My first time ever going to Hocking Hills was back in April 2017. I went on a 3 day camping trip with my Geology class. Hocking Hills is a very hilly, forested area located in Logan, Ohio. We took multiple vans up there from our school. Our camping location was back in a forest on a large camp sight, which had no real toilets or running water. I had never been camping before so this was a new experience for me. I shared a tent with two other students, which we had to figure out how to set up ourselves; it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. There were other camp sights with people all down the road around us also. Every morning the teacher would boil a pot of water for us to make coffee, hot chocolate, or oat meal and we would eat either pop tarts or granola bars. If we would be hiking during lunch we made sandwiches, otherwise the teacher grilled burgers. The weather during my trip was cold and rainy, which I definitely didn't enjoy while trying to sleep in the tent. I was surprised I didn't run into too many bugs while being in the tent. Felt pretty good to get away from home life for a little while (with no service at all the whole trip by the way, which I got used to).
After we arrived on the first day we just set up everything, made food, & checked out the area around us. The next day we hiked a couple different trails and visited some popular tourist sites. I got to see the beautiful waterfalls of Old Man's Cave. This place had an interesting story behind it's name; a man named Richard Rowe used to live in this cave and one day he was using his gun to crack the ice on top of the river to get a drink and it accidentally shoots him in the chin. A couple days later people found him and buried him somewhere in the forest, but till this day nobody knows where. The cave belongs to him now.
We then went to see Rock House, which was a more legit cave. It was dark and water dripped from the ceiling. You could see many cool views from here.
Our next stop was to Conkle's Hollow, where there are two different hiking paths. You can either hike down below inside the cliffs, or high up on top of the cliffs. I decided to take the easy path and stay below. I felt like I was in a Twilight movie during this hike. At the end of the hike you reach a waterfall which you can go behind or in if you wanted. Also saw these cool looking mushrooms here which my teacher said taste like chicken. Why he's eating wild mushrooms I don't know.
The last stop of the day was at Ash Cave, which was my favorite out of the whole trip. It was a huge open cave with sand everywhere. It made me feel like I was in a desert or something. There was also a big waterfall here. This area had no hike and there wasn't much to it, but just the way it made me feel made it so special. It was like I wasn't in Ohio anymore. I knew I had to have someone get a picture of me here.
When we got back to the camp site there wasn't much to do so I went to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and everyone else was sleeping. I had to use the bathroom so I brought my flashlight with me. It was pitch black and I couldn't see anything around me, just where I shined the light. I remember looking up at the sky and I saw the most beautiful night sky; stars were everywhere. A photo wouldn't have been able to capture such an amazing sight. Being in the city you aren't able to see that many stars in the sky; it was pretty cool.
On the final day of our trip we packed everything up pretty early in the morning and hit the road. Ohio Caverns was on the way back so we stopped to check it out. I faintly remember coming here as a child, but the sights were still very cool and felt new. This was an underground cave that you could walk through. Some parts looked like I was in a scary movie, while others looked like I was in space. There were many crystals growing throughout the cave, and one was named the "Crystal King". He was huge! A tour guide takes you through the cave while making a couple stops to talk about its history and formation.
Overall my trip to Hocking Hills was very nice. I seen many cool sights, got to camp for the first time (and hopefully last), & it was pretty relaxing being in the forest. There are so many different hiking trails here and the area has such beautiful sights. I would definitely go back again without my class to have a more personal and free experience.
