A Winter Visit

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the
landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."
- Andrew Wyeth

There is something wonderful about winter, when nature is in solitude, the beauty in its decay. Nature gives off the vibrations of things to come as winter withdraws and we are teased with the coming of Spring.

I enjoy going into the woods on a snowy day when sounds are muted and the birds can be viewed through the leafless trees and their songs clearly echoing throughout. I have been cooped up for a number of weeks due to the unusual volume of snow our area received over this past month of February. It was the second largest recorded snowfall over the month with over 21.4 inches mostly without much melting in-between. Today I awoke to a fresh 2 more inches on top of the already packed snow, so the woods had a fresh cover of the white stuff.

While I love hiking through woods when Spring is in full bloom, it is hiking in winter that adds the tension of things to come. I traveled nearby to Sugarcreek Metro Parks, a normally easy hiking area. It is also very popular for moderate hiking enthusiasts as well as - mostly in the Spring - runners who are looking for more than the hard streets. Today started out with only a few souls visiting the park, but by the time I left, a hiking group had moved in and things became much busier. This particular park offers at least a 3.5 mile trail which follows a small creek but also at times runs up against an isolated housing area. Still for a quick visit to nature, it is a pleasant place to go.

Today the trail was rutted and tromped down by previous hikers making it just a bit more difficult and easy to turn an ankle if one is not careful. But all things considered, it offers the starkness that only nature in winter time can present. One pleasant surprise was when I came upon a Pileated Woodpecker drilling for insects beneath the bark of the trees. I took some great video of the bird in action. Pileated woodpeckers are the largest species of woodpecker in North America and have a distinct red top to its grey coat which moves to a black and white striping of its head. The bird kindly worked from my angle of vision so that I could capture it at work.

My time out today helped give way to the cabin fever I have felt over the last month as I count the days before nature begins to break forth with early blooms and the overcast days become more sunny as the earth moves into position where the angle of the sun gradually begins to warm the ground and natural life begins anew.

Germantown Metropark & the Twin Valley Trail

“The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.
- William Blake (Poetical Sketches)

A week ago I spent a glorious mid-week (one of the best days of the year) on a walk practically in my backyard in one of the metroparks created and managed by the Montgomery County, Ohio parks department. The county, which neighbors mine, has some excellent moderate hiking areas as well as biking (if you are interested).

This particular day, I traveled to Germantown Metropark in southern Montgomery County near the town of Germantown.
That village is a historic area that was founded by a migratory group of (what else?) Germans who settled the area having traveled from Pennsylvania. Germantown Metropark is probably the best of the county's park system for hikers. There is almost a little of everything for the backpacker (including camping). The park straddles a very clean Twin Creek and ties into the Twin Valley Trail which is south of Germantown. The main metropark itself has nearly 14 miles of hiking trails through spectacular scenery. There are ravines, large mature trees, wildflowers and steep topography making these trails sometimes a challenge to regular backpackers. You'll also see fabulous grassland prairies, ponds, dry hillside prairies and assorted flora and fauna.

I traveled there, as I mentioned, in mid-week and right at the end of the fall leaf spectacular. The place was practically my own as the shorter four mile hike I took I nary met a one on the trail. The trail itself wound up and down the ravines and was at times hard to follow due to excessive leaf fall. Luckily, they have carefully marked points so you will know you are still on the correct trail.

I traveled an area that is part of the Twin Valley Trail, though I was still north and west of Germantown. I began just off Old Mill Road where I parked and began the hike south toward State Route 725. It is a two mile hike to that point and then looping back, the repeat two miles makes for a couple hour walk especially if you regularly stop to enjoy the sites.
At the point of the Old Mill Road, walk about 100 feet to the picnic tables that are there before you begin your hike and look at the Germantown dam and spillway. It was built around 1920 after the devastating 1913 flood. If you travel through Germantown heading west to Conservancy Road, you'll actually drive over the dam and be able to see its highpoint view before arriving at the parking point.

The hike begins at this point and if you travel up the ridge, it begins almost immediately to wind to and fro as you traverse gradually up the ridge. This area displays younger trees and thin coverage, but definite isolation.
The trail is a small backpack trail scraped out and generally smooth walking though with lots of uphill climbing. Gradually you reach a highpoint where it gradually begins to take you back down toward Twin Creek. Were it not for the markers or without a GPS or compass, it would be easy to get waylaid.

There were times that the woods increased in density and it was during this time that I heard some snapping of twigs. Turning I could see three deer making their way toward food? home? I must have been downwind form them because I thought I was rather noisy until I heard them and instead of me, it was the sudden cry of a bird that spooked them onward.

As you find that you are gradually working your way back into the bottom lands toward the creek, the pace quickens. The trail eventually takes you creekside into a calm, quiet area where the clear creek passes. It is said the creek is clean enough to be able to drink from safely. Agreements have been made with landowners to limit their agricultural uses. And while they recommend the water first be boiled, it can be used. When I was there, the creek was very low, and even though it is regulated by the dam, water levels have been low in the area.

Once more the trail begins to take you back to the top of the ridge in even denser woods as the trail meanders through before you reach the area where backpackers can camp for the night if desired.

This is final 1/2 mile or so of the hike before reaching State Route 725. The trail continues to wind its way down until
suddenly you are in the bottoms and the area opens into a vast field of prairie grass. When I was there, the sound of an eagle hovered overhead as it searched for its prey. The rest of the hike up to the road transition to Twin Valley Metropark where the trail continues is flat but tall grassland with the creek to your right. I continued on until I could begin to hear the sound of the vehicles passing along the road. At that point, I turned around and retraced my steps back to my car for a total hike of 4 miles.

I was only touching the beginning of this rather vast parkland and I was not in the best of it. That is to come another day. Perhaps, I'll try it first as an early winter experience returning later again in the Spring of a new year.

Tecumseh and the Shawnee Village of Chalahgawtha

The Village of Old Town on U.S. 68 north of Xenia and right along the Little Miami Bike Trail near the Old Town spur where you can park your bike is also the historic location of Chalahgawatha or Old Chillicothe, once the main Shawnee village in the 18th century. U.S. 68 is historically a Shawnee trail running the length of Ohio (Bullskin Trail) and at the confluence of the Little Miami River and Massie Creek is where the village was located. There is a lot of history in this location.

Both Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton were held prisoner at this village and Kenton was forced to run a gauntlet here of about 200 yards.
There are historic markers so that you can get an idea as to location and distance. The primary site is now where the Tecumseh motel is located. If you either park in the motel lot or if traveling by bike, park at the spur and walk over to the location, you will find a number of markers pointing out the historic facts.

Looking behind the motel across what is now farm land, there is a rise on which the council house of the Shawnee stood. The village of Chalahgawatha had been destroyed several times and rebuilt by the Shawnee. One particular incident if noted on one of the markers.
This was the event where 10 Kentucky soldiers were killed in 1779 during an attack on the village. The marker unfortunately does not tell the whole story. Col John Bowman, commander was jealous of the fame George Rogers Clark had received in his capture of Vincennes from the British forces. He decided he would assemble volunteers to move against the Shawnee village at Chalahgawatha. What he did not know was that the Shawnees had split and half of them had moved to the west of the Mississippi and the rest of the primary braves were away from the village leaving mostly young boys and elderly. As Bowman moved against the village, he failed to keep silent and early warning of the soldiers' approach was heard by the tribe. Fearing they were going to be massacred, they moved to the council house where the women were singing the death chant. While Bowman's forces burned the wegiwa (teepees) belonging to the individual families. As they burned, they looted and during that time, the ten soldiers were killed by the few Indian gathered in the council house. Fearing a much bigger force, Bowman hesitated and ordered a withdrawal. Realizing they had the upper hand, the young Indian braves gave chase and killed more as the soldiers continued to retreat.

This is a historic area. Besides the terrible loss of the ten Kentucky soldiers, near this location the great Shawnee leader, Tecumseh,
was born near a springs about 500 feet away at the Old Town Preserve area. There isn't much to see in the location unless you have an active imagination and can try to imagine what the area looked like at the turn of the 18th century. But to stand in these shadows and think about the history behind the tragic events of the American Indians and the eventual domination of the white settlers, one cannot help but be moved.

Caesar Creek Nature Preserve

"Large, placid mulleins, as summer advances,
velvety in texture, of a light greenish-drab color,
growing everywhere in the fields..." - Walt Whitman

With the Labor Day weekend upon us and a series of non-stop beautiful days, I was looking for someplace to go and spend some time with nature. I wanted someplace different from where I had been. I considered heading to nearby Caesar's Creek State Park, but figured a lot of people would be there for the last big weekend of the summer. I also considered going to Ft. Ancient east of Lebanon, Ohio, but figured it wasn't much for hiking. Wanting to stick to the Little Miami River area, I discovered something in-between called the Caesar's Creek Nature Reserve. It spoke of about 2 miles of hiking trails and mention of a gorge area, so I hoped it would have some character to the area.

After a pleasant drive down State Route 42, I veered off a road just Southeast of Waynesville. Following it south and slightly east, I turned onto a small township road that was lovely just for a drive with the sun dappling the road through the many trees. After a few turns and twists, I found the Nature Reserve and parked. Only a few cars were parked there and those were mostly people who used it as a starting point to travel the bike path that is part of the 70 mile long and 66 foot wide Little Miami Scenic River State Park.
The entrance to the hiking trail begins in a wide swathe that leads to the primary trail. After a short quarter mile hike up this access area, the trail veers off to the left. Before I reached it, I could step a little off the access area and see the expanding valley floor, tree-filled before me.


The trail is a narrow downhill path that is a bit rough in the beginning as it heads down into the valley floor, where it widens a bit into an easy, generally flat trail blending through the trees. The sun through all of the leaves left dappled spots of bright light as I passed through the initial trail. This part is moderate and wide enough that there are occasionally joggers who like to be challenged. I don't recommend it since portions of the trail does have rocky areas sticking up that a mis-step could cause an ankle to twist if not careful. Despite it being the Labor Day weekend, this hike took me past only one person. I was pretty much left to my own in this lovely natural area with a few wildflowers still in bloom as the woods turn to goldenrod, Queen Anne's Lace and many bees going about their business. There were some fields of mulleins in their still late stage, nearly without flowers and going to seed; scattered pokeweed with its deep purple berries ripe for the birds - all early signs of fall.

The trail as it continues along a flat path soon begins to touch near the Little Miami River. This is such a peaceful river this late
in the summer with the river bugs - Mayflies and Dragonflies along with the water spiders skiping across the still river. The trail is so close to the river, it is easy to take short cuts through traces of paths up to the bank. Along the bank, it appears to have a small trail to follow in places that parallels the primary trail. I kept going over to the river in various places just to stand and observe nature in its late summer glory with the only human intrusion besides myself, being the sound of small planes overhead from the nearby Waynesville airport.

Eventually, the trail begins to turn away from the river and the texture of the trail becomes more rocky. Suddenly, as you find yourself heading up the slight beginning of the climb to the ridge, it does a near u-turn and follows a more gradual,
but breathless inducing climb up the side of the ridge. I didn't have my GPS with me, so I am not sure exactly what the elevation change is, but the climb is somewhat fatiguing for the casual hiker. Eventually, the trail reaches a level point for about 100 feet before it begins one last climb to the ridge. Upon reaching the ridge, one returns to the expanded trail that appeared to be for Park vehicles if need be. I decided to follow it the opposite way for about 500 feet and soon found myself in an area where the texture changed from deciduous trees to pine trees that appeared to be in a severe state of drought or dying. It was sad to see so many in this state. I turned around and followed once more the trail back toward where I began.

Caesar's Creek Nature Preserve is a nice short hike getaway that doesn't appear to be on the radar of many visitors since hiking would be the only sport allowed. It does bring you close to another area of the simply wonderful Little Miami River with its historic aspects. The river has played a big part in the settling of area, first with the migrating Indian tribes to the white settlers who later followed.

Hocking Hills State Park - Part 3

Our final stop in the Hocking Hills State Park was a mixed visit. By the time we reached Cantwell Cliffs, the rain had finally come down heavily making the visit a little more difficult to get to. Despite the rain, however, there were still quite a few brave souls going to the cliffs to view the area.

As I mentioned previously, these areas are designed to maximize visits from anyone hiker or not. Much has been cleared enough to make it a little easier to get to the site though this one was probably more difficult due to some narrow cliff steps, the rain and slight mud.

What makes Cantwell Cliffs fascinating is the huge gorge that has been formed from the slow erosion of the Black Hand Sandstone from water sourced from Buck Run. Because of the rain and the huge explosion of green growth at the time I was there, it takes on a very exotic rain forest look to it with the ravine serving as a respite beneath the rock cave indent. The vastness of the erosion covered by the growth is exciting to see in person. There are trails that lead off and my brother and I tried to follow one but were stopped by fallen trees and dense undergrowth due to the rain dragging down the bushes and branches.

As I mentioned in previous posts, the main attraction is fairly easy to get to for anyone, though fewer hike the trails when accessible. As you come into the area, if you want to continue, you have to step down a very narrow rock step called the "Fat Woman's Squeeze." This leads you to the end of the gorge where the cliffs have formed an indent which proved nicely for sitting out of the rain and viewing the scene before us.

The gorge opens before us and one looks down into the valley floor covered with lush greenery. This area is more remote than the others and I need to return to it when the weather is much better and clearer.

Hocking Hills State Park - Part 2

When I traveled to Hocking Hills State Park for the first time with my brother, I wasn't sure just what to expect. I had two immediate reactions: this was a wonderful geologic phenomenon that pictures simply cannot do justice and I was amazed at the number of casual tourists visting the primary features.

As I said in my last posting, the State Parks department has spent money and time to create easily accessible "points" for tourists to come in and view. This includes making the trails as easy to traverse as possible, building wooden bridges or steps when necessary to get you into the zone, and clearing some of it so the rock formations are much more visible. All of this is fine since there are more difficult hiking trails branching off from the individual stops. Unfortunately for us, the day, which started brightly enough devolved into solid hard rain.

Our second stop on our visit was to the "point" called the Rock House. This apparently is the only true cave in the area formed from erosion in the center of huge Black Hand sandstone that comprises the area. Black Hand sandstone is a primary base for a lot of this area of the hills coming from the early Mississippian era. A close look at the sandstone to me looked like very dry (though it was rock hard) sand pebbles and small whitish quartz stones. The Rock House itself sits up a 150 foot cliff and forms a tunnel-like area with various softly edged openings. There was a rumor that this was a location where notorious gangster Pretty Boy Floyd hid out, but I could find no proof to that rumor. I do know that people had been coming to area for ages though only those in the late 19th century had begun recording their visits (photo shows June 1889). According to the literature, water leaking from a horizontal joint parallel to the cliff face is responsible for the hollowing of this sandstone.

Historically, the area was used by Indians and later settlers as a platform for creating turpentine.
There are formations inside the cave that provided platforms and where sections had been created to allow the sap to run out of the pine wood as it was burned. As Turpentine was a vital part of Indian folk medicine, they produced it regularly. In 1835, one Colonel F.F. Rempel built a hotel complete with ballroom, livery stable and Post Office near the picnic grounds. None of that still stands, however.

From a hiking perspective, getting to the Rock House is a bit harder than that of Old Man's Cave. That possibly, its lesser popularity and the weather changing lowered the number of people our day there. Due to the wetness mixed with bright light, the views provided a wonder world, our own little land of the lost!
There is some climbing up some rocky footpaths along with some precarious views, but generally, to the careful hiker, the trail is moderate and safe.

The trail does have a history in which an early settler of the area was moving along the trail when he was attacked by a bear and gravely injured. He was able to escape, but later died and his widow and family soon left the area behind for safer counties.


When we reached the cave itself, the light was such that it was reasonably dark inside. Though the floor is relatively smooth, there were places you had to be careful to avoid tripping. While we weren't prepared, there were some people with flashlights to see inside. The tunnel-like area has "windows" so walking along it wasn't extremely precarious.

With the weather still holding, we decided to leave the immediate area and head to our final stop, the Cantwell Cliffs. (posting to follow).

Hocking Hills State Park - Part 1

Last weekend I visited Hocking Hills State Park with my brother to hike some of its trails. I had not been to the Park before though since I have lived in Ohio, people were constantly telling me I needed to visit Hocking Hills. More specifically I would be told I needed to visit Old Man's Cave. Over the years I heard plenty about it, but never found the time to get over there. It is nearly a 3 hour drive for me just to get there. But through the inspiration of my brother, for whom it was a 5 hour drive from his Pennsylvania homestead, I felt it was time to see it. As I arrived near the entrance of the park, I came upon this interplay of light and nature that I hoped bode well for the day.

Hocking Hills State Park is actually a large area located in Southeast Ohio with several different specially created tourist stops requiring a drive to each one, or an extended hike to see them. Unfortunately, for us, while the day started out promising after an overnight rainstorm, the bad weather began to return and so our hiking was limited to driving to each location then hiking into some of its outsanding geological features.

The park service has made these geologic stops into more easily accessed spots for tourists. The initial hike into each area has fairly cleared paths or areas accessible with minor difficulties. The sites themselves are a wonder to behold, but due to the initial access, all kinds of non-hiking people can be found including people with babies, dogs and dressed in sandals and other non-hike dress. However, leading off from these locations are trails that definitely require some expertise. Despite the number of tourists visiting, there are still dangerous cliff that could result in 80 feet or more falls, so the area still requires caution.

Come, Traveller, this hollow Rock beneath,
While in the leaves refreshing Breezes breath;
Retire to calm the Rage of burning Thirst,
In these cool Streams that from the Caverns burst.

Despite all of that, the wonders of the place are worth seeing. Our visit took us first to Old Man's Cave. Despite its name, it is not truly a cave. It is well known to most Ohioans and one of the first things I heard about after I moved to the state when talk of visiting the state parks came up. The spot is quite amazing to visit. The gorge it is part of is approximately 1 mile long with such geologic features such as waterfalls (though there is a drought and very little water falls), sandstone cliffs smoothly eroded giving them a sort of eerie look, and rock formations that have been named because of their appearance to various elements of nature. The park department has made various levels of the area easily accessible even to the casual visitor: wooden steps, dusted trails, carved stone steps and bridges.

The story behind the "cave" is that a man named Richard Rowe, an early 19th century hermit, lived in it. The Rowe family migrated in the 18th century from the Kentucky area to the Ohio River where he set up a trading post. Richard worked in his father's trading post and would make trips every autumn to the gorge where he would stay and trap for pelts to take back to the trading center. Staying through the cold season, one day, he went to the creek to get a supply of water. Using the butt of his musket to break the ice. The weapon discharged with the muzzle pointing under his chin. A few days later, his body was discovered by some other trappers in the area. They covered his body with the bark of an Oak tree and buried him in the sand on the ledge.

In later years, a mythology built up around Richard Rowe and the gorge. Avoiding the area, children would be told that an old man lived in a cave there and had shot and killed himself. Soon the area came to be known as Old Man's Cave.

My brother and I left the confines of the tourist area and began traversing the creek, but found that the trail seemed to fade away. So with storms threatening, we turned back and decided to head to our next destination - The Rock House. (Posting to follow)