After a long cold winter without much snow or a whole lot of activity, me and my friend Lance were itching to get out in the woods for a few days. There's nothing like a few days backpacking to shake out the cobwebs from winter and gain a much needed new perspective on day-to-day living.
So it was that we headed out to the Red River Gorge near Slade, Kentucky for 4 days and 3 nights of hiking and camping. Any backpacking trip requires the obligatory shopping spree at the sporting goods store. I splurged this time to help lighten my pack by purchasing a 10° Slumberjack bag and a ThermaRest ProLite 4 sleeping mat.
Day One, Thursday, March 8, 2007
After a half days work, one last hearty meal at Hometown Buffet, and an easy hour and a half drive, we arrived at the Gorge and got our permit. We strapped on our packs and headed out on the Rush Ridge Trail about mid afternoon planning a short hike before settling in for the evening.
We decided to go west on the Rough Trail to check out Gray's Arch and then found a nice camp spot on top of the ridge. All the good camping spots were available as no one seemed to be here on this Thursday afternoon.
After just an hour and a half of hiking, my feet were surprisingly sore. I guess my body just isn't used to carrying 40+ lbs and hiking up and down steep terrain.
We set up camp and enjoyed the evening, taking a quick hike out to an exposed rock cliff to check out the stars. Beautiful.
Day Two, Friday, March 9, 2007
It got pretty cold the night before, I would guess about 20°, and even with fleece tights and my 10° bag, I got cold. I woke up early to what looked like was going to be a perfect sunny day.
Our plan was to hike over to the Clifty Wilderness area which is supposed to be rugged, undeveloped, and isolated. Sweet! Unfortunately, the terrain on the way proved to be difficult enough to wear us out before we made it.
We started out on the Pinch-Em-Tight trail then headed west for four hours on the aptly named Rough Trail. About a mile from the boundary to the Clifty Wilderness we decided to set up camp near Swift Creek since we were deep in the valley and had to climb out to cross a road before hitting Clifty and just didn't have it in us.
Our campsite conveniently had a ton of firewood already gathered, but it turns out that it was all completely waterlogged so we had a soft smoky fire the whole night. It was clear from all the wet wood and marshy ground that this creek seriously rushes through this area at times. Probably not a smart camping spot if rain is expected.
Day Three, Saturday, March 10, 2007
Another cold night down in the valley and the day looks cloudy and gray with a forecast of rain. We started backtracking on the Rough Trail and experienced a bit of sprinkles on and off all day but nothing to cause any problems.
We ran into a crew doing some trail maintenance, cutting down some big dead trees. With the pine beetle infestation of late, there are dead pine trees standing all over the place just waiting to fall. Most of these have lost all their bark and many of the limbs have been torn off by the wind creating sharp points. The look like some medieval torture device ready to fall on an unsuspecting camper sleeping soundly in his tent. Ouch!
Just to mix it up a bit, we went out of our way to take the Koomer Ridge Trail and the Buck Trail before coming back to the Rough Trail to find camp. We passed an incredible campsite at the start of the Koomer Ridge Trail nestled off the trail on the ridge. But, we wanted to get closer to the car for an easy hike out tomorrow.
We hit the Rough Trail off the Buck Trail and went east for just a bit to find a nice camp site after about three hours of hiking. After dinner we walked out to some exposed rock and watched the stars for a bit before the clouds set back in.
Day Four, Sunday, March 11, 2007
The night started out pretty warm but cooled off considerably. I had to get up for a bathroom run at about 5AM and was rewarded with a perfectly clear sky with a quarter moon and a million stars. Too bad I was too cold and sleepy to enjoy the view for very long.
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day, got a fire going and some breakfast, packed up and hiked a quick mile and a half back to the car for some Thickburgers at Hardees. Another successful trip!
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