The rock that makes up Old Man’s Cave, and what you see throughout Hocking Hills State Park is called Black Hand Standstone. I read that at some places the rock is over “200 feet thick and composed of almost pure quartz sand and pebbles. In some portions, it is dominated by white, rounded quartz pebbles and forms a conglomerate. Because of its thickness and resistance to erosion, the Black Hand forms shear cliffs and gorges.” (www.ohiohistorycentral.org) It’s impressive! The Hocking river runs down into the cave, and felt very cold.
With the ice, I was seriously worried about going over the edge. There are places where the fall would be in excess of 100 feet. I recall stories of people going over the edge at the park, even in good weather, so I stayed away from the edges of the cliffs. Teresa was a little more daring. We both came home safe.
~ Rick
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©2018 Rick Cartwright