Today my dad and I headed out to Ash Cave in Hocking Hills to see if there was a big ice buildup. The cave is a large natural hollow that was used as a shelter and meeting place for local Indian tribes in the past. It’s a huge, dry rock overhang that has a small stream running over the lip creating a waterfall. Every winter, ice builds up at the bottom of the waterfall, sometimes to the point that there is a narrow column of ice from top to bottom.
This time, the flow from the top was more of a fine shower than a solid stream as in the past. As a result, instead of a tall column the ice formed something that looked like a reverse volcano, with water falling into the open cone instead of lava flowing out. The blue color made it look like an iceberg had fallen over the cliff.
The ice was even more beautiful up close, like the inside of a wet limestone cave.
Huge icicles were hanging precariously from the rim of the overhang…
..and every crack in the wall created another beautiful feature.
It was pretty impressive to see that the ice buildup from such a tiny stream was almost three times the height of a man. All in all a great day at one of my favorite Ohio spots.
We even saw some wild turkeys on the way home, but they flew away to fast to get a decent picture.
