I done been to Kentucky now!

kycolonel said:
Yep. The Gorge and Natural Bridge areas are a cool place to visit but I have to admit that the Smokies is the best place to go see the Appalachian mountains.

As for your experience with refuse at Red River, this has been serious problem for some time there. Because of the proximity of the park, it unfortunately has become a spot for groups of people to go have weekend parties with the focus being on beer and dope consumption versus a pristine outdoor experience. Not that all the party goers don't clean up, but enough of them to leave a mess for everyone else. Same with the Cumberland Gap trail. The state simply doesn't have the resources and there aren't enough volunteer hours available to prevent it and/or clean up after these fools.
Click to expand...

I will agree with you on that. There's a few areas in TN where the states has had to go into a co-op management with the local county just keep the area open. House Mountain in Knox County is just one.

The Pinnacle which is near Cumberland Gap is getting pretty bad as well. I was up there just a week or so ago and went to the overlook and people were eating and drinking there, which in itself is not wrong, but when they were finished they tossed the trash over the side.

I sat there stunned and had to count to 10 before I asked them why they did it. The people simply stated that "it's ok, no one will see it."

I just do not get people these days, no respect.
 
I grew up hiking the Alleghenies and Adirondacks. Never really thought about it being claustrophobic. Thinking about it, I can see it though. These forests are old and thick. May take some getting used to for someone used to open spaces. You don;t really get many chances to landmark something far off and hike to it. Gets a lot of rookies turned around in circles. Good aspects are tons of small clean freshwater sources, and not much direct sunlight.

After awhile, that closeness feels like a nice, calming blanket. I love the sound of the wind through the trees.
 
Those pics warm my heart! So sorry to hear that you had a rough time of things, though. Those are sort of my 'stomping grounds'. The gorge is an awesome place to spend a day or two, but not nearly a week. It's also riddled with retards to litter and party. Grr.
 
Nice pictures. Looks like you had a lot of fun, minus the idealistic company you had ;). Never been to the woods of kentucky, but if it's anything like the Smokies, I'm there. I'll keep this place in mind for my summer camping trip this year.
 
I'll echo the pics are great. I used to hike and camp a lot in the Red River Gorge and Clifty Wilderness when I lived in Lexington, KY. The Natural Bridge Park area and the rock climbing do bring a lot of partyers, but you can still get away from people as the area is pretty big. The rock formations are awesome.

Did you get to Miguel's for their great pizza?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top