My Lil' Trail Hacker

Not often do I get to spend time with just one of my 3 girls. Sometimes I'll get to drive Jazzy to art class, or watch one of the girls while Jen is in town with the other two. However, it's rare that there is just "one on one" Daddy time.

Well the other day, I was wanting to get out of the house and get some fresh air. I was considering a relaxing 4-6 mile run around Marie Hickey, but I threw out an open invitation to the entire family for a relaxing 2 mile hike instead. Everybody declined, as they were sitting around watching TV or surfing the web... except Daizi. She was watching TV, but actually got excited to go on a hike. She was genuinely excited about it too. No matter how many times Jennifer, Lizzie, and Jazzy said "Daizi, are you sure you want to go!?". She asserted that she was sure! This made my day!! What was supposed to be a quick breath of fresh air outdoors, turned out to be an unforgettable hike with my favorite 4 year old!



We got to Marie Hickey around 3:30 pm, and Daizi suggested that we check the map so that we knew where to go. :) I let her pick which direction to start, and she decided that she wanted to go UPHILL into the woods instead of doing the easy, flat part first. I love this kid! :) We headed up into the woods with great conversation. Of course she started complaining about her legs hurting about 200 yards into the hike... I assured her that they'll feel better soon, and she didn't mention them for the remainder of the hike.

We kept our eyes peeled for animals the whole time. She wanted to see a "trock-a-dile" really bad. I told her that there were no "trock-a-diles" in Ohio, but she didn't get it and kept claiming that she wanted to see one. :) We did see some hawks, small birds, a crane, a family of deer, and a few "stwirls". I was really wanting to see the local owl, but we never did see it.

Daizi prolonged our hike with her never ending search for cool "egg-torns" (ie. acorns). We had to stop every 100 (or so) feet to pick up acorns. I never once told her to hurry up or "let's go". I truly cherished the time that she gave me on the trail. I was here with her, she wasn't here with me this time. I would stop and look with her. At one point we had about 10-15 different acorns and she wanted to put them under her pillow (?). I told her that she should pick about 3-5 of the best ones and leave the other ones for the squirrels. She thought that was a good idea, so she dropped a bunch of them and put exactly 3 in her coat pocket. :)

About 1.5 miles into the hike, she said she was getting tired. I believed her and picked her up and put her on my shoulders. She stayed on my shoulders the rest of the hike. This kid is tough to walk 1 1/2 miles on her little legs through these hills. She'll be running ultra's with me in a few years. :)

As we were approaching the back side of Oak Knob trail, we heard the water fall off to the side. After a nice rain, Marie Hickey comes alive and there is a beautiful waterfall that sits off the trail a bit. We headed over to the water fall and spent a few minutes admiring it.

After the water fall, we got back on the trail and giggled back to the car through the mud and over the little bridges. The entire hike took us a little over an hour, but it seemed much longer. We had a great time together and Daizi was wore out after we got home.

I hope to talk her into another hike next week... and then the next week... and then the next...

Marie Hickey Hiking

The Hiking Hardbargers

Earlier last week, Jennifer had to be somewhere and I had the girls for the evening. I was actually very excited about this because the usual schedule includes: them getting off the bus, doing their homework, playing with each other for a while, dinner, then bed. This day I was anxious for them to get off the bus so we could go outside and get some fresh air.

Daizi and I got ready so that when they got off the bus, we'd all have a quick snack, then hit the trails. They walked in the door and I told them about my plans. Lizzie jumps for joy when she hears the news, but Jazzy whines and says she doesn't want to. I told here that's exactly why we're doing it. :) The weather was perfect, and everybody was pretty groggy. I know that getting out into the woods always wakes me up and puts me in a better mood.

We arrived at Marie Hickey and headed down the east side of the parking lot. After about 10 minutes everybody was giggling and running around the trails. They all took turns holding my hand and it turned out to be a perfect evening. Not only did the evening turn out to be fun, but the time flew and before we knew it, Mommy was back home.

Here are some random pictures taken on our hike:

"Daddy, my legs hurt..." says Daizi.

This is one of the girls favorite spots on the trail...

Daizi found some berries...

Hiking along an incline about 3/4 mile into the trail...

Daizi runs across a bridge.

Hiking down a service road (1.5 miles)

We're all smiles now!!

Almost back to the car...

I'm raising future Trail Hackers.

Hocking Hills Camping Vacation

Last week, Jennifer and I took our girls to Hocking Hills State Park for a 4 day / 3 night camping vacation in our new popup camper. We all had a blast!

Here is how it all breaks down, day by day, and attraction by attraction. Note that there are a lot of candid shots at the bottom if you just want to scroll to them instead. :)

Wednesday

We arrived at Top O’ the Caves Campground around 4:30 pm after a quick drive. Once we got checked in, Jennifer and I got the camper all “popped up” and got everything turned on. Immediately we started a fire and cooked ourselves some hotdogs and s’mores for a nice family dinner. I, of course, washed down with some nice Sam Adams beers. We were all very excited to get up early the next morning and start hiking.

Thursday

We woke up around 8am, after a very short night’s sleep. Jen and I weren’t sure how to work the heater or the electrical system on this new camper, so we did a lot of trial and error all night long. Needless-to-say, neither of us felt very rested when we woke up. Jen cooked up some yummy eggs, sausage, and ham on the gas grill before we headed out for our full day of hiking. Today’s agenda consisted of Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls, and Ash Cave.

Old Man’s Cave

Wow, what a beautiful place! We started off at the main parking area and walked through various mazes of paths to get to the actual “cave”. Once we got to the cave it was well worth the 1/2 mile trek with the kids. There were a few spots where I (as a grown adult) had to duck through various walk ways along the path. The girls had a blast and really wore themselves out here. We were going to continue along the trail to see what else it had to offer, but decided to turn back and head towards the picnic area for a quick bite to eat. We still had to visit two other places today and we didn’t want to get too tuckered out here.

Cedar Falls

This place was really neat as well. I’ve ran past it before and heard the falls while running the Indian Run, but I’d never actually seen it. The girls thought it was really cool because they were able to climb all over the rocks real close to the actual water fall. :)

Ash Cave

This was the favorite of the day for everybody. We clearly saved the best for last. The cave was very big and had a magnificent water fall that fell over the caves’ ceiling. The girls especially liked it because it had a bunch of sand that they got to play in. The hike back to the cave was also nice because it was totally paved and we were able to let the girls pretty much take off and do what the wanted. Every other place today we had to watch them like hawks to prevent them from pummeling over a cliff.

After Ash Cave we all went to the Hocking Hills Dining Lodge and had a nice dinner. The place was really cool, we all sat near the window that was about 40 feet above the forest and you could see above all the trees for miles. We had a great time and filled up real good after our full day of hiking. By the time we got back to the campsite it was nearing 7pm, so I started a fire and we had some more s’mores then played cards in the popup (slap jack) before calling it a night.

Thursday was a great day!

Friday

It poured last night! And, I mean poured. I woke up a few times from the rain pounding down on the popup. It was loud and windy. The girls all slept pretty good, but Jennifer and I had another rough night of sleep. We finally “woke up” around 9am while the girls were all starting to get crazy and eat pop-tarts in the camper.

After Jen made a very yummy breakfast, we all put on our poncho’s and headed out for our second day of hiking in the Hocking Hills. We were pretty sure that we would be the only ones hiking today since it was still raining and very cold. Us Hardbargers don’t care! We’re hard core! Today’s agenda consisted of Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, and Conkel’s Hollow.

Cantwell Cliffs

Heart attack! This was a very cool place, but man did it give us a few close calls with the 2 year old. :) The place consisted of an immediate decent through the rocks and many man-made stair cases in the rocks. The view’s were absolutely beautiful and there was nobody out today due to the weather. We had the whole place to ourselves and really got to spend as much time and be as loud as we wanted.

We did have one close call with Daizi way up on a cliff… She was walking along and then all the sudden, she tried to turn around and talk to Jazzy while walking and she started to drift. Luckily I saw it all in slow motion and stopped her. She was probably 2 feet from a 40 foot drop off; I decided to carry her the remainder of the hike. Phew!

After this hike, we all headed into the town of Logan and had a nice sit-down lunch at a small cafe. The girls were absolutely tuckered out already from all the steps at Cantwell Cliffs. We thought it was a nice time to stop and pump them full of carbs and protein before heading out to the other locations…

Rock House

This was a very cool place! It was basically a bunch tunnels in the side of a cliff. All the rain and river water that flows over a cliff erodes the wall back and creates these caves in the rock. The girls loved it! We got a lot of really cool pictures and had a blast at this place. It goes without saying that we had this park to ourselves as well because the weather was cold and wet. Some might say that the weather sucked, but we loved it of course. :)

Conkle’s Hollow

This was (by far) my favorite of the whole trip. It wasn’t part of the Hocking Hills State Park, rather it was a State Nature Preserve (similar to Blackhand Gorge) within the boundaries of Hocking Hills State Park. There was an upper trail and a lower trail. The upper trail was a 2 1/2 mile single path journey around the gorge, whereas the lower loop was a 1/2 mile paved trail into the gorge. We decided to stay on the lower trail and take our time.

Every step of the way was absolutely gorgeous. There might be a 140 foot cliffs on one side and a mossy green cave wall on the other side with a water fall. I can’t remember how many times I told Jennifer that it was my favorite place. When we got to the end of the 1/2 mile hike, it was the grand finale of beauty. There were 3 water falls that fed the stream we just walked down. I would have never guessed that the stream we were following was fed by 3 immaculate water falls.

If you get a chance to visit Hocking Hills State Park, be sure to take the time to visit Conkle’s Hollow, and walk the entire and lower path to the end. It’s a very pretty and slow stroll through Mother Nature’s finest work.

Conclusion

We all had a great time and the girls created memories that I’m sure they’ll cherish forever. I know that Jennifer and I sure did. Here are some random pictures that I feel are “share-worthy”:

The end.

Hiking the Appalacian Trail

Last year, I posted about my desire to hike the Appalachian Trail in the past, and I still plan to do it one day. I'm addicted to nature trails and this is the ultimate nature trail, as it spans from Georgia to Maine. I really think I'll do it in the future, but I need a lot more money and a lot more available time-off before thinking about something like this. I'll probably have to plan for after my journey sometime after the girls grow up and move out. Just know that it is on my list of things to do before I die. :)

Anyway, I was doing my blog roll today and stumbled upon a post by Anthony about a guy named Karl Meltzer. Anybody that knows anything about ultra running, will know this name; I (for one) have heard his name quite often since I started reading trail magazines and reading news and blogs about ultras. Last week, Karl started his trek to hike the Appalachian Trail in 47 days... 47 DAYS!? Most people do this in about 5-7 months. Karl, plans to hike (calculating in my head...) almost 47 miles per day, for 47 consecutive days!? Wow! Go Karl!!

The best part is that he's keeping an online journal of his trek. Check it out: WheresKarl.com