50 Hikes in Ohio: October 2023

I'm a beginner hiker who got interested in hiking when I stumbled on the book 50 Hikes in Ohio by Ralph Ramey while casually browsing in a local bookstore. I thought it would be a fun challenge to attempt to hike all 50 hikes in the book and write about my experience here. This week's adventure took me to Tar Hollow, the second most challenging hike in the book, with my friend Bill.

It’s one of only 8 of the 50 categorized as “High Difficulty.” Here are my callouts about this hike:

As a beginner, I’m accustomed to my treks lasting two or three hours, not this hike. At 12 miles, you should plan to be out all day, anywhere from 6 to 9 hours, so be sure to take plenty of food and water.
The terrain is challenging. The trail, while well marked, doesn’t appear to receive much attention from maintenance crews or even enough foot traffic to keep the trail clear. Expect to encounter fallen trees blocking the path and narrow, overgrown sections. There are deep ditches that look like they fill with water during wet periods, so go prepared to take your shoes off to get across. (I recommend packing a pair of Crocs)
There is a high amount of climbing at 1,736 feet, but that's not the most challenging part; it's the steep descents with loose rocks, dirt, and natural debris like acorns that act like ball bearings that require you to take them slow and carefully to avoid slips and falls. If you go in the fall, the leaf cover can make these descents even more treacherous.
It is tricky to find the start of the Logan Trail from the parking lot. You have to park your car and then walk back up to the road you came in on to find the trailhead. Use the GPS coordinates I provided above to avoid wandering around looking for the starting point.
Trail marking is done by a Columbus Boy Scout troop that takes their responsibility seriously. It's well marked with red paint blazes on the trees, but because it is designed to be walked in one direction only, you have to do the loop counter-clockwise; otherwise, you won’t see the blazes. If you don’t see a blaze after 100 feet, retrace your steps because you probably missed a turn. The trail also doesn’t match up perfectly with the map in the book. If you use All Trails App just download a recent map of the Logan Trail. I made the mistake of drawing a custom map to match the book, which was a mistake.

There is a man-made lake, but you don't see it until the very end for about five minutes of the entire trail.

Socrates famously declared that the unexamined life was not worth living. Asked to sum up what all philosophical commandments could be reduced to, he replied: "Know yourself" While we were hiking, Bill and I got to talking about athleticism and how some people are born with an amazing amount of natural athletic talent. Bill shared that he figured out long ago that while he wasn't above average in agility, mobility, balance, or coordination, he had discovered that he had a higher-than-average amount of mental resilience and raw willpower to work harder at something than most people without giving up. I believe that Bill is correct in this assessment, he is a man that knows himself. I meant Bill around ten years ago through cycling, his mental strength and determination is legendary in the Miami Valley cycling community. Bill once rode his bike 385 miles in a 24-hour period. He. Will. Not. Give. Up.

The trail is challenging, but the scenery and seclusion make it well worth all the effort.

The trail is narrow and overgrown in places, this is not a pristine Metro Park. State and Federal forests are more wild and natural on purpose, you won't find perfectly maintained wide crushed rock paths, benches to take a rest, or scenic wood bridges, but if raw nature and solitude are what you're after Tar Hollow will not disappoint.

If you don't like hills, this is not the trail for you. You go straight up, and straight down over twenty times, and the steepness and narrowness of them are challenging, but if you enjoy a challenge, and you're in decent physical shape this trail is difficult in all the right ways.

The 73' high Brush Ridge Fire Tower was built in 1934, it's been closed since 1978, but it's open for hikers, you are permitted to climb the stairs at your own risk. I took a pass on climbing it, it was near the end of our long hilly hike and I just didn't have the motivation left to climb it.

"Yeah, I've shit in the woods."

"When guys in camouflage pants and hunting hats sat around in the Four Acres Diner talking about the fearsome things done out-of-doors, I would no longer have to feel like such a cupcake. I wanted a little of that swagger that comes with being able to gaze at a far horizon through eyes of chipped granite and say with a slow, manly sniff, "Yeah, I've shit in the woods."

Taken from Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail"

The road into Tar Hollow State Park. This is the road that you will need to walk back up to from the parking lot to get to the trailhead. You can not access the Logan Trail from the parking lot.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Two old men, one-half deaf, the other, half-blind, but together we make a capable, trail-blazing, dynamic duo.

Trail maintenance could be better, you will experience a lot of downed trees blocking the path, as well as parts of the path that are overgrown.

In early July of 2023, I stumbled upon the Book 50 Hikes in Ohio by Ralph Ramey, sitting on a display endcap at Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs, Ohio. I had been on several hikes in my fifty-five years, but I wasn’t what I’d call a hiker. My current hobby was using beer and pizza to grow a stomach in the correct fashion. I wasn’t overweight, but I was getting close. My BMI was the highest it had ever been. I knew I could stand to lose ten to fifteen pounds. Maybe this hiking thing could be the ticket. Walking is pretty good exercise, especially for burning fat off your body; why not buy this book and attempt to complete all 50 hikes? Why not? Who doesn’t appreciate a walk in the woods?

The first hikes I chose from the book were all in the Hocking Hills area because I knew their reputation for being the best place to go hiking in Ohio. I did Conkle’s Hollow solo for the first time in early July of 2023 as one of my very first hikes, and I was so impressed I couldn’t wait to go back in the Fall and share it with my family. This blog post is from that second trip on October 21, 2023.

Conkle’s Hollow is one of twenty-two hikes in the book categorized as “Low Difficulty.” (The book includes twenty “Moderate” and only eight “High Difficulty” hikes.)

Here are a few callouts about this hike:

If you’re looking for an ideal first-time out beginners hike, put this one at the top of your list. I rank Conkle’s as the best hike in the Hocking Hills region. It’s not nearly as crowded as Old Man’s Cave, Ash Cave, and Cedar Falls, and its scenery and accessibility, as far as the skill required to hike, simply can’t be beaten.
Make sure you do both the Rim Trail and The Gorge Trail. Combined, you’re only doing 3.5 miles, and except for the 200-foot climb and descent to and from the Rim Trail, the hike is nearly all flat, well-defined trail.
Arrive at sunrise in the Autumn for the optimum breathtaking experience, but return during any season to appreciate the ever-changing beauty of this area.
Once you get some experience, return to Hocking Hills for the “Moderate” number 7 hike, The Grandma Gatewood Trail, which hits all the popular features in Hocking Hills: Old Man’s Cave, Ash Cave, and Cedar Falls, in one long hike. I made the mistake of driving around to all these locations and making separate small loops at each site. If I could do it over, I would have just done the six-mile number 7 hike, which is a long day at six miles but only has 361 feet of climbing.