Gorge-eous: Conkle's Hollow

Today was my oldest daughter's birthday she requested that we go hiking. She and I hopped in the car and headed south, towards Old Man's Cave, but that was not the destination. Very nearby is a small (87 acres) called Conkle's Hollow. If you've never been there, you should make a point to take a trip there, you won't be disappointed. Neither of has been there before, a friend told us about it. We will be thanking them. It is kind of tricky to find, but worth the effort. Far fewer people visit this outdoor gem than other Hocking Hills attractions. If you don't like crowds, get there now (or wait until after a good rain, more on that later). If you take my advice, make sure you are in pretty good shape and DO NOT take small children, this is not a place for the meek and mild. Take snacks and plenty of water the Rim trail is 2 1/2 miles, not super long, but you have to get there first. We had some zuchinni bread, apples and water (we wished we had more by the end).

The map for the park shows some cute dotted lines that say these represent many stairs. It is not kidding, the trail starts at the bottom of the gorge and goes to the top fairly quickly. The trail winds along the rim of the gorge. People die here, so be careful! Don't forget to enjoy the view. It can be decieving how high it is, because the trees from the bottom of the gorge reach almost to the top of the rim. It is quite spectacular when a clearing opens and the bottom is in sight. These peeks usually come at a place where water would be falling in the spring or after a good rainstorm. (I need to go back to witness that!)

After going around the rim, we headed into the gorge. The first part of the trail is completely handicapped acessible, at least go hike this. It heads straight back through the gorge along a slowly meandering stream (mostly puddle, right now). From the bottom, it is difficult to see the top because the trees are so tall and thick. Continue back, it is nice and cool in there and completely still. No breeze, just delightfully fresh air.

The paved trail ends, but press on. The best is yet to come. The trail ends at what would be a beautiful waterfall, if only there were more water. We will definitely go back.