Big Trip, Day 4: A drive, Sheltowee Bridge, and Hidden Arch

On June 8th Joan and I departed the Murphin Ridge Inn after another luxurious breakfast. Heading south, we crossed the Ohio River and entered Kentucky, taking a mix of busy highways and back roads. Joan rescued one box turtle attempting to cross the asphalt, but we were too late to save another.

 

We approached the Red River Gorge Geological Area and Natural Bridge State Resort Park from the north, and then turned east on the narrow, winding road towards the Gladie visitors/learning center and beyond. Our intention was to pick up several small hikes at the far extent of route 715. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

We were dismayed to discover that the visitor's center was "closed for the season" -- in June! We pushed on towards the hikes, apprehensive due to "road closed ahead" signs. Sure enough, we were forced to turn around before reaching any of our chosen spots. Joan and I regrouped at the parking area for the Sheltowee Trace, and took a path to the footbridge crossing the Red River.

There's a deep spot in the river just up the trail, with many people who think about diving off a bluff, and a few, egged on by their friends, who do.

Joan and I reached and crossed the footbridge.

The far side was a muddy track back down the other side, so we recrossed and returned to the parking area. We began a long drive to the trailhead for Hidden Arch. You can see our route in the above map, in green. This included driving through the  Nada Tunnel, a 900-foot single-track originally blasted out between 1910-1911 for the Dana Lumber company. Once all the trees had been cut, the railroad tracks were dismantled and the road was eventually paved. Needless to say, navigating it mandates the protocol of checking whether someone is coming the other way before entering the tunnel. (This photo is by Patrick Mueller from apex, usa - nada tunnel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia.)

Fortunately this was a light traffic day -- nobody else at the Sheltowee footbridge, nor here at the tunnel. Joan and I finally reached the "backpacker parking lot" at the Koomer Ridge Campground; the Koomer Ridge trail kicks off nearby, and the Hidden Arch trail is a loop off of that.

Our path followed the ridgeline for a while, and we spotted several umbrella magnolias, so named because their large leaves emerge from a tip, resembling an umbrella.

Some altitude is lost reaching the small sandstone arch, but nothing to worry about.

What we did worry about as Joan and I began our return was the weather, which had clouded over and held distant rumbles of thunder. We marched on, passing this tree growing, it would seem, directly out of the rock.

We picked up our pace and arrived, dry, back at our car. Soon after leaving we drove through a shower, and made our way to the lodge at Natural Bridge State Resort Park, where we'd spend the next three nights and have our breakfasts and dinners. After the first dinner we explored the grounds before retiring. The next day's goal was to cover as much of the trail network in the park as possible, starting with the Natural Bridge itself.