hikeky.com

So I know that I said my next post would be after another hiking trip but two sites were brought to my attention by some friends of mine and I thought they needed to be addressed. Both of these sites have pros and cons but both can also be a helpful resource to Kentucky hikers.

The first of these sites is http://www.backpacker.com/. Jody Elliot clued me in to this site yesterday and I found it to be very helpful for everything from finding topographical maps of trails to helping find what gear is best for me among many other things. This is the site of Backpacker Magazine. The only downside to the site is the lack of Kentucky trails. The five trails offered are:
· Sal Hollow Loop (Mammoth Cave National Park)
· Auxier Ridge Trail (Red River Gorge)
· Knobby Rock Loop
· White Rocks Hike (Cumberland Gap National Park)
· Wilderness Road Trail (Cumberland Gap National Park)

Along with topographical maps of all the trails this site also provides GPS coordinates for those who have such resources at the fingertips. All in all I will be visiting this site very often for tips, new gear ideas, and to read stories of other hikers from around the world.

The next site that was brought to my attention is http://kygeonet.ky.gov/kytrails/viewer.htm Scott Walker sent me this site via Facebook after seeing my comment about lack of maps on the web. This map does a lot of really cool things including showing some of the hiking trails in Kentucky along with some other trails used for Motorcycles, Mountain Biking, Equestrian use and ATV trails. This could be very useful to find trails around your area that you did not know exist. It does not however provide the names of trails so more searching will need to be done. It also does not have all the trails that can be found, it has some of the major ones but not all.

In summation http://www.backpacker.com/ has huge amounts of information but only 5 trails in Kentucky, http://kygeonet.ky.gov/kytrails/viewer.htmhas lots of trails but no names which can be problematic. If anyone has any other sites they would like me to take a look at or if you know of a great site for Kentucky hiking let me know. So as always, Happy Hiking.

As this is my first post, I feel obligated to give you a little information on me and why I’m doing this, I am 26 years old and enjoy being outdoors. One thing that I have found is that most hiking trails in Kentucky aren’t very well documented for the average person to obtain information on some of the less popular, but great trails of Kentucky. My profession is Education as I am a teacher at Bate Middle School, but I am not a professional in this, just an average person who is willing to give his opinion on some of the trails that I have hiked. So let’s begin.

Today my friend and I hiked 4.5 hours on approximately 12 of the 17 miles of hiking trails offered at Taylorsville Lake Sate Park. The reason I say approximate is because the markings on the trails were good, but not consistent with the map I was given at the visitor’s center. The trails can be found on Possum Ridge that follows the shoreline of the lake and has many nice lake views. These trails are also available to equestrians and mountain biking and it will be obvious once you hike through the first part of the trail where there is only hoof prints and standing water. Dogs are also allowed as long as they are on a leash.

Originally we had planned on completed the 4-6 mile Possum Ridge Trail, the trail head was well marked, so we were confident as we began. The first split in the trail we came to gave us a trail that was not on the map at all and the only option was to continue going straight. We took the posted option, and that was the last we saw of the Possum Ridge Trail for the next two hours. As we continued, the trails were very well marked even though some were not on the map. As you hike these trails you are likely to see deer, turkey, and many types of birds, although today we only saw deer as we were standing in the parking lot. These trails had their shares of ups and downs with times when you were walking along level ridge tops and then at the bottom of marshy valleys. All was well until we saw a sign that said Marshy Bottoms. We chose to continue down into the bottoms and once we arrived at the bottom of the hillside we realized that there was no lie in the labeling of the trail. It was certainly marshy as we walked between high grasses and standing water. This lasted about 300 yards and as we joked about the possibility of trench foot we came to the end of the Marshy Bottoms and both had never been so glad to start climbing a hill again!

All in all this was a good trail that provided us with many good memories as well as a good workout. Difficulty wise I would say this is a moderate trail. Easy without the Marshy Bottoms. I give this trail 3 of 5 stars.

I will try to also provide pictures for future posts and will post after my next hiking trip. Please feel free to leave comments as long as they are clean and concerning hiking in KY. So until then, Happy Hiking.