Cool Guy was off school today for Veterans' Day, so we had a hike planned. Forecast called for rain later in the afternoon. No problem. We set off early and didn't have too far to travel. Skies were clear.
Our destination was Lake Hope SP, west of Athens OH, and south of Nelsonville OH. The plan was to start at the Hope Furnace, a very old iron smelting furnace used to make munitions for the Union during the Civil War, hike the Peninsula Trail around Lake Hope and then do a second loop of Old Hollow Trail to get the gorge, caves and waterfall. That was the plan.
The actuality was that AS SOON AS we put our hiking boots on and donned our orange vests, just in case, though hunting is not permitted, it started to rain. This, at 9:30 am., not the projected 3:00 pm. Well, just a few raindrops. We had hats, and we had rain ponchos, so we put those on, quickly checked out the furnace and decided to do the Old Hollow first because it was short, hope that the rain would stop and then complete things with the Peninsula.
It didn't stop. It never became a miserable downpour, but it became steady enough that we definitely felt we were hiking through rain, and I never saw Cool Guy so focused on moving forward, making tracks, gaining ground.
Despite the less than perfect conditions, it was a wonderful hike. The loop was only 1 1/2 miles, but it was an interesting hike with lots of changes and interest. The trail was easy in that it was very well marked with blue blazes and clear signs. It was not so easy in its footing. Hiking through it wet added to the difficulty because there was a lot of up and down, a lot of wooden steps with nothing on them for traction, many steep, some with missing steps. There were a few fallen trees to scramble over, and one area of the trail was basically water seepage where we had to pick our way through the best we could.
Highlights of the trail included an old pioneer cemetery with engraved sandstone markers, some covered with moss. Also, at the bottom of the gorge was where a waterfall should have been, but it wasn't wet enough yet, and next to the waterfall place was a really cool rock overhang so deep that it could almost be called a cave. The whole thing was very lovely.
Another interesting thing about this hike was that we came upon several backpackers, the real kind with great big packs on their backs. All were headed out. They had been hiking the Zaliski Trail which shares a bit with Old Hollow. We saw two men, and then later, two women and a German Shepherd, and at the end, we were being followed by a Boy Scout troop. I'm assuming that at the start of the rain, the backpackers packed up and headed out.
Also of interest was a beaver dam which we saw at the beginning and end of the loop. I have never seen one before, but I knew right off that this is what it was. Pretty neat.
Cool Guy can't wait to go back and bring Burt and Encyclopedia. It was just a little over an hour's drive, and there is a whole lot of different hiking to do, so we will definitely return.
Our destination was Lake Hope SP, west of Athens OH, and south of Nelsonville OH. The plan was to start at the Hope Furnace, a very old iron smelting furnace used to make munitions for the Union during the Civil War, hike the Peninsula Trail around Lake Hope and then do a second loop of Old Hollow Trail to get the gorge, caves and waterfall. That was the plan.
The actuality was that AS SOON AS we put our hiking boots on and donned our orange vests, just in case, though hunting is not permitted, it started to rain. This, at 9:30 am., not the projected 3:00 pm. Well, just a few raindrops. We had hats, and we had rain ponchos, so we put those on, quickly checked out the furnace and decided to do the Old Hollow first because it was short, hope that the rain would stop and then complete things with the Peninsula.
It didn't stop. It never became a miserable downpour, but it became steady enough that we definitely felt we were hiking through rain, and I never saw Cool Guy so focused on moving forward, making tracks, gaining ground.
Despite the less than perfect conditions, it was a wonderful hike. The loop was only 1 1/2 miles, but it was an interesting hike with lots of changes and interest. The trail was easy in that it was very well marked with blue blazes and clear signs. It was not so easy in its footing. Hiking through it wet added to the difficulty because there was a lot of up and down, a lot of wooden steps with nothing on them for traction, many steep, some with missing steps. There were a few fallen trees to scramble over, and one area of the trail was basically water seepage where we had to pick our way through the best we could.
Highlights of the trail included an old pioneer cemetery with engraved sandstone markers, some covered with moss. Also, at the bottom of the gorge was where a waterfall should have been, but it wasn't wet enough yet, and next to the waterfall place was a really cool rock overhang so deep that it could almost be called a cave. The whole thing was very lovely.
Another interesting thing about this hike was that we came upon several backpackers, the real kind with great big packs on their backs. All were headed out. They had been hiking the Zaliski Trail which shares a bit with Old Hollow. We saw two men, and then later, two women and a German Shepherd, and at the end, we were being followed by a Boy Scout troop. I'm assuming that at the start of the rain, the backpackers packed up and headed out.
Also of interest was a beaver dam which we saw at the beginning and end of the loop. I have never seen one before, but I knew right off that this is what it was. Pretty neat.
Cool Guy can't wait to go back and bring Burt and Encyclopedia. It was just a little over an hour's drive, and there is a whole lot of different hiking to do, so we will definitely return.
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