The purpose of this blog is not just to share where to hike in southern Ohio, but when to hike.  Hopefully I can provide enough information that I can attract readers who can share their information and stories and help make finding the awesome hike easier.

My selfish reason for starting this blog is so that I can hit the spring wildflower hotspots at their peak.  My original plan was just to see when the Arc of Appalachia is planning their Wildflower Pilgrimage and schedule my vacation a couple days before or after.  Obviously, bloom times depend on the weather and not the calendar.  I was late one year and early the next.  I am out every weekend at that time of year, so I didn't totally miss nature's spring show.  Still, it would be helpful to know where to go at any given time to maximize vacation time and the limited weekend hours.

My other selfish reason (What? Did I forget to mention I had more than one selfish reason?) is that I like to schedule a somewhat impromptu winter hikes during peak waterfall cone and icicle (stalagmite and stalactite if you prefer) season.  I stare at the weather forecast for the Hocking area a couple times a week in the winter looking for rain followed by a good freeze and then a couple days of slightly above freezing with below freezing nights and I just wish I could go somewhere and read something from someone who has just been there.  Damn, that was a long sentence.  Hopefully this can be such a place for hikers to share their observations.

Three more paragraphs.  First - a short biography.  I live in Cincinnati and I am hiking in a local park almost every weekend that I am not hiking elsewhere.  July and August are too damn hot, so I usually only sneak in an hour or so very early in the morning.  I work outside all day all week and would rather sit in the AC and drink beer and wish my garden would weed itself during hot weather.  I'll venture further from home in the spring and fall to Five Rivers MetroParks, Glen Helen and Clifton Gorge, The Arc of Appalachia and Fort Hill, Lake Hope and Zaleski State Forest, Hocking Hills state parks, state forests and nature preserves in that area, and any other park or preserve in between here and there that offers a couple hours of hiking.

My short-term goals for the blog are to list all the places I've been hiking with a brief summary and to provide links to those places.  Starting with this fall's Chase of Color I will provide more detailed information about my hikes.

My long-term goal is to create a local phenological calendar for spring wildflowers.  My long-term promise to myself is to walk every trail that I can find and record my observation here so other hikers can use that info to help them plan their hikes.

Doug.
9/9/15.