THAT IS YOURS TRULY enjoying the majesty of Ash Cave’s rock formations in the Hocking Hills State Park just south of Logan, OH.

JUST DRIFTING ALONG V—

Thursday, June 14, Camped in the Hocking Hills

The sky got angry last night. I noticed the boiling clouds just in time to secure the awning. The wind howled through the woods and miniature tornadoes of swirling dust raced across the campground roads. I pondered my limited options, then, fixed a beverage and listened to the Indian’s game.

This morning the sun was just kissing the trees across the top of the ridge as I started down the path to nearby Ash Cave. About 50 feet into the wooded park it felt like someone closed the cooler door behind me. The luscious flora was dripping with dew and the primeval forest was a symphony of visual delight. The Ash Cave Gorge trail meanders for a ¼ mile into an enchanted land then ends in a recess cave, undercut by eons of rock erosion and features a 90-foot waterfall.

Just a few miles up the road is Cedar Falls. Its ½ mile entry trail is a sharp descent into another fairy-tale woods leading to a steep-walled gorge and a tinkling waterfall, subdued in the season’s dryness.

Next came Old Man’s Cave, adjacent to the Hocking Hills State Park Office and campground. This trail winds more than a mile down a winding gorge of massive rock formations. Named after a Civil War hermit, it too features a waterfall spilling into a swirling pool.

Then it was Conkle’s Hollow with its mile-long trail along “…sandstone cliffs towering 200 feet over a serene, shaded valley floor”; another stunning, natural tapestry.

And yet another natural attraction called The Rock House. It’s trail was just ½ mile but it cut sharply back and forth in a steep descent to the only “true cave” in the park; a tunnel located midway up a 150 foot cliff accessible by a narrow and steep stairway chiseled into the face of the rock. I enjoyed this attraction from the stream bottom—saving my dwindling energy for the climb back out.

In visiting each of these features of the Hocking Hills State Park it was easy to imagine this place looking exactly like it did when it was first populated by the Adena Indians more than 7,000 years ago.

On tomorrow’s agenda: home. The camper, the Jeep and I all need a bit of a rest—while we plan the next camping adventure.