Rock House

Wednesday
Another chilly start giving way to a very warm afternoon. The cottages where we spent the night are across the road from the main lodge and restaurant, and breakfast was included in the stay, so we walked down the steps through the trees and across the road in the brisk air to breakfast. After breakfast, we checked out, and drove to Cantwell Cliffs, only when we got there, I realised I had got confused, and it was really Conkles Hollow I had intended to go to. However, since we were there we did the hike there. Buck Run accounts for the deep valley, steep cliffs and rock shelter under the cliff. As you approach the rock shelter, the trail wends its way through narrow passageways caused by huge slump blocks that have fallen away from the main cliff, one of them being known as Fat Woman’s Squeeze! From there we continued on to the subject of my blip, Rock House. Rock House is unique amongst the formations in the Hocking Hills area, as it is the only true cave in the Park. As you can see from the top right photo, it is a tunnel-like corridor situated midway up a 150 foot cliff of Blackhand sandstone, with seven “windows” along its length. There is evidence of it having been used by Native Americans for shelter and cooking. Finally, we went to Conkles Hollow, where I had meant to go first, since it affords the best view across the deep gorge of the autumn colours. Here, there is a 3/4 mile long wheelchair accessible trail along the gorge floor, or the more strenuous 2-mile long tim trail, which we did, involving a long flight of steps, then some more climbing, then somewhat rough uneven terrain at the top, with lots of tree roots to negociate, and 70-100 foot drops, but the views are worth the effort, especially at this time of year. After our exertion, we decided we deserved an ice cream, so stopped at Grandma Faye’s, a well known and popular general store and deli, serving all the camping and cabins clientele as well as locals. We’d had enough hiking by this point, so we headed home.