Hocking Hills

Saturday, we left very early to start a two week road trip with Alex.  We drove north through West Virginia and into Ohio and stopped at the Cedar Falls trailhead in Hocking Hills State Park.  Arriving around 930, it was pretty crowded but we found a parking spot.  We started on the one-way Cedar Falls trail that descended down to Queer Creek with some cool cliffs and caves along the creek.

It's definitely not what you'd expect in Ohio.  Cedar Falls, the biggest waterfall in the Hocking Hills area, was just a short ways upstream.

With the storms the night before, it was flowing very well for summer.

I climbed around to get shots from different angles.

But it was already getting crowded so we took off.  From here, we got on Gorge Overlook Trail and headed above Cedar Falls.  Some giant ironweed was flowering along the trail.

We followed along the north rim of the Queer Creek gorge and around Rose Lake.

There were a few viewpoints from the trail looking into the gorge below but too overgrown for much of a view.

After about 2.5 miles, we came to the end of the trail at the Old Man's Cave area.  First we headed down to Upper Falls.

The water wasn't too high, but it was scenic with the bridge above and colorful cliffs all around.

From here, we headed down the beautiful gorge along the Grandma Gatewood Trail.

It was really cloudy down in here and had a spooky feel.  The sandstone walls of the gorge were gorgeous.

Before reaching Old Man's Cave, we passed the Devil's Bathtub, a nice pothole in the creek.

The park had constructed some beautiful bridges and steps into the gorge.  Passing Old Man's Cave, we continue down to Lower Falls.  This one was pretty high but the water level was very low.

Before heading back, we passed through Old Man's Cave.

It was pretty crowded but a cool cave and the one way trails minimized contact.

From here, we followed the Grandma Gatewood Trail heading back towards Cedar Falls.  We passed by several more beautiful cliff areas below the Rim Trail we had hiked earlier.

Whispering Falls plunged down from the rim though there wasn't much water.

I imagine in winter this would be really gorgeous.  There was another little tributary waterfall but it too was almost completely dry.

When we were almost back, we heard what sounded like a waterfall on the other side.  There were some rocks in the creek, so we rock-hopped across and followed the little drainage up to the base of pretty nice waterfall.

I don't think it's named so we called it Secret Falls.

After a little break, we headed back to the main trail along Queer Creek.

It was just a short ways further back to Cedar Falls and then to the parking lot.

Continuing north, we stopped in Columbus to visit Hayden Falls.  The small parking lot was almost full, but we managed to get a spot.  A short boardwalk led to the waterfall, but unfortunately there was no water flowing.

The cliff that it flows down was rather scenic and there was a pool of turquoise water at the base.

We got some pictures and headed on.

We were getting hungry at this point and stopped for dinner in Dublin at the Dublin Village Tavern.  They had a nice outdoor seating to dine with Alex and good Irish food and beer.  We talked to another couple dining here.  The woman was Canadian and was heading back to British Columbia.  With a Canadian passport, she could get in but would have to quarantine for 14 days.  After dinner, we continued driving north and stopped in Perrysburg at the Candlewood Inn.  After a very long day, we went to bed early.

Pinnacle Rock

Sunday morning, we woke up a broke camp.  Before leaving Camp Creek State Park, we wanted to make another visit to Campbell Falls.  It had rained quite a bit overnight and wouldn't be crowded first thing in the morning.  I scrambled down to the base for a couple pictures.

Then I went back up to the top, which I thought was the most interesting part of this one.  There was more water flowing but it was possible to walk around the top of the falls.  Most of the water was rushing through deep, narrow cracks in the rock.

It's not a big waterfall, but really interesting.  After some pictures, we departed the park and headed to Pinnacle Rock State Park.  Pinnacle Rock, the park's namesake, was right next to the parking area.

First, we hiked the short Overlook Trail and climbed up to the overlook.  The views here looking south into Virginia were really beautiful.

After some pictures, we headed back down and got on the Homestead Trail.  The trail descended steeply via switchbacks.  There were some Jack-o-Lantern mushrooms growing along the trail.

At the bottom, we turned on Turkey Rock Trail and passed an old home site.

There was some white bergamot blooming by the home site.

Continuing on the trail, I spotted some common chicory.

The trail looped around back and then we made the steep climb back up.  There was another smaller rock outcrop by the picnic area.

Before leaving, I hiked the Falling Rock Trail that led along the base of Pinnacle Rock.

It really gave perspective to how big Pinnacle Rock is.

The trail ended at US-52 and I turned around and headed back to the car.

From here, we headed south in Virginia and parked at a small parking and picnic area along US-52 for a hike along the Appalachian Trail in Jefferson National Forest.  From the highway, the AT followed a gravel road at first.

There were a number of wildflowers blooming along here.

Soon we came to a powerline clearing with great views of the surrounding mountains.

Shortly after the clearing, the AT split from the road and became a singletrack trail.

There were some white bergamot blooming along here.

We hiked a total of about 3 miles to a spot with a beautiful open view.

On the hike back, we went a little slower to enjoy the summer wildflowers.

A pipevine swallowtail was on the knapweed.

White wood aster has pretty white flowers.

And there were a few orange jewelweed blooming as well.

We finished the hike back at the parking and started making our way home.

Twin Falls

Saturday morning, we had breakfast and headed to Twin Falls Resort State Park.  Our first stop was at the Falls Trailhead on the western side of the park.  A paved path led a quarter mile to Marsh Fork Falls.

I scrambled down to the base, but the view from the trail was good as well.

After this point, the trail changed to natural surface and formed a loop.  We went right and passed by the ruins of an old building, probably a mill.

Where the trail turned left, we went straight on an old road that headed down to the confluence of Marsh Fork and Black Fork to form Cabin Creek.

Back on the main trail, we soon came to Black Fork Falls, the other "twin".

The water tumbled over an overhang that was big enough to walk behind.

It was definitely the most impressive of the two.  We also went to the top of the waterfall; there were some scenic cascades above the main drop.

The view from the top of the waterfall was pretty nice.

After a break, we finished up the loop.  Our next stop was at the back of the campground at the trailhead for Cliffside Trail.  The trail started out following an old road and was level.  In a little over a mile, we came to a split for the loop portion and went right.  The trail became narrow and steep at this point and descended down to Canada Cliff.

There was a nice overlook of the Cabin Creek Gorge down below.

Continuing on the trail, there were some mushrooms growing among the dense rhododendron.

The next overlook was Buzzard Cliff.

This overlook was further down the gorge where Jackson Branch flowed in.

From here, the trail wasn't too bad with just one steep portion before finishing the loop.  I spotted some common self-heal blooming along the trail.

The old road made an easy hike back.  Before leaving the park, we made one more stop at the Pioneer Farm.

It's a fully functioning farm with several buildings and crops growing.

Some farm animals as well, including some donkeys.

The donkeys didn't seem too interested in people at first, but when they saw Alex they came over to the fence.

Everybody seemed friendly, so we let Alex approach the fence for a couple sniffs.  They all seemed to really like each other.  Then we headed back to the car.

Leaving Twin Falls, we headed back to camp and stopped at Weathered Ground Brewery for dinner and drinks.  They had a nice covered outdoor seating area so we could eat with Alex.  We both had a salad for dinner and chips & queso for an appetizer and it was very good.  Great beer too.  After dinner, we headed back to Camp Creek State Park and took a hike back down to Campbell Falls.  It was really crowded so we went a little further and found a scenic spot in the river to take a rest.  Sandy and Alex headed back to camp and I went for a hike up Turkey Loop Road.  In just over a mile, I turned on Blue Jay Ridge Trail and followed the ridge for a mile or so.  I spotted some type of bolete mushroom along the trail.

Eventually, it dropped steeply down and connected with Blue Jay Spur.  There was some American bellflower blooming in the evening light.

A left turn here led right back to our campsite.

Sandy had built a fire and we burned two bundles of wood.  It started raining heavily just before we went to bed.