Fort Hill

Fort Hill is my favorite hike that I do as a day trip (my trips to the Hocking Hills region are for several days at a time).  The route I usually take is about 5.4 miles.  It is owned by Ohio History Connection and managed by the Arc of Appalachia.  It is best known for its beautiful outhouses.  Well, maybe for the Earthworks that were built by the Hopewell Culture of Native Americans, but you can click on the link on the right and read about that.  I have seen no one else on the web ramble on and on about the outhouses at Fort Hill, so I will.

But before we go to the outhouse we must first go to the picnic shelter.  There are some cool picnic tables with benches that are attached and fold under the table.  Nice craftsmanship.  Anyway, it's time to pee.  To the left of the picnic shelter is a meandering little stream.  No! Don't pee in the stream!  The outhouses are on the other side of the stream, surrounded by trees.  Not only are there separate outhouses for men and women, there are separate bridges across the stream to get to them.  Very picturesque.

Dogwood and redbuds flowering in April at Fort Hill.

The trailhead is to the right of the picnic shelter but I almost always start on the other side of the parking lot.  This is because way back when, when I first hiked here the trailhead was in the field (currently transitioning to forest) between the building and the parking area.  I think that trailhead was only temporary because the Native Americans were still building the earthworks.  Anyway, I used the "official" trailhead once and went straight uphill for more than half a mile.  That's no way to start a hike.  Be a rebel, walk across the parking lot and start at the sign that says "Exit only - Start at Trailhead" that must be new because last weekend was the first time I've seen it.

Thank God we are finally hiking - my fingers were getting tired from all that typing.  I'll have to start using my other eight fingers if I continue typing this much.  After just a couple hundred feet you will come to a fork in the trail.  Don't take it or no one will understand these directions.  Instead go right onto the Gorge Trail.  Two-thirds of this 4.1 mile trail more-or-less follow Baker Fork, sometimes at creek-level, often on outcrops fifty feet or so above the creek, and occasionally turning inland for brief periods.  This variety is what makes this hike so enjoyable.  By the way, you can see some photos from November 7, 2015, by clicking on the "Photos of Fort Hill..." page on the right.

You will reach the junction with the oddly named Canby's Mt. Lover Trail.  Unless it is a drought or you like wet feet, don't take it.  You have to cross Baker Fork twice and the stepping stones are under water October - June.  Continue on through the log cabin (don't worry - no one lives there any more) and be amazed by how the hike keeps getting better; The trees get bigger, the outcrops over the creek get higher, the small streams you cross and the hollows they flow down become more scenic, hell, even the person you are hiking with becomes more attractive.

The trail goes through this old house.

A small tributary of Baker Fork flowing between two slump blocks.

Keyhole Arch.

The top photo is typical of what you will see along the trail.  The bottom photo requires explanation.  Across the creek in the middle of the pic you can see a small waterfall.  Above that is brown of trees that haven't experienced bud-break, green of trees that are starting to leaf out, and black.  That is Keyhole arch.  In the winter when you are aligned properly aligned you can actually see straight through it.  The oddly named Canby's Mt. Lover Trail travels across the top of it, exits stage left, circles around, crosses the creek and re-enters the photo in the very bottom-left corner.  So, when you see the second sign for the oddly named Canby's Mt. Lover Trail you know to look for the Keyhole Arch.  But if you think you can wander off the trail to get a better view:

OK, you can take a couple steps off the trail.  Hell, this sign isn't even at Fort Hill, it's at Conkle's Hollow, 1 1/2 hours away.  Stop!!!  Hammer Time!!!

The hike keeps getting better from here as we proceed inland and upward, except when we don't.  If you have been paying attention during this hike you understand what this means.  Eventually we will make a left and start following a smaller stream.  If you look across the stream you will trip and fall.  If you look where you are going and take an occasional glance to the right you will soon see this:

Another arch.  To the upper right of the arch is a smaller arch.  Above that is a little bitty dot that is actually an opening the size of a golf ball.  I am calling this a triple arch.  I may not have a geological leg to stand on, but who cares?  I'm a rebel.  I hike backwards and like outhouses. Regardless, the slope in front of the arch is covered in wildflowers in the spring.  In fact this next stretch of the trail is wildflowerlicious in the spring.

A lame photo of wildflowers, I will get a better pic this spring.

Continue along the Gorge trail ignoring the Buckeye trail exiting to the right and ignoring (for now, someday I will hike it again and write about it. Edit: I have, see November, 2016 update at the end of this post) the Deer Trail and continue uphill to the hill, walk up that hill until you get to the Fort Trail.  Make a left.  You are now on a flat section of trail below the earthworks.  You have a hike of about ten minutes through the upland forest before you get to a sharp right turn and a brief but steep climb to the ridgetop.  An unusually large and flat ridgetop.  It is 35.3 acres in size and is encircled by a wall (the earthworks) that is more than 1 1/2 miles long as described here.

As you walk along the ridge stop and look in all directions.  In late fall, winter, and early spring you can see for miles around.  You are at about 1290 feet above sea level and all the surrounding ridges top out at least 50 feet below that.  There are several openings in the trees that allow a view even in the summer.  A bit closer to you, on the left of the trail you can see the wall.  The occasional openings in the wall are man-made and are not caused by weather or time.  On the right of the trail the ground is often wet, marshy, or there may even be vernal ponds.  (Those are ponds that dry up in the summer. Fish obviously can't live there so they make safe place for amphibians to live as tadpoles and such.)  There is much more to this part of the hike than I can describe in words or photos (if I knew how to take them).

When you get to the largest clearing and most unobstructed view the trail turns right and heads downhill to the parking lot.  Remember to take a right at the fork you saw at the beginning of the hike.

Don't forget to visit the outhouse(s) again before you go.

January, 2016 Update:

I added pictures some more pictures, specifically of the picnic tables (actually just the one that was not under the shelter, the others were too dark) and the outhouses.  What I didn't get pictures of was of the surrounding hills.  It was right at thirty-two degrees and was kind-of snowing,  The clouds were really low, giving all the hilltops a Smoky-Mountain-like look.  Pretty cool.  I also hiked in the recommended direction and liked it less.  The southeast half of the Fort Trail does not reach the ridgetop and is not as scenic as the northwest half I described above.  If you hike the entire Fort Trail as well as The Gorge Trail - Deer Trail loop it doesn't matter what direction you go, but if you are just looking for an enjoyable 5+ mile hike the route above is the best.  

November, 2016 Update:

I recommend hiking the Deer Trail to the Connector Trail and then turning left on the Fort Trail.  It adds about .75 miles to the hike, bringing the total almost 6 miles.  It is more scenic and has shorter hills than the continuous hill I redundantly wrote about above.  I have also added another page of photos from Fort Hill.

Hocking Hills State Park, State Forest, Conkle's Hollow, etc.

Wednesday, October 14th thru Saturday the 17th

I got there a little after 9AM, registered for my site, made several trips with my gear (I camped in the hike-in area on St Rt 374) and got my tent set up.  It was nearly 11AM before I finally was able to relax and start hiking.  Or vice versa.  I hiked from the campsite to Rose Lake.  If everything works out perfectly the sourwoods are bright red when the hickories are bright yellow and you can get a few fluffy white clouds reflected in the lake all in one photo.  As I mentioned on the photo page, the sourwoods were a dull red, the hickories were dull orange, and I was an hour too late for the best light.  In other words, it was beautiful.  I won't allow myself to be spoiled because I was able to get nearly perfect conditions in 2009.

Of course the photo quality sucks and I've been wanting to improve on this for the last six years.  Hopefully my patience will be rewarded.

Anyway, I spent most of the first day hiking along the rim and in some hollows of Queer Creek after it meets Old Man's Creek.  These hollows have 100' waterfalls at the end of them that put the other falls in the area to shame.  When they have water.  On this visit they were mere trickles.  But they still have vertical cliff walls and rocks and steep slopes to climb on.  It may be the "newness" of it for me or the lack of other people anywhere near me, but I like this area better than the well populated trail from Old Man's Cave to Cedar Falls.  I actually did not go anywhere near Old Man's Cave or the Upper or Lower Falls any of the four days I was hiking in the region.

On Day Two I went to Conkle's Hollow and then bugged out onto the horse trails of Hocking State Forest that get to within 30 feet of the East Rim Trail.  I frequently abandoned the horse trails when the scenery was better off the trails.  There are great patches of deciduous forest and areas that are 80% hemlock, gentle slopes and deep hollows. Why should the horses have all the fun.

Conkle's Hollow used to be a lot less crowded and I used to wonder why.  It is like all the highlights of the entire Hocking Hills region in a half mile trail that is paved most of the way.  The 2 1/2 mile rim trail has great views from the edges of the cliffs out over the canopies of the trees in the gorge below.  It is the hiking equivalent of Steven Wright's microwave fireplace (you can spend a night by the fire in just eight minutes).  Anyway, this is not the case anymore.  The have expanded the parking area and there are still people parking in the grass, in the trees, in Big Pine Creek, etc.  And now they have gone and made things even worse (if you detest crowds, and who doesn't):  They now have flush toilets.  Gone are the pit latrines that only have a roof over half of the building.  It is only a matter of time before the snack stand and souvenir shop opens.

Big Spring Hollow

Big Spring Hollow

I usually hike in the Rock Climbing and Rappelling area and Long Hollow across the road from there but I did not make it there this time.  Big Spring Hollow in the Climbing and Rappelling area is one of the highest waterfalls in the region and the cliffs and slump blocks here are worth the price of admission (having to climb steep hills).

The cliffs in the Climbing and Rappelling area

Slump block

Long Hollow starts (or ends) in the parking lot for the Climbing and Rappelling area.  There is no sign for this, just a horse trail leading into the hollow.  I had been to the C&R area many times and had seen the the trail leaving the parking lot but I had never taken it.  On one visit I decided to leave my backpack in the car when I hiked the C&R area and I was hungry when I got back to the car.  I figured I would take my lunch and walk the trail at the end of the parking lot.  It only took a couple of minutes before I realized that this was just a horse trail, and a muddy one at that.  The hillside to the right was almost entirely covered in hemlocks so I decided that I would eat my lunch there.  I did.  I lounged for a while, maybe even read a little, and then went back to the car.  It wasn't until a year later that I fully explored this trail at the end of the parking lot.

That trip was in April.  I was going to keep following the horse trail and see where it goes.  I knew that if there are that many hemlocks in the area, there would likely be a deep hollow.  So I followed the trail further than I had the previous year.  Then I saw a sign on the left that said "No Horses Beyond This Point" and obviously that meant that there is something worth seeing beyond that point, they just don't want horses tearing it up.  I was rewarded after a decently strenuous hike up a steep slope.  There was a 60' waterfall that was flowing then but is likely dry for half the year  Because of the hill separating this side hollow from the main hollow it was well protected and there was still a couple patches of ice.  I was all excited by this so I hung out there for a while and then decided to hike up out of the hollow to the rim.

I hiked along the rim for ten or fifteen minutes, expecting to find another small hollow I could descend into and follow back to the horse trail in Long Hollow.  When I didn't find it I started looking for a place that had no vertical drops so I could pick my way down.  As I was doing that I would stop every couple minutes to scan the ground ahead looking for the best route.  During one of these stops I heard what I was sure was the waterfall at the end of Long Hollow.  I got excited again and gave up zig-zagging down the slope and just angled downhill towards the sound of the waterfall.  I got back on the horse trail and looked up (I had to look where I was walking so I wouldn't trip) and uttered a small, "Whoa."  I could see the cliffs at both sides of the hollow as it narrowed and could the waterfall was louder.  I couldn't see it because of the small hil and slump blocks between me and the end of the hollow.  In fact, the horse trail descended into the streambed, the only way through to the waterfall.  When I got to the other side I loudly exclaimed, "Whoa!"

There was not one, but two waterfalls.  If I was standing in the middle of the clock the larger fall was at 10 and the smaller one at about 1.  The place on the rim were they started falling were probably eighty feet apart in a straight line (obviously the end of the hollow is round).  The smaller waterfall not only had less volume of water but was a shorter fall.  It landed, flowed down a rock face, went over a smaller fall, and finally reached the same level of the bigger fall thrty feet away from it.  Because of the topography and trees it is impossible to get both falls in one picture, at least it was with my lame digital camera that I had with me.

The bigger fall on the left.

The smaller fall on the right.

When I got home I looked on the web to see if anyone else had discovered this hidden gem.  I was pretty sure that the horses that went there had riders on them, so someone must have taken better pictures than I had.  I found this:  TrekOhio  While I was wandering around on the rim I missed a cave big enough to fit 21 horses in.  But there are no pictures of the waterfalls.  So I will end this post the way I began it, in pursuit of the perfect picture.