Girls’ Winter Weekend Getaway- Hocking Hills State Park

Girls’ Winter Weekend Getaway
Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
January 15-17, 2010

My friends and I are bound together by a mutual love of wine, outdoor activities and good times. We spend weekend afternoons hiking or riding bikes and evenings having drinks and playing games. We’re up for whatever sounds fun! When we heard about the 45th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike, it seemed like the perfect reason to get out of town and spend a weekend away.

The Hocking Hills area is a place known for its unique natural beauty. Millions of years ago, a shallow sea covered the area with streams running into it which deposited sand. After an ice age, running water from glaciers cut gorges, caves and other rock formations into the sandstone creating the unmatched beauty of the area.

Two cars, jammed packed with passengers, luggage, coolers and bags of groceries were required to make the trip. Even though each of us planned to pack lightly, we realized that we had way more than previously anticipated. Meg, Jo, Jan and I left around 1:pm on Friday afternoon. Janet, Jean and Di left after 3:. We followed Interstate 77South to I-70W to Ohio 37 to US 22 to US 33 and then followed directions to the cabin. The drive was fun- we chatted about the trip as we drove along the highway. We left the interstate, the farmland quickly changed to hills and we were soon seeing large rock formations. We followed winding roads deep into the Hocking Hills State Forest getting more and more excited about the weekend to come.

We rented the Hemlock Log Cabin in Rockbridge, Ohio. As soon as we pulled up the driveway, we were blown away by the beautiful and secluded setting. When we walked through the door, the real fun began. We got to explore every room of the cabin, taking in all the little details that added to the charm of the decor- moose, bear and tree cut-outs in the woodwork, leather lodge furniture, mission lighting. There are three bedrooms, two queen beds and a king, with an extra queen bed in the loft area that opens to the living room below. A fireplace is the focal point of the living space, which has a sofa, love seat and huge lounge chair. There is a flat-screen TV in the living area, as well, with satellite and a DVD player. Both bathrooms have claw foot tubs. There’s a pool table in the basement. But to us, the very best features of the cabin were the front porch which overlooks a wooded bluff and the huge hot tub.

Another feature of the cabin is abundant wildlife, mostly in the form of barn cats and farm dogs. A tortoise-shell cat greeted us with disdainful bellowing as soon as we pulled up and she never relented for the entire time that we were there. Frankly, I was sometimes afraid to cross her path to get to the hot tub. She always looked ready to strike. However, my heart was stolen by a cute and friendly neighborhood dog I named Pugsly. He was happy to run around the cabin area chasing the cat and other dogs and barking at whatever he saw deep in the woods. At one point a black lab and small scruffy dog ran by. None of these animals seemed wild, just free to roam. As many of us were away from our pets, I think these creatures were an added bonus.

The cabin has its own full kitchen, stocked with dishes and cookware, so we decided to bring our own food and make meals to have as a group. On Friday night we feasted on stuffed shells, beer bread with dip, spinach salad, Italian bread, pasta salad, chips, pretzels and an assortment of other foods. We each brought a few bottles of wine and enjoyed sampling different types throughout the night. After dinner, some of us took our first dip in the hot tub while others relaxed by the fire or on the front porch.

The next morning started with another big feast- pancakes, bacon, croissants, bagels, muffins, donuts, orange juice and coffee. I admit it- we’re a bunch that likes to eat. But, we were about to work it off on a long hike. While Jan decided to relax at the cabin for the morning, we headed out toward Hocking Hills State Park, which was only about 5 miles from our cabin. As we got closer, we found thousands and thousands of people! Because of mild temperatures, a record 5,417 participants came out for the 45th Annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike. A long line snaked along the road and toward the path over the Upper Falls. The line moved slowly but we gradually made our way over a bridge, along the side and then down steps to the front of the Upper Falls. From there, the line slowly moved through the gorge, which was about 20 degrees cooler than the low 40Fs above. The waterfalls were frozen and icicles covered the ledges. We made our way to Old Man’s Cave, which is huge! At that point, the hike started to move a little more quickly and we were well on our way into the park. We walked through wilderness, past a lake and dam, over a suspension bridge and down to see Cedar Falls before hiking back up to the lot where they were serving bean soup and hot cocoa. The hike was crowded, muddy in places, icy in others but to experience it on a record-breaking year was neat, not to mention the breath-taking frozen waterfalls, caves and rocky ledges.

After the hike, we enjoyed a lunch of awesome chicken salad on croissants and then spent the afternoon relaxing in the hot tub, sitting on the front porch, playing pool or napping. Soon, another big feast was in order, this time featuring chicken sausages prepared on the grill by Jean, assorted mini pizzas and a selection of foods from the evening before. After dinner, we spent the evening playing games like ‘Pass the Popcorn’ (a movie trivia game) and drinking lots and lots of wine and other spirits.

Although we needed to check out by 11:am on Sunday, we still managed to jam-pack a lot of activity into the morning. Of course we started off the day by indulging in another breakfast feast- egg sandwiches on bagel or croissant with sausage or bacon. Jo noticed a magnet advertising massages in the cabin and she, Jean and Di took advantage of the service ($35, 30 minutes) while Meg, Jean, Jan and I spent a few last minutes relaxing in the hot tub. Even though I’m typically not a bubble-bath type of girl, I decided to bathe in one of the claw foot tubs just to say I did.

We spent the last hour packing up- we seemed to leave with just as much stuff as we came. We gathered on the front porch before we left and reflected on our favorite parts of the trip. To some, enjoying all the family-style feasts topped the list. To others, it was spending evenings on the front porch. But when it comes down to it, everything we did this weekend was about good times with great friends.