52 Hike Challenge: Month Four Recap

As always it seems time is going by so quickly! It’s already mid-May and I haven’t had a chance to recap my hikes from April. Between work and vacation the month has slipped away. So, I’ll get right down to it. Here is my hiking recap for the month of April.

Hike #14: Lakefront Nature Preserve (Perimeter Trail), 2.2 miles 

This place is a little slice of heaven, right outside of the city limits. This is a nature preserve that is tucked away off of highway 90. This area is perfect for bird watchers or photographers, or for people like me who just enjoy a peaceful hike by the water. It’s pretty secluded so you might even find you have the whole place to yourself. Keep in mind if you do come here dogs are not permitted.

Hike #15: Coopers Rock State Forest (Raven Rock + Scott Run), 6.51 miles

My husband and I decided to take a (semi) spontaneous camping trip to West Virginia. Coopers Rock State Forest is only about a four hour drive for us. The weather was going to be about 20 degrees warmer in West Virginia so we thought this was the perfect opportunity to go! The hike pictured above is one of the most picturesque places in the park (Raven Rock). I’m already dreaming about coming back here when the leaves are at their peak of changing. Once we finished this we hiked part of Scott Run, only to realize we were way too exhausted to finish the entire hike and turned around about halfway through. This hike was nice because it was adjacent to our camping grounds, making it super easy to access.

Hike #16: Conkles Hollow + Big Spring + Ash Cave, 9 miles 

This was a big weekend for me. I spent it in a cabin with women from Oklahoma, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Women who were total strangers before the weekend started, who I only knew virtually through our Women Who Hike ambassador Facebook page. It was a weekend filled with so much adventure and laughter. We spent a lot of time outside, and I was honored to share the beautiful state of Ohio with these women. We didn’t waste any time and spent almost the full day outside exploring. We hiked all of Conkle’s Hollow, Big Spring and Ash Cave.

Hike #17: Old Man’s Cave to Cedar Falls, ~7 miles

Technically all these hikes were in the same weekend, but I tried to cram as many hikes in as I could to make sure I stayed on track. This day was AWESOME! We hosted a large group of ladies for Women Who Hike, nearly 40 of us altogether. Women traveled from all over the state to be a part of this hike, and it was so special. Hydroflask and LifeStraw were kind enough to sponsor us so everyone received a water bottle and a water filter system to ensure we all stayed hydrated. We hiked approximately seven miles, starting at Old Man’s Cave to Cedar Falls, and then back. We started the day early and had most of the trail to ourselves until the end. I’m constantly amazed by how many adventurous, bad ass women are a part of this organization!

I’m already a bit behind in May with my hiking and I have a lot of catching up to do in the next few weeks. Almost every weekend of my summer is already booked, so I’m going to have to plan much more in advance and be more strategic about my hikes. But, this is part of why I decided to do this challenge. So that I would push myself to get outside even when my schedule says otherwise. I’ve always found if things are crazy in my life, a little time in nature, even just for an hour or two, can calm me down.