Our Plan B Hiking Day

Last Saturday was our first day to hike on our little getaway. And what a BEAUTIFUL day we had for it! Like I told you a couple of days ago, our plan had been to hike Hocking Hills State Park, but it was closed, so we had to find alternative options. Ryan did a little research and discovered a nature preserve just a few miles from our cabin, so we decided to start early and go there first.

When we arrived, we were the first ones there, and a gentleman was walking his dog near the entrance. He told us we were wise to arrive early because that place would fill up to insane levels before the day was over. He said that normally never happens, but with the big park closed, everyone was forced into the smaller parks. We only saw a couple of people in this preserve the entire two hours we were there, but I will say that as we walked the wide trail out, we passed tons of people coming in. And the cars had sure piled up in the parking lot and down the road!

This preserve was really nice - and it was the only waterfall we saw the entire time.

 We thought, as we walked this nice wide boardwalk through a meadow back into the preserve that this might be a super easy hike. It didn't stay flat and boarded the whole time. ;)

 We thought for the longest time that they had marked a bunch of trees to cut down. Then we realized they marked the trail. Ha!

 I asked Ryan if he wanted to add our initials...

We came to a fork that was not clearly marked. We took a left, positive we would encounter the falls. Hiked about a quarter mile before giving up and coming back to the fork. Went to the right a few hundred FEET and look what we found??

It's actually a natural bridge!

 And the waterfall. LOL!!! This was it for us!

 Ryan and the waterfall...

 My pictures got a little out of order here (sorry) but here I am on the trail!

 Stranger danger!!!

 This picture is from all the way back at the beginning - with the meadow and all.

 Now we're back to the falls!

 He's so funny!

 It started to warm up, so we ditched the jackets and sweatshirts.

It was a nice area that went much deeper into the woods than we expected! The trails were steep and rugged in some parts, and we saw all kinds of terrain from meadows to rivers to rocks! It took us a good two hours to get through all of it, and then we moved on to a second nearby park.

(We did learn that neither of these areas had bathrooms or park offices. You just parked and hopped on a trail! I tried to drink enough to stay hydrated, but not so much that I would need a bathroom, since there wasn't one.)

 We borrowed these super cute walking sticks from our cabin. We didn't think we would need them at the first park, and then we wished we would have taken them. We were definitely glad we had them at the second one!

 Started out pretty easy...

 But we found the more rugged parts pretty quickly.

 I have never owned proper hiking shoes and I've gotten my shoes and socks wet going through creeks on nearly every hike we've taken. So before this trip, we found some good, solid hiking shoes for me. My first pair of high top shoes ever in my life. I had no idea you were supposed to wear tall socks with them. About halfway through the park, I had a good blister going on my heel, and our bandages were safely in the car. Ryan remembered he had a spare mask in the backpack, and it actually proved to be the perfect buffer on my heel!

At the end of the day, we headed back to our cabin, feet aching and hearts happy! We hiked about 11 miles that day!

And that night, Ryan built a fire in the pit at our cabin and we roasted hot dogs and s'mores and drank coffee. (And of course...the hot tub received a couple of visits.)

It may have been a plan B sort of hiking adventure, but it was still a great day!