So my dog Oz and I set out on a cold but beautiful morning to check out the refuge and get a little exercise.  There are several trails that you can go on all with different features and for different ability levels.  The trails that I used are Bluebird Trail, Yellow or Waterfall trail, Circle Trail, and the Green Heron Trail.  This place was very well marked and at no moment did I have any doubts as to what trail I was on, every split in the trail came with at least one sign and sometimes multiple signs.  Your day starts at the Cheek Nature Center which at the time I was there was closed but this place would be wonderful for school groups as it offers many educational experiences that are aligned with Kentucky Core Content.We started on the Bluebird trail which took us beside Island Pond which is just one of many ponds that you will find on this preserve.  After the pond you come to a clearing that makes a great place to see deer.  We followed this until it met up with the Circle Trail.  We weren’t on the Circle Trail for more the a couple of yards when I saw signs for the Yellow or Waterfall Trail, the Yellow trail takes you down to what would normally be a small waterfall but since it was about 25 degrees when I was there it was mostly ice.  As I was walking back I noticed two deer about 25 yards through the trees, I watched them for a little while and they watched me until I bored them and they went back to grazing, and since Oz is deaf he had no idea there was anything else around and lay down for a little rest:).  Finishing the Yellow trail takes you back up to the Circle trail which is rated moderate and based on the first 200 yards really earns that rating.

Circle trail takes you up and over a ridge which definitely had my blood pumping and then mellowed out as you went down the other side of the ridge.  I am eager to see what this trail offers in the spring as this was my first time on it because it seemed to have great habitat for many forms of plant life.   This trail meets back up with the Green Heron Trail or at least that is what the map off the internet will tell you, the signs at the refuge referred to it as the Brooks Hollow Trail.  Either way it was a great way to end the day as it was a easy walk through forest and fields which allowed me to see about 6 more deer in a clearing.  The trail finished by taking me beside Green Heron Pond (again a place I can’t wait to see in the spring), Woodland Pond, and a return to Island Pond to return back to the Nature Center.

It was about 4-5 miles(not exactly sure because my GPS was acting up) and took about an hour and a half.  Again they allow dogs if leashed and are open from dawn to dusk.  This is a great trip for school groups but they also offer events every so often so check out the website at www.ckwr.org.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself on this hike as did Oz and I am really excited about finding a place like this so close to home.  So go check it out and as always happy hiking.

The trail begins just down from the visitor’s center which is a good start because it allows for one to pick up a trail map at the visitor’s center, and it also allows for you to begin and end with the Cumberland Falls.  When you come to the official trailhead one thing that you will notice is that there are several names for the same section of trail: Moonbow trail, Park Trail 1, Sheltowee Trail 100.  From here on I’ll introduce the trail with all names used then I will refer to it by the park’s numbering system.  Let’s go.For the first two miles of the trip you will be on trail 1, this trail offers good views as well as spots to walk down to the sandy beaches of the river for some great picture opportunities.  During this part of the trail you will also notice huge boulders lining the trail in areas that provide for some mild climbing if that’s what your into.  We hiked for about 30 minutes before I found a boulder on the edge of the river that needed to be climbed on, so I hopped down there and started to take a picture of the river when a huge splash came from the water directly in front of me.  I don’t know what I expected it to be but I didn’t expect to see a young whitetail frantically swimming across the river.  Apparently he had snuck down to the water’s edge to get a drink and I unknowingly trapped him in from behind.  I will post a picture of him making his big escape.

At the two mile marker you come to a split in the trail, trail 1 continues in the same direction while trail 2 (Cumberland River Trail) breaks off to the right.  Eventually we will be taking this trail on the way back after completing the one mile out and back to Dog Slaughter Falls.  The one mile to the falls seemed to fly by as we made our way beside the river and climbing over boulders along the way.  In a different season this area of the trail would be thick with vegetation but not so much now.  We made it to the falls and climbed around a bit to find better pictures and then headed back to trail 2 thinking that most of the trip was already over.  We were wrong.

Even though distance wise we had almost come to the halfway point having already completed 4 miles but the 4 miles we had finished had very little elevation gain and would be considered by most to be fairly easy.  You start trail 2 zig zagging your way up to the top of the ridge.  After climbing roughly 500 feet (that’s a guestamation based on a poor topo map of the area) in the first 3 quarters of a mile this section was already proving to be more difficult the previous 4 miles.  Before turning off of trail 2 we noticed the Pinnacle Knob fire tower above, we didn’t have time to explore around it but my map indicates that if you stay on trail 2 you would have a chance to explore around the area.

At this point you see a sign where the trail splits again saying the way back to Cumberland Falls is to take 11 to 7 to 12 to 1.  We started on 1 so we figured this would be our quickest way out since we had already completed 5 miles and after that climb could use a break.  So we take trail 11 (Anvil Branch Trail) and come to quickly realize that our climbing had just begun.  Now we didn’t gain anymore elevation from where we were but there was very little flat ground on this trail, we were constantly going down and coming back up the ridges surrounding the river which made for a tiring 2.5 miles.  Trail 8 also branches off of trail 11 and connects with Kentucky Highway 90 if someone is needed to reach the highway.

We finally make our way to Trail 7 (Rock House Trail) which is a shorter connector trail between 12 and 11.  We were only on this trail for about a quarter of a mile until we joined up with Trail 12 (Wildflower Loop Trail).  Trail 12 earned this name because during the spring and early summer this is an area that is full of some of the most beautiful wildflower scenery the state has to offer.  Again not so much in late November but it was still a nice walk that led us beside the wonderful water treatment plant in the park.  Follow Trail 12 until it runs back into trail 1 and familiar sights and then you are only about 200 yards from the great Cumberland Falls.

To the best of my guessing ability I would say this loop was about 8.5 miles long which took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes.  It has become my favorite trail in this park system because it really does seem to have everything whether you like being beside the river, rocky outcroppings,   or dense forest with moss covered everything and ferns that when seeing it makes you fully expect to see ewoks around the next turn:)  It was a great day and a great hike that I would recommend to anyone, but remember, without our state parks none of this would be possible.  So support your state parks in any way you can and as always happy hiking.

We enjoyed the company all the way to the Sheltowee portion of the blue bend which is my personal favorite for all the rocky areas and ledges to play around on.  We climbed onto a ledge about 12 feet off the ground only to realize that the dog was trying to follow us up the rocks, which eventually led to the dog being stuck about 6 feet up and us having to rescue it. 

As we began the Eagle Falls portion of the trip (us and the dog)  we began to ask if anyone has reported a lost dog since this trail is heavily traveled.  No one knows anyone missing a dog.  We hike down to the falls which was beautiful, then we hop rock to rock to get a picture of the falls from downstream.  The we have climb our way out which my dad informed me was atleast 120 steps to get back to bench which we put to good use,  after a rest we headed back to the car.

Now let me say something about the majority of people you meet while hiking, we ran into a group that informed us that dogs were dropped in that area often and that we should take the dog with us.  They were very nice and hiking with a Jack Russell.  After a rather lengthy period of going back and forth over whether or not to take the dog, dad and I decided to check with the visitor’s center to see if they knew anything about a lost dog.  They didn’t and told us to keep it before the pound got it because they say dogs were dropped out there all the time.  We decide to return to the trail and get the dog but he is nowhere to be found, we give up and head home.

We change our minds and go back to find the dog that kept us company on those trails all afternoon and after another mile of hiking find those extremely nice people with the Jack Russell I mentioned earlier, and with them was the dog.  And like any good story just when things are looking up they turn, or better yet we turned around and the dog was gone.  So here I am whistling for this dog a long with complete strangers who are trying to help me find it.  Eventually after changing their plans to help us those wonderful people find the dog.

But going back to the people you meet while hiking.  These people became a shining example of people will do for others they don’t know on the trail.  The trail is the one thing that gives us common ground and for that reason we treat other hikers with respect and kindness.  So if these people (and they know who I’m talking about) happen to read this, thank you for all of your help.

Not my typical post I know but sometimes things happen that just need to be shared with others.  So if you have any stories or pics to share post them here or email me at jsmith@hikeky.com.  And as always, happy hiking.

On Sunday morning my father (Eddie Smith) and I traveled down to Berea for an early morning hike.  Dad had never been to the pinnacles before so I was eager to show him around and introduce him to Tillie.  Unfortunately there was no Tillie to be found this time, there was one car in the parking lot when we arrived so I assumed she was already on the trail.

So we started our trip making first for the east Pinnacle and since Dad have never been there before my one warning was that the first climb can be a bit rough.  As we made it to the first split in the trail we made use of the bench provided and then took off to the right for East Pinnacle.  One of the most interesting things about hiking here is seeing the natural succession that is taking place after the wildfires that burned most of the area in the late 1980’s.  The fire burned 657 acres of forest and still seeing burned tree stumps after so many years reminds us of our responsibilities whenever we enter a natural area to be safe because the  lasting effects of what we do will most likely continue on even after we are no longer here.

When we reached the East Pinnacle the early morning sun extremely bright which made the view down into the valley even more amazing.  Once there we took sometime for a few pictures (which you can find in the gallery below)  and continued our hike.  This time was a bit different than being here during the summer because I could see so much more with the falling of the leaves, it allowed for better pictures as well as giving clear lines of sight to your next destination.

Not often to discuss products to make trips easier but in this case I felt I needed to say something.   The North Face has a line of shoes called Hedgehogs, these shoes can range between $80-120 but I will say that they are one of the better hiking shoes around.  So if you are looking for a pair of extremely comfortable shoes to hike, check out what North Face has to offer.  Ok I don’t want this to sound like a commercial so let’s get back to our trip.

We decided then to head for the West Pinnacle which also provided some amazing views which with a clear morning the visibility of the surrounding areas helped out a lot.  On our way back through we stopped and climbed around on the rocks  whenever we found a chance and also took some great pics that will definitely keep the memories of this wonderful day fresh in our minds and hopefully inspire our reader’s to find a trail and hike.  So keep posting pics of your travels and if there is any place you think I should going, let me know and I will do my best to get there.  You can reach me at jsmith@hikey.com.  So remember to always take care of your environment and as always happy hiking.

On a personal note this day was special to me because  as I have gotten older and find myself busier and busier with careers and life in general, it was a breath of fresh air to be out hiking again with someone I have respected and admired my entire life and hope that we can find time to do this more often.  Thanks Dad.

Blue Bend

Bruce Crawford and I started our day on the Blue Bend trail at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.  The trail begins across the river if you are at the visitor’s center, cross the bridge and there is a parking area on the right.  The trail begins just short of the parking on the left.  This is a 4.3 mile loop that should take around 3 hours depending on your level of comfort.  No dogs are allowed and maps are available at the gift shop.

The trail began with a slight climb to the top of the ridge at about half a mile from the trailhead.  The trail is well maintained with the exception of one downed sign but the direction of the trail from there was very obvious.  The trail will also be marked with blue paint and the number 10 as it is trail #10 at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

As you are heading down off the ridge the trail meets up with the Sheltowee Trace Trail and follows it all the way back to Highway 90.  This last 2 miles or so has plenty of wonderful spots for pictures and I have read that there are places for wading but the river was up a little when I was there and wading would not have been the best idea.  Small beaches were obvious and would have been nice if the water had been down.  On the opposite side of the trail there were rock ledges that followed all the way to the end of the trail which made for a god area to rest or picnic.

This trail is rated easy and was a peaceful walk in the woods that had some great views and relaxing atmosphere.  I would recommend this trail to anyone and it is accessible to anyone who wants to experience a good hike.

Eagle Falls

What can I say about Eagle Falls, some of the best waterfall views you’ll find but you will have to work for it.  This trail is not an easy one despite its distance at approximately 2 miles.  Eagle Falls trailhead is accessible from the parking lot used for Blue Bend.

This trail is all up and down with almost no level spots, you begin with a climb that eventually leads to a great spot for pictures with Cumberland Falls as your backdrop.

This trail starts as an out and back with a loop at the end, you will come to a sign that offers Eagle falls to the right and the loop to the left.  Let’s start with the loop.  Starts off great as you wind your way down to a fast flowing creek with a great waterfall that could be used as a water slide under the right circumstances.  From there the trail begins to climb and you are in for about 1.5 miles of hiking up and down the ridge.  It can be rough and I will say that it is not for everyone.

Once back to the sign you can choose to head down a steep grade with the help of rock and wooden stairs down to the metal stair casing that leads to Eagle Falls.  At the bottom of the stairs you will have to climb over logs and boulders working your way to the falls, once there you will have a perfect place for pictures and picnics.  Also if you are feeling a little adventurous climbing up behind the waterfall is possible.  Be extremely careful as the rocks were very slick.  As always hard work usually ends with a good reward and your reward in this case is feeling the mist off the waterfall as you sit on a huge rock right next to the waterfall about 35 feet above the pool of water below.

Two great trails in one day that took a total of 3 and half hours to complete.  One of the best  sights for Kentucky trails you will find.  Please post comments and pictures if you have any and as always Happy Hiking.

http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/cf

The Gorge, often referred to as the Rockies of Kentucky offers some of the most scenic trails you can find in the area. On top of having some of the best views, it also contains an enormous amount of trails including part of the massive 268 mile Sheltowee trail. This article focuses on the area surrounding the Auxier Trail, and includes the Aux. Brank Trail, Double Arch Trail, and Courthouse Rock Trail. Hit up the Read More link to read about my experience and find the links for maps, gps, pictures, and resources.

Getting to these trails is deceiving based on local maps. At first glance, you would think that you could make it to these trails off of 77, however a one lane tunnel passes under the trail entrance. To get there, you need to follow take 15 off of the Mountain Parkway and follow it down to Tunnel Ridge Road. Map This map will take you from Nada, which is just off the Mountain PKWY, to the parking area for the Auxier Trail. A half hour walk could take you to the other side of the tail if you want to catch the Double Arch first. We started at Auxier though.

Trail 204: Auxier Ridge Trail

This is the first trail you’ll come to right out of the parking lot. The main feature of this trail is the of course the Auxier Ridge that gives you a nice scenic lookout giving you a view of Haystack Rock, Auxier Branch, and the Double Arch. It leads to the Courthouse Rock and loops with Trail 202 which makes for a shorter trip if you’ve got less time to work with. The choice between taking 204 all the way to Courthouse Rock, or splitting off and seeing Haystack Rock up close is up to if you choose to continue the loop to the Double Arch. We opted to follow it all the way.

Trail 203: Auxier Branch

Whichever path you take, they will both lead to this trail. It connects the Courthouse with the Double Arch Trails, and follows a nice scenic walk along the Auxier Branch. The walk features a shaded walk through some wetlands. There were a couple of muddy spots along the trail, but for the most part, the trail was high and dry.

Trail 201: Double Arch Trail

Completing the Trail 203 will bring you to your final choice of the trip. If you’re feeling a bit worn from the trek so far, you can opt to go left and head home. Otherwise you can venture to the right and witness the Double Arch. Unfortunately, we opted to call it day. Although, I’m sure the added couple of miles would have been worth it.

The final leg of the trip is a tough uphill venture feature a mean hill and some stairs. But just making it up the hill isn’t going to get you home just yet. You still have about a 30 walk on a gravel road back to the parking lot. Luckily it’s a flat one.

The first mile or so of this trail really isn’t all that scenic, although it is a well kept trail that is plainly marked along the way.  Enjoy this walk though, you’ll need your energy for the end. Halfway to the Courthouse Rock you can opt to take the Courthouse Rock Trail which will take you to Haystack Rock. , you have an option to take the Upon getting closer to the Courthouse rock, you’ll be presented with a beutiful lookout that looks out over the Double Arch. The trail will eventually take you over a narrow rock ridge and the scenic overlooks continue all the way up to your first Point of Interest, Courthouse Rock.

RedRiverGorge -KMZ File for Google Earth

Google Maps with geotagged images

Red River Gorge Trail Map (pdf)

Annadel State Park

Once again my brother and I embarked on a five mile trail run which led us to Lake Ilsanjo which is the body of water that you see in the picture above.  The trip to the lake was all up hill for about 2.5 miles which made it tough for running but the views offered as forest turned into grassland and as you reached higher elevations and could see most of Santa Rosa down below.  As far as wildlife goes, Turkey and Deer will be the most common but on occasion Jackrabbits and Rattlesnakes will make their presence known.  The lake makes for a perfect midpoint as it would be an excellent place to stop and eat or do a little fishing.  The return trip relied mostly on a fire road but never lost that trail feeling.  This part of the trip is all downhill and can be completed really quickly.  How does this area compare to Kentucky trails, well, it offers a lot of different trails which makes it comparable to areas like Daniel Boone National forest.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=480

Angel Island State Park

The largest island in San Francisco Bay once used for military installations now is a haven for hikers, bikers, and boaters in the bay area.  This trail leads to the top of Mt. Livermore which provides amazing views of the city, Alcatraz, and Golden Gate Bridge.  The hike up started with a lot of stairs which can be tiring but soon turned into a peaceful, gradual climb that did not serve to be much of an obstacle in making your way to the top.  At the top they have picnic tables and benches in a marked off area that allows for time to rest as well as getting in some great pictures.   We returned the same way we came up to make it about a 4 mile hike,  not too bad allowing us to finish in a little over two hours making it back down in time to catch the ferry across the bay.  All in all it was a good trail, not my favorite of the trip but it did provide me with some great views and even better memories of the area.

http://www.angelisland.org/

Mount Tamalpais State Park

After seeing this mountain all week driving north and south on Highway 101 my curiosity eventually got the better of me.  On my last day my brother and I took a little time to head to the top of this mountain.  With an elevation of 2,571 feet it may not be the highest peak around but you will be hard pressed to find better views from the top.  I was able to see Mt. St. Helena (which is 52.4 miles to the north) and Mt. Diablo (40+ miles away) to the south.  All typical icons of the bay area can also be seen as long as the weather permits.  It is a climb to the top at times crawling over open rock to keep with the trail and then at the top you will find dizzying heights as you look down to the bay area below.  This one is not for everybody as I would list it as a difficult trail.  Kentucky trails don’t match the elevation change as many places in Kentucky start from a much higher elevation above sea level.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471

As this is my last day in California I will return to posting about Kentucky trails as well as offering some guest authors to share their experiences and trails.  So I look forward to returning home and seeing you on the trails.  Happy Hiking.

Annadel State Park

For the first time hitting the trails in Santa Rosa, California it was going to be my brother (Jared Smith) and myself doing a little trail running.  Annadel provided some beautiful scenery along with some tough climbs.  This trail covered rocky outcroppings, grassy open areas, dark forested areas made even darker by the moss hanging from the tree.  All in all we did about 4.5 miles which is a little lengthy for a trail run but the cool weather and wonderful scenery it was well worth the extra workout.  So it’s off to an excellent start for my California North Shore Tour.  The links provide more information on the parks listed.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=480

Point Reyes National Seashore

What my family and I did during our trip to the seashore was a 1 mile hike out and back.  I know that it doesn’t seem very impressive but during that one mile we had a .4 mile walk uphill followed by 302 steps downhill to a lighthouse and a great view of the Pacific Ocean.  The 302 steps back uphill is enough to leave most people winded.  This was just the tip of the iceberg of what Point Reyes has to offer, there are enough hiking trails out here to keep the most dedicated hikers busy for weeks, unfortunately I had only a few hours.

http://www.nps.gov/pore

Armstrong Redwoods State Nature Preserve

When one thinks of Northern California they immediately think of giant redwoods so large that you can drive through.  Well that’s not exactly what Armstrong offers but the Redwoods found here are very large including Parson Jones which stands 310 feet tall, diameter of 13.8 feet and has an approx. age of 1300 years.  This is the enchanted forest you see in movies.  The trail we took was easy walk through the enormous Redwoods,  it was a trail for all people to enjoy as I was joined by Eddie, Ruth, Jared, and Lauren Smith (my parents, brother, and sister in law).  A lot of trees had hollowed out points at the base that were large enough for several people to stand in and deep enough to be completely dark inside.  According to my brother (Jared Smith) these look like the entrance to Narnia so I did not venture to close:).   This park offers several miles of trails which hopefully I will be able to make a return trip before I leave, we’ll have to wait and see.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450

About the iPhone:

The iPhones lends itself to hiking due to it’s built in GPS features and the apps that utilize those features, but not without caveats(of course). While the GPS in the iPhone is a sturdy mechanism, you will find that if you are going to be covered by extremely dense forest the data won’t be as reliable. Most apps will continue to poll the GPS until a usable signal is found and continue updating your travel, making for a realiable map in the end.

App #1: Runkeeper

Note: Runkeeper comes in two flavors. Free, which is free and ad supports. And Pro with costs $9.99 with no ads. RunKeeper Free RunKeeper Pro(Links open in Itunes) RunKeeper.com

Runkeeper was the first app used on the hikes because I already had it on my phone for tracking my runs. The app is extremely handy for charting runs and giving detailed output about elevation, pace, etc. So I figured it might be worth trying to use on a hike or two. Being highly reliable in town for my daily runs, I was worried that the dense forest areas would hinder it’s ability. I was suprised to find that at the end of the hike, it matched almost perfectly with the maps found online for the same trail. I was pleased. The webclient on their website outputs all kinds of data that is easily transfered over to Google Earth making it ideal for keeping track of the places that I’ve hiked. And for those that like to know about the calories burned durring their activities, you’ll be glad to know that it is show as well. These maps can quickly be shared via Facebook and Twitter, right from the phone. Click here for an example of how the information is shared.

While looking over the maps in Google Earth, I immediately realized a capability that RunKeeper did not currently offer. I wanted to be able to snap photos along the way and geotag them to the map. This is where the next app comes in to play.

App # 2: MotionX GPS

Note: MotionX GPS comes in two flavors as well. Lite, which has limited functionality. And standard which has everything included for $2.99.  Differences between the two can been seen here. Itunes links: MotionX GPS Lite, Motionx GPS and Website

MotionX GPS is an extremely extensible app, including most of the same abilities that RunKeeper has with charting maps and such. But the one feature that I really wanted was the camera function. Upon starting the app, you are presented with a type of stopwatch layout that tracks your time, pace, and other data. On that same screen is an icon for your camera. This camera not only takes your pictures but also loads the coordinates that it was taken. When all is said and done with your trip, you can hit the share button and immediately send your trip data via email to yourself. Included in the email is a KMZ file that can be opened in Google Earth. I immediately opened it in Google Earth, only to find that only the last picture that I took was included. A quick chat with customer support allowed me to find out that due to restrictions, only one picture could be included. I could however, manually send to each photo (in kmz for Google Earth) to my email and open them up on the same map. Doing so, I finished with a map with place markers for all of pictures. This app features quite a few extras that I haven’t had a chance to check out including the ability to retravel your same route, get compass headings, and so on. A great value none the less.

The trail begins and ends on both sides of the parking lot as it is a loop.  Start on the right side of the parking lot the trail is a gentle downhill slope.  Some trail guides I have seen label this as a moderate trail and at the halfway point I was wondering why, but as they say what goes down must come up…..or something like that.  Anyway at the halfway point you come to the Knight’s Ferry Loop which will take you down beside the Kentucky River.  Normally I enjoy hiking in shorts but for this one I would recommend pants as the area down near the river was teeming with plant life and most of it rubbing against your legs as you walked.

Knight’s Ferry Loop takes you to the banks of the Kentucky River which offered some really good views of the towering ridges on the other side of the river.  A small sandy area provides the perfect place to stop and grab a snack although a trail of this length usually wouldn’t require it.  From this area we spotted a very large rock just sticking out in the water and decided to trudge over and investigate.  There was a small trail leading to the bank that would allow us to reach the rock, we followed it but as I was about 4 feet above the rock I underestimated how slick mud could be and landed right in the middle of the rock laying on my back.  Falling is not my preferred method of getting down river banks but it was definitely quick:)

Returning to the main trail we started our climb back to the top of the ridge.  Returning back to my statement of what goes down must come up….well go up we did and we did quickly.  In a few hundred yards you will climb a few hundred feet as you make your way back to the top.   Then we encountered a trail that was not on my original map, this section of the trail took us to the ridge top in about .25 miles.  This side trail is a small out and back that really doesn’t provide very much of a view but was an enjoyable stroll that saw us climbing on the way there and going downhill on the way back.

Upon returning to the parking lot you will see signs telling the history of the area and some other interesting facts about the trail as well as a register for hikers to put their name, date, and how many were with them.  Bring your own pencil if you want to sign it though as there was not one provided.  This trail was a good hike to be so close to home, I give it a 3 out of 5 and would consider it to be a trail of moderate difficulty.   So my tip for today is to not fall down river banks:).  Be safe and happy hiking.