Our first hike in the area is in Pickett State Park. The walk to the rockhouse/cave is about 10 minutes from the trailhead. It is a huge sandstone overhang. There was evidence of a fire having smoked the top of the entrance. Native people who came through here had wonderful shelter in these rockhouses.
It was fascinating to see all the ways the sandstone has eroded. This Swiss cheese effect was very common. Another feature we often saw, were slight ridges 1 or 2 inches high which formed hap hazard lines and patterns on the rock surface. We're told these have a high iron content. Sedimentary layers are evident on the walls.
The fence is protecting Cumberland sandwort a rare plant found only in this area with 28 occurrences. The green you see behind the fence is the plant. It only occurs behind the dripline of these rockhouses.
The overhangs can continue for great distances and create all sorts of interesting formations.
This being our first feature to see, we were awed by it but had we seen it later in the day, it would have been just another rockhouse in a long day of rockhouses.
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