Hiking with Doc

20210424 – Edge of Appalachia – Wilderness Preserve

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Date: 04/24/2021 – Distance: 3.1 mi – Elapsed Time: 2.25 hr – Ascent: 499 ft – Descent: 538 ft – Difficulty: Medium

The Wilderness Preserve features a few miles of trail through wooded ravines with dolomite cliffs and amazing wildflowers and wildlife. It is part of the Edge of Appalachia Preserve System owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Dedicated 1967.
Parking lot.
Trailhead map.
Some info about the park.
The trail is a loop and you can go either way.
I went counter clockwise.
Looks like a Chestnut.
Barn near the trailhead.
Entering the wilderness…
Pink Lady Slipper getting ready to bloom.
There is a bunch of them here.
Hard to see but I spotted the bright orange dots from way back in the woods.
Indian Paitbrush in a small prairie.
Hoary Pucoon in the same prairie.
There’s that plant I have yet to identify. It’s gonna be big. Maybe Mullin but the leaves aren’t fuzzy.
Rue Anemone.
Not sure but maybe a Parsnip?
Columbine.
The trail drops into a ravine.
Wild Ginger.
Wood Betony.
Wood Betony.
Hepatica.
Some rock outcroppings appear.
The trail continues into the ravine.
White Cedar aka Arborvitae.
And they’re big ones.
Large Flowered Trillium.
Jacob’s Ladder.
Wild Geranium.
Crossing the creek.
I call these Salvadore Dali rocks.
The don’t look like they should be standing like that.
The trail continues deeper.
Jack in the Pulpit.
Ragwort.
Columbine.
Solomons Seal.
The trail continues along a cliff above and the ravine deepens below.
Wild Ginger flower.
Bloodroot seed head.
There are some big rock outcroppings above.
Wild Blue Phlox.
Fleabane.
This was a cool carveout.
Ohio Buckeye.
The flowers are quite beautiful.
Crossing the creek again.
Goldenseal.
The only mud I came across.
Squaw Root.
I believe the prairie is private but it looks nice.
The trail begins to climb out of the ravine.
Violet Woodsorrel.
Twinleaf.
And there is a big population of Twinleaf here.
Two Leaf Toothwort?
Wood Poppy.
Elm seeds?
Another huge outcropping above.
Long Spurred Violet.
The trail skirts a cliff top.
And it’s a good one.
It’s about 60 feet down.
You can see the purple Redbuds and the white Flowering Dogwoods.
White Cedar aka Arborvitae.
I find these everywhere. I was able to collect this one.
Yellow Garlic?
A lone Showy Orchis Orchid right on the trail edge.
I could see my car now.
Leaving the wilderness…
Last climb back to the parking lot.

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