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11 miles, 5 hours on the trail, and the trail ends with having to climb the hundred or so dam steps to get back to the parking lot!
(Above) View from inside the shelter pictured below.
Mohican has these interesting, very overbuilt, bench shelters that face the scenic river. You can just rest in them and watch the river flow by for hours. I assume these were built in the 30's by the Civilian Conservation Corps. We wouldn't dream of building something this well-built today, just to house a three-person bench.
I have a character flaw where I see human anatomy in nature, I'll leave it at that.
My favorite part of the hike was the north side of the trail that followed the river upstream for 4 or 5 miles. The smell of the river and the pine in the early morning was remarkable.
There are a couple of climbs, but nothing too hard. The trail can get narrow in places, but nothing as difficult as you will encounter in a Forest Service-managed State or Federal Forest.
The trail follows the river on the south shore for a mile or two, but on the way back it follows it for a good 4 or 5 miles, and it's spectacular!
Most of the places I've hiked in Ohio don't seem to have many conifer trees, but Mohican is packed with them. This section of the trail was pleasantly fragrant with a sharp, sweet, and refreshing smell of pine.
There are a couple places where the trail gets steep, full of roots, and narrow. A hiking stick or trekking poles are a good idea.
See the comment above about anatomy in nature.
There is a suspension bridge that is anchored by steel cables on both sides and swings freely as you cross it.
I took a full backpack for practice even though it was just a day hike. I used my stove to make a cup of coffee along the river on this convenient platform. I'm a pretty fit person, I swim around 30 miles per month, and I walk and hike around 150 to 200 miles, lugging around a twenty-five to thirty-pound pack changes everything, it's a lot harder than I expected even at my fitness level.
Mohican is known for having the best canoeing in the state. It would be fun to go back in the summer with the family and spend the day on the river.
These rental cabins along the river have nice screened-in porches that face the river, they look cozy and nicely maintained.
This pic doesn't do a good job of showing the steepness of the decline, but there are a couple of areas with leaves, loose debris, and acorns, (that act like little natural roller bearings) that are long and difficult to navigate without slipping and falling on your butt.
Overlook view on a cloudy, overcast, day. I'm sure when the conditions are right this view will be beautiful.
The four main attractions at Mohican are Lyon's Falls, (which was barely a trickle because of the season) Clear Fork Gorge, the Scenic River Trail, and the Fire Tower. The only way to see all of these in one long hike is to spend about an hour walking the roads. The official hike in the Book "50 Hikes in Ohio" was only 5 miles, but it covered only Lyon's Falls and part of the Scenic River Trail, so I opted to go with this expanded 11-mile route that I found in All Trails that was advertised as a way to see everything Mohican has to offer in one long day hike.
View from the top of the Fire Tower
Fire Tower view.
The fire tower is open for climbing at your own risk.
The part of the trail that goes through the forest isn't very long, the trail I followed is almost all gorge area, along both sides of the river, and roadway.
Yours truly along a creek that feeds into the main river on the Hog Hollow Trail.
The Hog Hollow Creek Trail
An interesting twist. Nature always finds a way.
The south bank trail runs right along the river.
The Big Lyon's Falls is one of the main attractions at Mohican, but this late in the season it was just a sad trickle.
Standing under Big Lyon's Falls
Big Lyon's Falls was just a trickle and a wet patch of ground.
The Gorge Trail
The Gorge Trail
If you look very close you can see the trickle of water that is Lyons Falls at this time of the season.
Stairway down the gorge to the falls.
The amount of mature conifer trees was an unexpected surprise.
This was my first experience walking along a Hemlock trail. I've done 18 out of the 50 hikes in the book and not a single Hemlock trail anything like this one, it was an unexpected pleasure.
The Native American Creation Story
When the animals and plants were first made–we do not know by whom–they were told to watch and keep awake for seven nights, just as young men now fast and keep awake when they pray to their medicine. They tried to do this, and nearly all were awake through the first night, but the next night several dropped off to sleep, and the third night others were asleep, and then others, until, on the seventh night, of all the animals only the owl, the panther, and one or two more were still awake. To these were given the power to see and to go about in the dark, and to make prey of the birds and animals which must sleep at night. Of the trees only the cedar, the pine, the spruce, the holly, and the laurel were awake to the end, and to them it was given to be always green and to be greatest for medicine, but to the others it was said: “Because you have not endured to the end you shall lose your, hair every winter.”
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