Revived. We wandered down the wooded path, over leaf litter and soft dirt, our breath rising like smoke as we pushed forward on the early fall morning. Callie and I were the only ones on the trail and had started at dawn, rising early, taking down our tent, and hitting the trail before most other campers were stirring in their sleeping bags. I wanted to get going first thing and hopefully get a few miles under our feet before we had to return to reality for the upcoming week, so pushed us a little faster than I would normally have done that early in the morning. Callie didn't seem to mind. We were hiking Seven Hollows Trail in Petit Jean State Park, where we had hiked to Cedar Falls the previous day, and only had half the day to spend before we had to return home.
We came to a fork in the trail, and I hesitated. I thought I remembered the trail being a loop, but didn't have a map on me to confirm (bad, I know). One sign pointed to a natural bridge and the other to The Grotto, so I figured if anything else I'd backtrack, and headed to the bridge first. The trail almost immediately started heading down, until we were walking along the bottom of a forest canyon. Small caves dotted the sandstone cliffs surrounding us, and more than once Callie veered off along a small side trail to go explore; I didn't correct her, I wanted to go check them out myself! Soon we were walking along a small creek, first next to it then above, always returning while we followed the canyon along its length. About a mile and a half in we reached the natural bridge, chiseled into the dark grey sandstone no doubt by the creek that now flowed around it. We explored for a bit, climbing on the rocks and in Callie's case sniffing the countless other scents of dogs and people who had come before us. One of the perks of rising early, and hitting the trail early, is the distinct lack of people. We had the whole arch, the whole trail, to ourselves, but I'm willing to bet we would have had to share if we'd come an hour later. I was able to let Callie explore off-leash, unhindered by the courtesy of hiking with dogs around people who might not be dog friendly.
We took our time at the arch, but were soon on our way again. I could have turned back, as I was unsure of whether or not the arch was a spur or part of the loop, but I decided to keep going and see what happened. Not far beyond the arch we crossed the creek and climbed the soft sandstone up and out of the canyon. Almost before I realized it, we were on a bluff overlooking the forest canyon below, surrounded by funny little mounds of stone affectionately called "Turtle Rocks," weathered into patterns like the shell of the reptile. Not far from the rocks we descended into another canyon, and here I received the confirmation I was looking for: a sign on the trail pointed down a short spur to The Grotto. I was on a loop!
The Grotto is a large sandstone alcove, reminiscent of the alcoves in the red rock sandstone of the desert Southwest, A small stream cascades over the upper lip of it, probably full of life after a good rain but on this trip it was only a trickle. The stream feeds a small pool of water, which undercuts the sandstone further until it runs out to join the other streams and rivers in the park. Callie and I spent a while exploring, checking out the prints in the mud of other visitors, such as raccoons, dogs, and other people. She really, really wanted to go swimming, but I didn't fancy cleaning up a muddy dog, so kept her out of the water.
From The Grotto we ascended again before diving right back into the third and final canyon of the hike. This one we walked the length of, weaving between the trees and overhanging cliffs, poking around more caves and otherwise just enjoying the fall morning. One couple with their dog passed us going the opposite direction, and that was it for our people encounters. The woods were quiet, though we could occasionally hear a creek babbling under the leaves. We reached the trailhead again just as the day began to warm up, and I was happy to call it a day. It was a nice little escape, and I went back to civilization ready to give it another go.
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