Donald Keough, News Editor–
At the bottom of a nine-story tall gorge carved by glaciers 10,000 years ago, students gazed upward watching as water trickled off of the cliff’s edge and sprinkled onto the ground below.
Along with the students, there were crowds of visitors, dozens of dogs, and two weddings happening nearby. The appreciation for the beauty of the enclosure could be heard in the “oohs” and “ahhs” echoing across the sandstone walls.
The students were in Ash Cave, one of Hocking Hill State Park’s many natural attractions on Oct. 5. The trip was organized by the Outdoors Club, and is one of many planned trips for this semester. A total of 16 students attended, along with two members of the executive board for the Outdoors Club.
The full hike was 10 miles in total, which the majority of the group completed. Along with Ash Cave, the hike included views of the native forestry and Old Man’s Cave. Both of the executive board members of Outdoors Club said that they felt the hike was a success.
“I really enjoyed getting so many people to show up,” the Co-President of the Outdoors Club, Maaike Snider ‘26 said. “Everybody enjoyed it, and a lot of people did the full 10 miles.”
The hike was also in partnership with the Hoaglin Wellness Center. Snider is also a Wellness Ambassador for the center, and she helped to form the connection between the two. The Wellness Center helped supply snacks and water, as well as organize the trip.
Snider said that having a partnership with the Hoaglin Wellness center also helped emphasize how “going outside is important for physical health and mental health.”
The location of the hike was chosen by the Outdoors Club for a number of reasons, according to Snider.
“It’s like one of those state parks that doesn’t look like it belongs in Ohio,” Snider said. “It’s so pretty, and the history behind it… it’s just fantastic.”
Trip Leader Donovan Powell ‘26 was the other executive board member of the Outdoors Club on the trip. Donovan estimates that this is either his seventh or eighth trip that he’s helped lead.
This Saturday, Powell will also be leading another trip to a local pumpkin patch for pumpkin picking and carving. This trip will also be in partnership with the Wellness Center.
The number of participants during this past hike was higher than typical in recent years, and Powell hopes that the Outdoors Club is gaining more traction with the student body.
“The club was big, pre-COVID, then COVID came, and it was hard to get going,” Powell said. “But I definitely think we’re on the up.”
To put this trip’s student participation in perspective, Snider said that the Outdoors Club held the same hike two years ago in 2022, and a total of five students came.
For future events, Snider hopes that students will still feel encouraged to be a part of their events.
“The purpose of [the club] is to get people together, to meet new people, to foster their friendships, to grow new bonds, and go outside [to] do something really fun,” Snider said. “…Not only doing outside stuff, but… doing fun activities, then using [them] to promote environmental health, [and] sustainability.”