Old Man's Cave

This past weekend was amazing. I went camping and hiking along with my dogs and good friends for the first time in ages, being out in nature and feeling the fresh air in my lungs was simply a great feeling. However it turned out that this particular weekend was a very good weekend for camping and therefore there were many many other people trying to get the same experience that I was, meaning we ruined it for each other.
When we arrived at our campsite our spirits fell. We had expected a campsite that was secluded and immersed in nature, instead we got a site that was right across from the bathroom in front of the main road and right next to a bunch of other campers. You couldn't let your eyes stray too far or you might forget you were even in nature because the RV next to us had a big HD TV.
In the morning when my group woke up we decided to take a hike through Old Man's Cave. As we began our hike, dogs in tow, I realized that we might not be the only ones with this idea. When we got to the trail my group tried to hang back a bit so that we were not right on top of the group in front of us however our plan did not work out because more people just kept showing up. When we got to Old Man's Cave I gazed down into the gorge it was really beautiful, the sandstone had been carved out over years and years of weather, true natural artwork.

It was gorgeous, but the line of people going down the man made stairs made it hard to enjoy. I wondered what kind of damage all the people that walk on this landscape do?
My weekend camping trip, while enjoyable, seemed kind of ironic when I look back on it. All of these people leave their houses with tons of gear, some not even leaving their TVs behind, trying to “get away from it all,” only to surround themselves with people and technology again.

Old Man's Cave is located in the Hocking Hills State Park just 1 hour west on route 33.