N&N

Took a hike after work with Greta. The temp was a perfect 52 degrees and we began by taking an off trail just off the beginning of Chimney Top Rd. The off trail had a couple campfires & ended on top of a small hill where it was clear with mainly overgrown grass. It was funny seeing Greta literally hop throughout it. Continuing down Chimney Top Rd I came across two more off trails which left me wanting more. The first one seemed just like a trail that lead to maybe a campfire or two but, the trail kept going and eventually came to a spot that was impassable for the time being. I will be back and prepared next time. The second trail was much of the same, except this led to an outlook from which you could hear a huge waterfall from. That definitely leaves the mind wondering with curiosity, so I remain with the same disposition of returning another day to see more of this trail. After the sunset, on the way back, I had seen possibly one of the coolest skylines. It was such a particular red (almost like a rose) and the photo I took doesn’t do it justice. In person it seemed to span across the whole horizon and the color was so much more vivid. The night sky was, as always, amazing. I believe I spotted what would’ve been Orion’s Belt (The hint being: The three distinctive stars aligned vertically, but I could always be mistaken). It was certainly a great time spent in the Gorge.

Felt really sluggish & janky on this run.

The Gorge was still packed today as I was just about to leave. I originally planned on making a last stop on Chimney Top to get a few more miles in with Greta before the rain sat in for tonight and most of tomorrow. It was still crowded but as I was set on leaving I just turned back around and drove back until I seen that the cars that was parked at the Wildcat Trail had left, so I pulled in and in retrospect I was glad I did. As soon as you start down the Wildcat Trail you’ll see a small rectangular sign that has an arrow pointing with the words “stay on trail”, it’s very important to disregard that and take the footpath that goes directly behind that sign. This will led you to the Reffit’s Brach & Overlook Trails, which I unknowingly stumbled upon in an act of defiance towards this sign. That small footpath will lead you to a point where the trail breaks in two directions. One going down hill with the other going up, obvious the one going down hill is the Branch trail and the one going up will lead you to the Overlook. Firstly, I took the path downhill which went along the Reffit’s creek. The trail was quite overgrown, so much so that I had to pack Greta through a good majority of it. Humongous trees which had been fell for what possibly could have been years, and the thickets of briers, brush, and smaller trees that reclaimed the ground that was once a footpath. This trail was real, authentic hiking. The Branch Trail was still insanely covered with snow and ice even after having temps well into the 50s for this entire week. It just goes to show that the thermo ranges within the environment change so drastically within short distances. This trail for me seemed like a never ending gem in my favorite place. I didn’t get to hike the Branch trail in its entirety but after researching I believe it has its own hidden arch which I will find on another day. As for today, I remain stoked after this find. Once I came back to the split, I ventured up to what I would later find out to be the Reffits Overlook Trail that in itself was amazing. I had oddly seen a rather new looking tumbler & multitool gadget on this trail along with some questionable dung (maybe Bear?) and some Deer dung lol. The trail to the Overlook was much more manageable (Obviously, since majority of people prefer the overlooks) but it still felt hidden like the Branch trail was & there were some pretty cool camping spots along the trail. The overlook was amazing and it even had its own “Fire Ring”. Although, the view it had was amazing it wasn’t one that is comparable to the chimney top views. This view was narrow since the outlook was covered with trees, you could however see between the grown trees for a good distance. This (AGAIN) made it feel hidden, as if you were the only one to know of this spot (obviously disregarding the other campsites, tumbler, and so on). The Reffits Overlook was amazing and something to remain a hidden gem. I came back to the Wildcat trail to let Greta run free for a couple miles and we ended our day. Needless to say, when you feel like you need to turn around to hike more- Do it, you may find a hidden gem.

This spot didn’t have anyone when I pulled in, and the trail itself was 70% covered in ice. Even after a whole week of temps being well in the 50s/60s. The coolest thing about this hike was the built up sheets of ice stowed aside on parts of the creek. Some of the sheets of ice, I kid you not, were almost half a foot in thickness (Massive). I like to think of them as the remnants of the small Ice Age we endured for almost the past three weeks. For the rest of the hike, the footpath was covered in ice so I may or may not have slipped a time or two. I did however, enjoyed listening to the ice crack beneath each step and I also enjoyed watching Greta slip & slid her way down the trail. I got to see multiple “Brooks” flow into the Swift Camp Creek, and if you know me you know that the “Brooks” are some of my favorite things to see while hiking (that’s why one of Greta’s middle names is “brook”) Coming back I ran into a super friendly couple that I believe was from Lex/Louisville and they had a huge Saint Bernard name Delilah. Delilah was super calm and friendly but damn if she wasn’t big as life. I asked the guy if she ever was mistaken as a boy and he said with a grin “All the time” and I just nodded in agreement and said I understand EXACTLY what you mean. I joked that Greta’s goatee doesn’t really help her out much lol. Both of them said that Greta’s name really suited her, and his girlfriend couldn’t get over how small she was. Safe to say that guy may be getting Delilah a lil wiener……. *dog* here in the future. If anything they both walked away believing that I care a whole lot about Greta not being misgendered. Which I do.

When I tell you this was a random spot across from the Gladie Visitor Center I mean exactly that. There were no spots available at many of the trails today at the gorge since this was the first time most of the ice had melted off the trails. I can’t blame everyone for wanting to be out here but damn, it kinda sucks lol. Anyways, the spot I’m talking about across from Gladie Vistor’s Center had a place where cars park & a small footpath that leads to some campsites. Although, with most of the campfires being covered with leaves and some almost buried, I don’t believe that they are frequently used. With that being said, I did see some meat packages across the hillside and other pieces of garbage, which is no bueno. After that I seen a yellow sign claiming “No Camping” (pretty straightforward). Beside that sign were what looked like some buried water tanks with one of them having a water hose alongside it. Overall, a pretty interesting climb. Afterwards, me and Greta just took off on this hillside, determine to make something out of nothing. We literally walked up a steep hill and almost fell a couple times. There we seen some huge rock faces that had vertical spans of 50 to 60 feet. I took a small video of me and Greta’s descent down (we luckily survived) she did most of the navigating. On our way backs to the car, believe it or not, we ran into a couple that seemed to have a Yellow Lab mix. They seemed nice but really quiet, it was weird running into to them since there was no footpath to follow. I tried making small talk but in retrospect I believe a head nod would’ve sufficed. Regardless, me & Greta made something out of nothing with this trail.

What can I say about this Hike today?!? I really didn’t expect nothing too amazing but I was surprised. Trying out the Hanson’s Point Trail did not disappoint! The Hanson Point Trail started off the Gray’s Arch Trail, the begging of it was littered with small barren trees grown tightly together with the trail weaving through the middle of it, as if it were a long hallway or small one lane road, then you would reach a point where it would open up and you could see several campsites scattered around with the backdrop being a view to behold that also allowed you to see miles of the foothills, this pattern of the trail going through small thickets of trees then opening up to big large spaces with the amazing views repeated itself. Instantly, I thought if there were to be any Camp Half-Blood in Kentucky, this would be the spot. If my Hiking Buddy had seen this I know she would agree, it was as if you were walking in a scene from a book. Needless to say, Greta and I loved this trail. Even though it was still quite muddy which made a mess for both of us it was still so worth it. You can see in the pictures that I also found some pretty cool carvings at some of the outlooks (hot take, although I know it’s speeding up the process of weathering & erosion, along with defacing the natural aesthetic of the rock faces, I personally love these carvings but not so much the spray paint). The temp was in the mid 30s, your hands would be bitter cold while the rest of your body was feeling pretty good. I was lucky enough to hike quite awhile in the dark on the way back and it was peaceful as always. Not much sound, nobody on the trails, and the stars were shining quite proudly tonight. I sat out not expecting this to be much, but I was surprised. I truly wished my Hiking Buddy would’ve seen this because I know without a doubt she would’ve loved this more than me. The Hanson’s Point, the small campsite along the Ridge, & most of all the view of the night sky. She would’ve been over the moon.

It’s finally been warm enough to start thawing the trails out, and even though I knew it would be quite muddy, I still couldn’t wait to get me & Greta back out on the trail. Koomer was the best as it always is and the trail as mentioned above was quite muddy with still quite a bit of ice throughout the majority of it. We seen one couple start at the beginning of the trail but nobody after that, so it was pretty much to ourselves (Thank God). So far since this winter has started I’ve really wanted to make a point to take advantage of the down time and hike, asides from the past 2 and a half weeks of sub freezing temps and inches of solid ice, I have been able to do just that. Each time I hike I get to spoil Greta in the best way possible, and I also think of some of my favorite memories that I have made throughout these trails. It’s truly bittersweet, it’s as if your walking through your memories and leaving means you have to come back to the reality of now. Asides from spoiling my dog & and being an absolute sad sacked mess, my Hiking Buddy and I know the importance of taking time to see the stars (as corny as that sounds) and we also know how good it can be for us to see these sunsets. I can honestly say that most hikes I’ve been on this winter, I have captured those two treasured experiences of seeing the sunsets & stars. I treasure them more than I ever thought possible.