Hocking Hills trip

This weekend, I decided to go camping and see what fall colors were presenting themselves in Ohio. I opted to head to Hocking Hills, which, despite its name, is a pretty region of rolling hills, limestone cliffs, and....."hollers" (aka hollows). It's a state park area with a few scattered attractions, each with its own hiking trail - I think 6 trails totaling 7 miles. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit soggy, but surprisingly, that didn't stop people from the area from enjoying some time out on the trails.

What was surprising was encountering people along the trails fitted out in full-on trekking gear - gaiters, wind- and water-proof jackets, trekking poles, camel-back hydration kits – the whole 9 yards. The only time I’ve used gear like this is when doing multi-day backpacking at elevations above 10,000 feet. I can’t imagine lugging that stuff on a mile long loop. The longest trail was a 2.5 mile loop, with an elevation gain of approximately 100 feet - all of it via wooden staircases. This is a tendency that I've noticed before in New Hampshire - folks outfitted as though they're setting out for a month-long journey on the Appalachain Trail. I find it a bit ridiculous. While walking on the 2.5 mile loop, pausing to let a family advertisement for North Face walk by, I chuckled under my breath. And then I heard someone behind me chuckle - out loud.

Turns out, this was to be my new friend, Brenda, who lives in Columbus. She'd driven down for the day, and like me, was walking sans-life-saving gear. We had very similar hiking stories - essentially, that this is something both of us really enjoy doing, but that none of our friends really dig. So here we were, two professional women, with nice vehicles, walking and talking along the trail. Incidentally, it had started to rain - and then pour - so the North Face family that we chuckled at previously were running to make it back to the safety of their auto. And we continued walking forward, because other than the moisture, the weather, scenery, and company were good. Brenda kept making conversational references to Buddhism, which puzzled me at the time. Not that I didn't get them, I just wondered what about me made her think I would know what she was referring to. Later that evening, when changing out of my wet clothes, I realized I was wearing my shirt from Nepal with the embroidered 'natural world' mandala.

The Hocking Hills area was a nice surprise to visit - most folks I work with recommended it as a camping /hiking destination, describing it as the "prettiest place in Ohio". They may be right. The countryside is flush with rolling hills, great two-lane winding roads, and loaded with national forest and wildlife with a few small towns mixed in. What was surprising was the number of bed and breakfast or cabin rental type places - sometimes off the most obscure of roads. These places were everywhere, and apparently are collectively referred to as the hot tub capital of Ohio, because apparently they all have them.

I opted to stay in one on Saturday night (ref. getting soaked in an afternoon rain earlier). I just didn't want to go damp-camping. So, I turned a hard left when driving by a cute little place, the Rest Nest, and got myself a little cabin with an outdoor hot tub. Of course, I didn't bring a bathing suit. But, this place was so nestled in the woods, I figured that once night fell, taking a soak al fresco in the all-together wouldn't be too much of a risk.

After dark, and after checking to ensure I could see no other signs of civilization from the hot tub deck, I opted for a little skinny dip. It was great. I'd picked up a little wine earlier, and the night insects were putting on a concert. But then, they stopped. OK, so maybe a deer wandering in the woods stepped on a stick and startled the crickets. Then I heard the footfalls, and quickly realized they weren't human - maybe a deer, but a really big one. Another moment or two, and the animals were visible in the half-moon light: 4 horses. With riders. They were finishing up a day ride after the rain delay, apparently. I tried to remain motionless and silent, and from the snippets of conversation I heard, I assumed that I was successful in not being noticed, and that the paying riders were grumpy about getting fed soon.

All in all, it was a great weekend escape. The leaves have started to change color, but slowly - almost tentatively - so I think I may need to make another few weekend trips to monitor their progress. With a back-up bikini, just in case.

Photos soon....