Rosa Hatfield ascends the trail to Whipp’s Ledges in Medina County as she, husband Rich, lady friend Sue Brooks and I explored that slice of Ohio geologic history on a recent Sunday outing.
THE HINCKLEY RESERVATION--
We headed to the Hinckley Reservation that day to take a peek at their hiking facilities.
You likely know that area best as the springtime gathering spot of Turkey Vultures who make their annual return to an Ohio roost on March 15th. Up there they call the birds buzzards.
Our visit started on the Hinckley Lake Loop Trail, a 3.4 mile stroll around the lake on a combination of bicycle trail and generally level, gravel paths. That was a sometimes rolling, ho-hum walk; highlights being a gal re-enacting colonial tasks and a frolicking batch of tourists in a huge canoe, at the boathouse trailhead, decorated in the birch-bark style of that historic period.
Just after the “buzzard” roosting area on the southeast side of the lake we discovered a road leading to Whipp’s Ledges and decided to drive there after concluding our waltz around the 90 acre impoundment.
That became the highlight of our visit.
The ledges rise 350 feet above the lake level and are a rock formation from more than 250 million years ago when much of Ohio was under the sea.
It is a very popular area for rock climbing and rappelling enthusiasts. That day there was a squadron of climbers from the Cleveland Rock Gym enjoying their sport on the ledges.
Many of the rock faces were perfectly vertical ascents of 75 feet or more. I was mesmerized by watching the man (below) do multiple attacks on the face of the formation, often climbing 25 to 50 feet then descending, only to repeat his attack along another route—all without the safety of a rope.
Imagine staring serious injury or death square in the eye as you flutter around the outside edge of the equivalent of a 5 to 7 story building hoping your handhold doesn’t fail; hoping your strength and skill alone are up to the task of keeping you alive.
Most climbers that day were of the slightly saner variety and used safety rigs with pulleys attached high above them and safety lines maintained by their skilled companions. That type of climbing is shown below.
This young lady acquitted herself quite nicely in this precarious approach to an overhanging rock face. She was 13 years old and was stopped in her ascent when sand fell in her eye.
As we concluded our visit to the ledges I found myself grateful, at my age, I could even hike the trail that led to this extraordinary climbing venue.
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