Post by driftwoody on Dec 18, 2019 8:29:27 GMT -8
Due to my recovery from shoulder surgery I had some unused vacation time before the end of the year so I went for dayhikes in one of my favorite places, Red River Gorge Kentucky. It's a 6-1/2 hour drive from Chicagoland, and I got a good rate at Hemlock Lodge at Natural Bridge State Park. With daytime highs in the low 40's it was sunny my first 2 full days (Wednesday & Thursday). Though I hiked some familiar trails, my goal was to catch some new (for me) views and features. My hiking buddy who was supposed to go with me threw out his back on a side job 2 days earlier, so I went solo.
Arriving Tuesday afternoon, I had just enough daylight for Princess Arch (front & rear views) and Chimney Top overlook.
On Wednesday I planned to do some extensive hiking on the unofficial Jailhouse Rock & Star Gap trails (which I had done several years ago), and to visit an old favorite (Double Arch) plus a couple short off trail features I hadn't seen. Didn't have time for the Star Gap trail, but had a very nice day of hiking.
The very small Arch of Triumph (trekking poles for scale):
Rocky Branch overlook:
Double Arch from below, at, & looking thru at Auxier Ridge:
I didn't go very far on Jailhouse Rock trail due to a tricky climb down, but did catch this view near a large campsite:
I'll post part 2 of this trip later.
Arriving Tuesday afternoon, I had just enough daylight for Princess Arch (front & rear views) and Chimney Top overlook.
On Wednesday I planned to do some extensive hiking on the unofficial Jailhouse Rock & Star Gap trails (which I had done several years ago), and to visit an old favorite (Double Arch) plus a couple short off trail features I hadn't seen. Didn't have time for the Star Gap trail, but had a very nice day of hiking.
The very small Arch of Triumph (trekking poles for scale):
Rocky Branch overlook:
Double Arch from below, at, & looking thru at Auxier Ridge:
I didn't go very far on Jailhouse Rock trail due to a tricky climb down, but did catch this view near a large campsite:
I'll post part 2 of this trip later.
