Natural Arches of Copperas Creek

The hiking team headed out for another epic day exploring Red River Gorge in Daniel Boone National Forest, Eastern Kentucky. The forest service allows hikers to go off trail and explore. We walked unofficial trails along Copperas Creek before veering off in thick patches of Rhododendron and cliff walls. First we stopped at Hopewell Arch, an arch nearly invisible through the trees, until you stand inside rock cave home. With a little climbing and hard work, we also located Snow Arch and Double Deer Arch.

Snow Arch

Double Deer Arch

Hopewell Arch

Hopewell Arch

Sometimes we found faint trails as we followed the GPS. Other times we were walking through rough forest and searching for a place with enough rocks to cross Copperas Creek without getting our feet wet. Temperatures were in the forties and we had a lot of mileage to cover, so there was no time for hypothermia. We took a break at Sand Arch and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on our faces after marching through the cold, shady valley. Every turn was a new treasure of rock formations and natural beauty.

Sandy Arch, which also has a waterfall not visible here

Window at Sandy Arch

Beautiful pattern left behind as the sand stone erodes

View from a rock cave along a cliff line

Copperas Arch

Our team leader took us to eight natural arches/windows and several waterfalls, most very isolated. Some unnamed. We were also lucky enough to spot a young coyote and, later, two deer. Neither of which I had ever seen at RRG, although I've often seen their tracks. Great day in the field! Perhaps the best discovery day I've spent in the Gorge.

On our way out, we spent a few minutes taking in Eagle's Nest overlook and passed Moonshiner's Arch, near Osborne Bend trail along the Red River.

Eagle Point Buttress

Moonshiner's Arch

Kentucky Ridge State Forest

Looking to exhaust all the trails in Bell County, I drove to Kentucky Ridge State Forest. The forest covers Pine Mountain State Park and along the Little Clear Creek Valley. It covers 15K acres and I enjoyed driving down some of the old forest roads. I was hoping to stumble upon a good place to hike, but most of the paths I found were road beds headed to points unknown.

Old abandoned roads snaked off to the right and left of the forest road. I can't tell you for sure where I was, because the maps provided by Kentucky Division of Forestry do not have them labeled. But as the trees were beginning to grow thick around the road, I saw a path to the left. The sun struck the moss and illuminated a neon green glow that I could barely make out from my vantage point. On the hill, I found an old cemetery with a moss carpet thicker than shag surrounding all the stones.

There were many old stones of interest, but this marker was by far the most unique. The marker is a classic headstone for a married couple: each partner's name on one side, and the wedding date in a heart in the middle. However, it had been cut right down the middle and one half placed on the husband's grave and the other half on the wife's grave. What makes this interesting is that the wife was buried many years later and her grave is on a row behind the husband's. The plot to the right of him appears to still be empty. Not sure if this is the sign of an epic divorce or some other circumstance but I had fun musing over the possibilities.

Heading out of Kentucky Ridge State Forest, I stopped at the overlooks of Pineville. After taking few shots, I returned to my car and realized leaking fluid at a very rapid pace. Thanks to gmaps, I was able to locate the nearest auto repair place and drive there as quickly as possible. The little shop barely had room to park, as the lot was filled with cars in various states of disassembly, some on blocks. Two of the employees came out to check on my car. They both took a gander under front end and told me I was big trouble. I was pretty shaken watching the female get near the leaking fluid with a lit cigarette. I was sure we were all about to be blown sky high. She hollered abruptly, and jumped up dusting herself off. "Damn, I burned my hair!!" (I later learned that transmission fluid and oil are not flammable, which was a relief.) They claimed because my car was newer, it would be there for a week while they ordered the part from the manufacturer, so I better find a ride outta Pineville. That was all anyone needed to say to get me panicking, since home was ~140 miles away.

After more than an hour of searching hopelessly for options, calmer heads prevailed. I was able to snag a ride on the back of a trailer to Lexington for car repair. Friendly locals even helped us push my undriveable car up onto the trailer. Then I had to pull a Dukes of Hazzard move to climb through the driver side window, pack up my stuff, and exit out the back hatch of the car after opening it from the inside. Not a cheap trip, to be sure! But certainly not boring for a moment.

Pineville Overlook from the top of Pine Mountain, Eastern Kentucky.

Townsend Mountain Adventure

I'm always thinking about new ways to explore Townsend Mountain in Daniel Boone National Forest, Eastern Kentucky. So I was thrilled to randomly meet some other hikers on the hunt for natural stone arches in the parcel. I easily led them to two of the arches, but we never located the others. Instead we weaved through miles of massive cliffs, huge rocks, rock caves, jungles of rhododendron, abandoned buildings and mining equipment.

My GPS app eventually gave up the ghost, but my estimate is that we covered 7+ difficult miles. We walked out on an old forest service road, after scaling the side of a mountain, and climbing through rhododendron thickets at the edge of a cliff. A very fun, but exhausting adventure in the Eastern Kentucky woods.