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Hocking Hills Hiking 2025
  • Arlene Genovese
  • Arlene Genovese

Hocking Hills Hiking 2025

An open-ended adventure by Arlene Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 22, 2025
    Arlene GenoveseHocking Hills Hiking 2025Traveler
    Jaymes cute house
    1A fun sign along the road1Still haven't figured out what's up on Tuesdays, but half the businesses are closed.1Totally unafraid2Our cabin in the woods

    Getting Here

    September 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Yesterday I flew from Boston to Cincinatti and Jayme and Deb picked me up at the airport. This is going to be a mini Camino reunion! We ate a Ripple, an excellent tapas style restaurant and then spent the evening hanging out and chatting.
    This morning we went to a local diner for breakfast and were joined by the last member of our crew, Cassie. We filled up and hit the road. It was a lovely drive. We did a shopping for breakfasts and lunches that we will carry on our hikes. Next we had an adventure finding our cabin in the woods. We actually were trying to get into the wrong house at first. Lucky no one was home. When we finally got here, we were greeted by a beautiful deer who just continued unfazed by us moving all our stuff in.
    Last adventure of the day was trying to get home from dinner. First we missed a turn and ended up needing to travel on completely pitch dark roads barely wider than the car, with hills and twists and trees on both sides, no houses. And of course everyone in the car was trying to scare everyone else out of the wits. When we finally got to the street we were staying on, the GPS kept telling us to turn. Problem was, there was no turn to turn into. We drove back and forth looking for a street for about 10 minutes with no street to be seen. We eventually gave up and drove away and got rerouted and discovered our street is a dead end and can only be accessed one way, but the GPS map showed it as a through streets.
    So, sorry for such a long rambling nothing post. We started hiking tomorrow, so hopefully it will be a more exciting day.    Read more

  • Arlene GenoveseHocking Hills Hiking 2025Traveler
    Map of the Park. We did the blue trail.
    Deb and Cassie.Ash CaveWe followed these markers all dayThe green and orange are the walls of rockSo beautiful!FUN-gi!It's starting to get a bit tricky2See the blue marker? This was the trail! Roots, rocks, ups and downs! Fun!!!We walked a slippery slope in some spots.1My favorite picture from today1Im queen of the castle!2This rock was taller and harder to get up on than it appears, but they challenged me to do it and...1Jayme posed us1Heavenly

    Getting the trekking legs back.

    September 24, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    What a great day! This morning it was pouring rain when we woke. It cleared up by the time we ate breakfast and made our lunches, and so we were off. Because the weather was still iffy, we decided not to do a loop walk, but instead do a straight line. We dropped one car at our end point and drove back to the trailhead of our starting point. We hiked from Ash Cave to Old Man Cave, about a 7 mile hike. It was beyond my ability at this point of the day to describe. But simply, it was beautiful! The sights, the sounds, the scents, the challenge and the companionship combined for an absolutely perfect day.
    We got back to our cozy cabin about 5 with pizza and salad and topped the day off with conversation in the hot tub as the sun set. It will be an early bedtime for us all as we rest for another adventurous day tomorrow.    Read more

  • Arlene GenoveseHocking Hills Hiking 2025Traveler
    1Heading into the gorge
    1Deb on her way down. It was steep and narrowA pretty waterfallRock faceHard to get perspective bt there is the trail in thereCheck out the steps that are falling off the cliff2One end of Rock House Cave1Deb checking the view outsideThe opposite end1DuhReplacement bridgeTree growing on the very tip of a rock ledgeSwinging bridge1Deb and Cassie swinging!

    Difficulty Level 4

    September 25, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    Why am I still awake enough to write this post? After today's workout I should be in dreamland!

    We started with a breakfast of scrambled eggs. They were so fresh and all such pretty colors and varying sizes. They were from Cassie's own chickens. Absolutely delicious and fortifying for the day.

    Jaymes back was giving her some problems so today it was just me, Deb and Cassie. We hiked three sections, two loops and one in and out. We did Cantwell Cliffs which was very remote and very rugged. It was a loop that was only one way because on certain sections the trail was less than two feet wide with a wall of stone on one side and a sheer drop on the other. It went way down and way up again, over and over, and had really tight and narrow passages between rocks. It was really hard but we all made it.

    Next we went to Rock House loop. Again, we climbed deep into the gorge to the Rock House Cave. It is so very beautiful. Inside it is 25 ft high and 250 ft long. It is inhabited by pigeons and bats. We heard the pigeons long before we got to the cave and it was so cool hearing their cooing echoing inside. And when we were inside we could also see them flying around and roosting. Luckily or maybe not so, I could not see the bats. They were quiet and simply hanging from the ceiling, but it was too dark for me to see. But others saw them for sure. After we climbed back up out of the gorge and back to the parking lot, we had our picnic lunch at a little picnic area there. It's funny how delicious a simple ham sandwich and some cookies taste when you are starving! Oh, and i must mention, this parking spot had the cleanest port-o-pottys! They didnt smell, pretty blue water, rolls of paper. I actually preferred it to a tree which if you know me, means a lot!

    Our last hike of the day was to Whispering Cave and Swinging Bridge. This was a hike in and back out the same way trail. We got to Whispering Cave with no problem but had a hard time finding the trail to Swinging Bridge. In our defense, the dark purple markers were very hard to find on the wet bark of the trees. The Swinging Bridge was a test of balance. It only crossed a small creek, but it was only two planks wide and swung with every step. We laughed our way across and back. This trail was again at the bottom of a gorge so it was quite a climb back out. It was very warm and humid by this time and I was getting quite tired. But half way up, at Whispering Cave, there was a small waterfall. I stood under it until my head and shirt were soaked. It was shockingly cold but sooo refreshing. It made the end of the climb so much easier.

    Today was all downs and ups, not enough flat sections to mention. Long and difficult. But I did it and I am so proud.

    We went to dinner at Hocking Hills Lodge, which was such a nice treat. The food was good, the views spectacular and the company just lovely. It has been such a joy to spend time with this group of women.

    We returned to our cabin to find a family deer next to our parking area. They were laying around and again not afraid of us. They eventually moved a couple hundred feet away, but would not leave. They are so beautiful! Hot tub and shower and bed time. Tomorrow is our last day to hike.    Read more

  • Arlene GenoveseHocking Hills Hiking 2025Traveler
    Our deer seeing off when we left our cabin
    1Enough said1The dinner menuStairs in the restaurantMutter Gotter Church as seen on our walk home1Deb and Steiner

    Final Day

    Sep 26–30, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    Im writing this last post from my bed back at Jayme's house. It has been a whirlwind day.
    Cassie left last night because she had an appointment today. My friend Mary met us this morning and brought her daughter Gina and Gina's friend Gabe along.
    We hiked the Conkles Trail today. It starts with a 2 mile, flat, in and out trail deep into the gorge. The walls of the gorge are as high as 200 feet. It is pretty narrow and absolutely covered in all kinds of flora. It felt like Jurrasic Park in there. The gorge dead-ended with a waterfall at the end. The next 2 miles were a rim loop. That involved a LOT of stairs and then an equal about of hill climbing to get up to the Cliffs. Then it was another flat hike along small footpath along the rim of the gorge. The path was rooty and rocky and scary in places as it was very close to the edge and sometimes only a foot or two wide. And there were no railings. The views were just incredible and the light was so pretty. Getting back down was steep and a little tough on my knees, but near the bottom there was another long set of stairs.
    We all went to the Lodge for a nice lunch, then myself Jayme and Deb headed back to Covington.
    Later in the evening we three walked into town and had a lovely Mexican meal outdoors and just sat talking for hours. It was a perfect day.    Read more

  • Arlene GenoveseHocking Hills Hiking 2025Traveler
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    And I Am Home Again

    September 27, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Early flight, in Boston by 10am, a ride up the seacoast to Rye NH, lunch at the Lobster Pound of a cup of fluffy chowder (it's patented and sooo good) then a one hour foot massage, a nap, a shower, and i am ready to end this Penguin.

    But before I do, I wanted to thank Deb and Jayme and Cassie and Mary and Gina and Gabe for making this trip so much fun and being willing to challenge ourselves and support one another on some of the really tough sections. We all did great!!!

    Lastly, I am going to add some pictures of us that I didn't post in the daily footprints. If you have. Any you would like to add, please do. I would love. To see them.

    Until the next adventure............    Read more

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