Dundee Falls, Ohio

This was my first time rappelling into a waterfall and it sure was fun! I must admit, I did have some hesitation on going through with it. I had been rappelling at Dundee Falls (in Beach City, OH) before, just not at the waterfall.

Ohio had a tremendous amount of rain in July so we knew the waterfall would be flowing really good. Normally there isn't much water cascading over the edge, so we were not disappointed this time in seeing huge sheets of water rushing off!

My brother was the first to rappel. I stood at the bottom taking pictures of his descent. He made his way down the side, then as he got lower his body swooshed forward into the waterfall. His yell of exhilaration pretty much gave away the fun he was having. When he got to the bottom his face was lit up with a big smile, "Karen, you have to do this! OMG, it was so much fun! I might come back tomorrow"!

It was great. It's a lot more fun than rappelling from a regular cliff, I can tell you that much. Plus as you 'walk' you way down the side of the waterfall, luckily it wasn't all that slippery. Centuries of water cascading from the waterfall seemed to have carved traction into it. That is, except for the very right side. There was long moss growing on that side that was on the slick side. (We had 3 ropes set up at the left, middle and right.)

What fun!

Hinckley Reservation - Hinckley, Ohio

Hinckley is only about a 30 minute drive from home so my brother and I went up there for some rappelling practice.

Dundee Falls, Ohio

There were quite a few of us so we rigged up 3 ropes at the top of the 47 foot ledge.

We were rappelling fools. I got in about 5 rappels and about the same in ascending.

Moreover, I now have the knowledge and skill set of the tried and true prusik knot ascending system.

After watching Glenn slowly creep up the rope using prusiks he suggested I do the same. Sure! Once I got myself on rope with the prusiks, and attempted to push the tight cords up the rope, my initial thought was, "This sucks"! Glenn and I shared a few chuckles as I slowly inched my way up. After about 2 feet I contemplated changing over into a frog system and continue my ascent. Glenn would have none of that, saying "You should use the prusiks at least once"! So, with renewed vigor I continued up and eventually made it to the top.

Towards the end of the day Glenn put together a zip line, which a few of us tried. Some photos of the fun and games are in the zipline Directory folder.

Hocking Hills, Ohio

Sunday morning I awoke to the sounds of laughter and my tent collapsing on top of me. Apparently a certain group of unnamed individuals thought it would be funny to remove the tent poles from my tent as I peacefully slumbered.

After a quick breakfast we packed, drove, then hiked to our second rappelling location, which was a 120' drop next to a misty waterfall. Up until this point the most I've ever done was about 40'. So this was a big leap for me. Hypothetically speaking, of course. I got in 2 raps, and ascended both times via frog. The second time I dropped it with my bro on the rope next to me. That was a fun bonding type of experience.

Hocking Hills, Ohio

Glenn and I joined George Willard, Victor Fowler and Andrew Linsenmeier for an overnight excursion at the Hocking Hills Region of Ohio.

It was quite the fun trip. Saturday we spent a couple hours playing around at about a 70'(?) drop. I didn't rappel that one, but I did ascend it via a frog system. It was my first time using a frog and I liked its relative simplicity and efficiency.

After a bit it was starting to get dark so we hiked back out to the cars and headed out to a restaurant before we made our way back to the campgrounds to set up our tents. Andrew and Vic had arrived earlier in the day and already had our site picked out and paid for.

History of the area
The hollows and caves of the park complex have long attracted the peoples of Ohio. Evidence of the ancient Adena culture illustrates man first inhabited the recesses more than 7,000 years ago. In the mid 1700's several Indian tribes traveled through or lived here including the Wyandot, Delaware and Shawnee. Their name for the river from which the park gets its name was Hockhocking of "bottle river." The name comes from the bottle-shaped valley of the Hocking River whose formation is due to its one-time blockage by glacial ice.
Source: Dept. of Natural Resources

Parma, OH

This was my first time rappelling in Parma. Parma isn't exactly known for their rappelling.

Unfortunately, soon after we arrived at the park it started to downpour. The spots were were looking at to rappell from had steep footing at the top and were getting slick from the leaves and muddy. Not exactly prime locations.

Luckily, after not too long, the rain let up. Another bright note is that we ended up finding this great spot to rappel from. I got about 5 rappels in. A good time was had by all.