Kyla's Hocking Hill Vacation 4

Day 4: Cantwell Cliffs

Kyla wakes up the next morning to the sun shining with no rain clouds in view.  A combination that makes for a humid morning, but Kyla doesn't mind.  It's still beautiful.  When choosing her next hike the day before she chose the Cantwell Cliffs, one of the more difficult trails.  It seems normal when she first starts, then she gets to a set of stairs.

A narrow, steep staircase with the rock steps only about 2 feet wide and 6 inches deep leads down into the ravine.

Creating a long, steep, narrow path, Kyla has to pay attention to her footing, stopping a few times, to make sure the rock steps are under foot.

Once she gets to the end of the narrow stairway the rocks and woods open up onto a rocky ledge that over look a ravine of trees and rock.  A thin waterfall falls from the lip of the cliffs into the ravine below.

Following the ravine, the trail snakes back and forth to the forest floor, cliffs looming on ether side.

Small runoff waterfalls litter the trail, trickling down from the beautiful rock  cliffs.

At one point in the trail a long fallen pine tree looms over the path, like a bridge for squirrels.  Kyla thinks of walking on it, but decides that standing underneath the bridge is much safer.

Rocks jut from the earth along the trail, covered in green moss.  Kyla can not believe all of the wonderful sights along the trail.

The bright whites and tans of the sand stone contrast with the luscious green of the moss and plants.  Kyla stops for photos often as she walks.

As she nears the end of the trail, she comes to a spot that has a narrow wooden staircase leading to a crack in the rock cliff.  From the bottom of the staircase the crack looks only inches wide.

When she climbs the stairs she realizes that you can walk through the crack.  Sliding through sideways, she comes out at the bottom of the staircase that she began her trek down.

She is so fascinated by the crack that she goes back through to explore.   It is a small crack, no more than 2 feet across at it's widest and closer to a foot wide in the narrowest part.

Such a simple geological structure, but so amazing.   Kyla is very glad that she was able to go through this trail.

Walking back through the crack, she climbs the narrow rock stairs that started the trail.   It was a difficult trail, but beautiful.  She then head back to the cabin to rest, and get ready for the following day.   Her last in Hocking Hills.