area around there, is beautiful. I'd recommend that y'all spend a day in Athens and do some hiking up Radar Hill and / or Bong Hill.”

“ever do Morgan Sisters trail Chip? It's a nice area too except for the frat house symbols spraypainted on the sandstone cliffs. That wasn't you was it? I know how environmentally irresponsible you are. LOL!”

“Actually, I didn't do that much hiking way back then. And, no, I'm not the frat-symbol-painting kinda guy. In fact, my friends and I used to slingshot water balloons at frat houses when we got real drunk. Those were the days...”

“Who wants to pick me up? I want to go. This no car and being on the wrong side of the state sucks!”

“Where in OH do you live? I'm originally from the Akron-Cleveland area, and will return there once I'm done with school in Chicago.”

“that last post was for nigel, but anyone can answer”

“Just north of Dayton in Piqua. BTW- frat guys suck! My buddy and I camped on top of the ridge where those cliffs are and there was beer cans and crap all over. We're gonna take some trash bags next time and clean up some. Bastards!”

“I couldn't believe how often I saw on the AT (especially in the smokies) cans left at campsites. I don't know if they try to burn that #&%!$, or they just leave it b/c they're drunk and/or lazy. Either way, that's unacceptable.”

“I smash mine flat and pack them out in a gallon Ziplock. It usually happens the most near road crossings.

How does everyone feel about the weekend of the 9th and 10th of March?”

“Nigal - That weekend works for me. Max is a maybe. He needs to check his calendar.

What's the rule on dogs?

Looking forward to meeting you and to seeing some of the Ohio folks I've met on previous trips: Gonzo, Brandy, Buddur, Buddurdog, Wolfsister, Buddha... hope some of you can make it!”

“perfect weekend for us”

“cool! I wanted to try and make sure the Michigan folks chimed in on the date too. So how many should I say (claim) is coming?”

“Not good for me, but nothing is good for me on the weekends in March. Sorry, but I thought I could've sqeezed it in, but I can't. Have fun you guys!”

“Oh, Sass is coming?

Nigal, you can count me out. I just remembered that I'm supposed to... ummm, err... do something really important that weekend. I can't get out of it not matter how hard I try.”

“Well then if the two of you aren't going the whole damn trip is off! I've been saving my pennies and dimes all winter and finally have $500 together.”

“Oh boy-here we go. Kissing for dollars.
March 16,17 is good-very good.”

“LMAO Nigal!”

“You'd have to pack in a whole lotta beer.”

“I have reconsidered this whole lesbian pay-ola thing cause I know you've seen American Pie 2. It'd start out fun but it'd end up with me and Buddha Bear standing on either side of birch as he unzips and says, "It's OK guys. I know what I have to do. I have to take one for the team." LOL!

Woldsister- the weekend of the 9th-10 doesn't work for you? Who was it that couldn't do the weekend of the 16-17th? This is the part I hate. Help someone!”