Falls of The Ohio Hike - 2014 Event Cache

• The uppermost layer - or the youngest rock - is the Paraspirifer Acuminatus Zone, which contains fossils of brachiopods (including paraspirifers, a two-shelled animal similar to a clam); bryozoans (commonly called lace coral); trilobites; and some solitary, branching, and colonial corals.
• Second is the Fenestrate Bryozoan-Brachiopod Zone. Named for the predominant fossils found there, here one also can find crinoid stems in abundance.
• A six-inch-thick layer called the Brevispirifer Gregarius Zone follows, and contains fossils of brachiopods and gastropods (sea snails), horn corals, or cup corals, and one of the Falls' most unusual corals, the astromatoporoid.
• The Amphipora Ramosa Zone, commonly called the Cave Zone. Pocket caves have developed here due to the powerful erosive powers of the Ohio River rushing across the rock. This zone occurs along the vertical cliffs of the river channel, where the cutting force of the river reaches its peak.
• The oldest and most remarkable layer is the largest to be exposed. It bears the name Coral Zone because of its abundance of fossil corals - so many, in fact, that visitors find it difficult to walk on this layer without stepping on fossils exposed in the bedrock.
• To assist in fossil identification, the interpretive center provides an educational website HERE.

• This is an extreme hike, a six-mile round trip on reflective limestone, loose rock and soft sand. Six hours! A horizontal rock climb! Swift water crossings! Quick sand! Moonscape craters. Knee-deep wading! Potholes! Slippery! Mud flats! Sand dunes! Rock walls! Mesas! Caves! Wet boots! Blisters? You'll LOVE it!
• You'll be walking BELOW the normal level of the upper river pool on an ancient seabed that can be 55-feet UNDER WATER at flood stage! A billion gallons of water are right...THERE! Just inches away!
• Hey, put your ear against the big metal spillway gate and hear the water vibrate, moan and hiss as the walls keep 73 miles of water from crashing through and sweeping you to the Gulf of Mexico!
• We'll go where not many people have gone!
• Lewis and Clark, Prince Madok, pioneers, Native Americans and the underground railroad crossed here!
• John James Audubon sketched birds here. Mark Twain was lodged on a rock in a boat for several days here.
• There are several geocaches and EarthCaches to log along the hike!
• You'll hike the wetlands. See the Cottonwoods and Willows.
• Lots of driftwood, too! No limit on the number of pieces you can take! FREE, too! Think LANDSCAPING!
• Want creature features? An OCTOPUS was caught here! Live crocodiles and alligators have been seen here. Tropical fish with teeth! Did I mention NO SWIMMING ALLOWED?

Okay, the DON'Ts:

• MOST IMPORTANT! Don't wander off alone! IT AIN'T COOL TO BE A FOOL! Seriously, if you sink knee-deep in river mud, and you are alone, you are IN TROUBLE! Have a partner!
• Don't walk near the water on ANYTHING other than rock or FOSSIL BED without testing first! River mud is deceptive, looks like water-packed sand. And it loves you, sucks you in and doesn't want to let you go! Walk on HIGH GROUND!
• Don't step on the cracked ground. It's mud with a sandy disguise.
• Don't attempt this with less than three legs. If you have less than three, you'll likely damage one or two. Use a hiking stick for balance (water crossings)!
• Use extreme caution crossing swift water! Smooth, swift water is dangerous! It can (and will) sweep you off your feet in an instant!
• Don't stare at moving water while crossing, you'll lose your balance! Look off briefly to maintain perspective. Rocks with moss are slick!
• Don't interact with the orange or metallic water.
• Don't be on the other side when the sun sets. Get out an hour before. Else you may risk a night at the Patch Reef KOA!

The MUST DO's:

• DO bring your moonwalk. You'll need it.
• DO bring your water legs and sand feet.
• DO be prepared to be knee-deep-wet and sandy. This is, after all, a beach.
• We'll cross at the the upper gates ONLY. There's a large five-rung USACE ladder leading to the spillway. It will be moss-covered and slick (hiking stick).
• DO be prepared to cross moving water. If the lower gauge is around 10.0 feet or lower, water is shallow, shin deep. But shin-deep is still swift. There is always swift water regardless of pool level.
• DO bring a camera. Sure, you may fall and ruin it, but if you don't the pics are priceless! Think PROFILE PIC!
• DO PUT A WATCH ON THIS PAGE FOR UPDATES!

GEAR UP!

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• Bring liquids. You DO NOT want to run out of something to drink. Dehydration can and will occur. I usually carry 4-20's (gatorade), frozen. Drink plenty in advance.
• NO RESTROOMS (big river). Plan accordingly.
• Snacks, i.e. ENERGY FOOD - No restaurants here!
• UV PROTECTION! Limestone is highly reflective!
• Bug Spray! (especially if it recently rained) Deep Woods is my favorite.
• Camera (check batteries)
• Zip-lok storage bag(s) to keep stuff dry
• Duct tape. (blister spots)
• Hiking staff.
• A PERMANENT FELT-TIP MARKER (sharpie?) FOR THE WATERPROOF LOGS.
• Lace-up footwear recommended (sandals are NOT!) I wear very light water shoes, mesh uppers, felt soles. I've sunk into mud and walked out of a shoe before, had to reach elbow-deep to wrestle it out. Fair warning. Heavy leather boots get waterlogged and heavier.
• Light travel recommended. A heavy pack only gets heavier. You'll get by with water, snacks, and bug and sun spray. I'll carry a two-bottle waist/lumbar pack with two more bottles inside (frozen). Plus I'll drink plenty before we go.
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