After parking, we were greeted by two things, the neighbor’s roosters calling us, and a beautiful cluster of Brown Eyed Susan’s at the trailhead.
As a follower of the Arc of Appalachia I was superficially aware of Quiverheart Gorge but was not familiar with its location. In July, we noted its signage when we visited nearby Kamama Prairie Nature Preserve, and prioritized a return before the end of summer.
The preserve’s name, Quiverheart, intrigued us. There is an old British air to it. It was not until we were reading the trailhead signage that we found the name was a tribute to the son of the man who donated the land to the Arc of Appalachia, noting that his late son, Matt, said his heart quivered whenever he rode his horse there. First the farm, and later the preserve, were named Quiverheart. The association added a personal touch to the hike and we had Matt in mind as we appreciated nature’s beauty there.
The preserve has two trails but only one trailhead. You can only access the distant Whispering Fern Trail via the Quiverheart Falls Trail.
The hike is exciting from the start. Shortly after entering the woods you are streamside of a beautiful, shaded creek. We visited during a dry August stretch so the stream was low flow.
Relatively soon the trail headed down into the gorge,
and delivered us to Quiverheart Falls, one of the features of the preserve. It was a beautiful setting.
After the initial descent into the gorge the trail quickly begins to climb back out. This is a tricky section of trail and perhaps best avoided by those with heights issues, as it clings to the side of a bluff and the stairs lack railings – not truly dangerous, but somewhat unsettling.
As we were intimate with the walls of the limestone bluffs we could observe ferns at close proximity.
This allowed us to identify them as Bulbet Ferns. They get their names from the “bulbets” that arise on the underside of their frond. The bulbet is a form of asexual reproduction that will drop from the parent plant and allow a “clone” fern to develop.
Eventually you are delivered to the bluff top which hosts an interesting mix of plant communities.
First noted were some aged, weather beaten Redcedars at the cliffs edge.
But also, some stately white oaks were in the mix.
Occasionally the trail would deliver us to areas where there were breaks in the canopy which allowed sunlight to reach the forest floor. Pocket prairies, that could be as little as 200 square feet, were present in these sunny areas and featured small collections of a wide variety of flowering plants.
Spurge and Pale Lobelia – Spurge sounds like a medical condition to me rather than a Baby’s Breath like wildflower.
Downy Skullcap – though typically found in more damp areas, we found this one in a dry patch atop the bluffs.
Small Woodland Sunflower – It is the host plant for larvae of 4 species of butterflies.
Perhaps our most exciting find of the day – I believe that this is the spent seedhead or flowers of the somewhat rare Coralroot Orchid.
Another plant that we found on the sunny edge of forest was Blueberry.
While on the trail we frequently could see down into the gorge.
Expansive views from rock outcroppings suggest this would be a good fall hike.
Along the bluff top we saw karst rock formations. Karst formations, such as caves, sink holes, bluffs, and slump rocks, form when water erodes softer types of limestone, resulting in fissures and passages.
The overall setting reminded us of Red River Gorge in Kentucky, and later we read that this is considered the northern expanse of the Bluegrass geology.
This particular observation was striking. How could this Redcedar eek out an existence on a bare rock?
Nearby we had this outstanding view down into the gorge.
From the bluff top, the trail led us back down into the gorge, passing between two massive sections of limestone.
In the gorge the scenery was still outstanding but just with a different perspective.
Surprisingly, in the depths of the gorge we were still seeing some summer wildflowers.
Bear’s Foot – so named because its large lobed leaf resembles a bears pawprint.
Halfway along the Quiverheart Gorge Trail we elected to head onto the Whispering Ferns Trail. At the outset the name seemed to be a misnomer, for we found ourselves in a cedar glade, one of my favorite habitats, with conditions not supportive of ferns. Compared to the moist, shaded woods with rich soils where you usually find ferns, we were on a dry hillside with some sun and thin, poor soil.
Here the plant diversity was outstanding. We noted Blackeyed Susans, Prairie Dock, and Wild Petunia, as well as others.
After a short time we crossed a large, stone filled creek and found the whispering ferns. Quite frankly, too many species for me to tally.
Walking Fern – it is the plant with a blade like leaf in this photo.
Glade Fern – these are frequently 3 feet high, and have an interestingly textured leaf.
And the outstanding Maidenhair Fern.
The chest high Bracken Fern, with its scruffy base, covered a large portion of one hillside. Bracken Fern is deciduous, meaning its large fronds die back to the ground with the first frost.
After several switchbacks climbing the fern covered hillside, we found ourselves once again at the base of a series of bluffs.
Including this massive grotto.
The trail eventually delivered us to another pocket prairie,
where we saw a collection of cedar glade plants including Meadow Pink, one of our favorite wildflowers.
The Whispering Fern Trail then hooks back up with the Quiverheart Falls Trail to exit the preserve.
Odds and Ends:
In one of the cedar glades we found this interesting specimen – the American Dagger Moth caterpillar. The name comes from an imaginative interpretation of the color pattern on the wing of the adult moth, rather than an appendage that might harm you. But you should avoid contact with the caterpillar as it can cause a stinging skin rash.
No Footpaths article would be complete without a fungus photo. We enjoyed this isolated mushroom on a log above a stream.
Textures of the Day:
As I have outlined previously I have a fondness for Redcedar trees. They grow in challenging environments and seem to survive whatever nature throws at them. They start life as a rather unsightly, barbed bush, and then mature into majestic specimens with an open, muscular branching architecture and photogenic, smooth, gray bark. Then, when they die, their dense wood can last for centuries, decaying very slowly. We found this Redcedar carcass on the gorge floor. I suspect that it fell from the bluffs above a long time ago. It is like inland driftwood – strength, resilience, sculpture.
Likewise, limestone can be textured, but over millennias not decades.
On the softer side we noted this moss covered stone hosting Rockwort, our native sedum.
In summary, Quiverheart Gorge is an exceptional hiking venue. The trails weave through a collection of habitats and offer a diversity of plant communities, as well as outstanding geological hardscapes. Perhaps it is too special for its own good, as since our visit in early August the Arc of Appalachia has had to institute a permit program to allow entry into the preserve, through a locked gate. Per the Arc’s website, Over the past year, caretakers and visitors have seen a rise in harmful activities at Quiverheart Gorge, including off-trail hiking, trespassing, collecting wildflowers and fossils, and climbing on the waterfall and boulders. These actions damage fragile habitats and can put visitors at risk. A permit system helps protect the preserve by limiting daily visitors, ensuring people agree to the rules before they arrive, and holding them more accountable. While the Arc hoped to avoid this step, the growing impact on the Gorge’s rare and beautiful features made it necessary.
The permit system is web based and not complicated. The permit is usually granted within minutes of an online request, as long as the day is not already fully booked. The applicant will receive that day’s lock combination. Please see the link below. The beauty of this venue is worth the extra effort.
Footpathsblog.com posts are released every Sunday morning and some bonus content is added periodically. Please click on a social media icon above to follow for future posts and to make sure that you catch all our reflections on, and adventures with, the great outdoors.
Photo credits to Caroline Burns Grizzle.
Overview:
Location – 2199 OH-781, Peebles, OH 4566, 71 miles from downtown Cincinnati.
Parking – gravel lot for 12-15 cars.
Trail Conditions – bare dirt paths with an abundance of stones. Could be slippery in wet weather. Definitely a moderate trail overall. We hiked about 2.75 miles on this outing.
Print Map Link – https://static1.squarespace.com/static/640b875d14fa1852d6031793/t/66801c0d0155861778728a80/1719671821623/Quiverheart+Hiking+Guide.pdf
Facilities – none.
Benches – none noted.
Picnic Tables – none.
Kids – I would suggest 8 and over.
Dogs – prohibited.
Suggested Paired Hikes – Kamama Prairie Nature Preserve is just a few miles southeast on Steam Furnace Road and offers an entirely different hiking experience through acres of open prairie.
Links:
Nice photos.