Big Trip Day 6: Red River Gorge Windows, Bridges, and Falls

For June 10th, the last hiking day of our expedition that began here, Joan and I opted for a number of shorter hikes on the east side of the Red River Gorge Geological Area, picking up several sights while not trekking hours away from the car. After all, we got quite wet the day before.

 

Rock Bridge Arch

Our first destination was the Rock Bridge Arch, several expressway exits and a winding, unpaved road away from the lodge.

The greeting sign.

A modest loop.

The trail plunged into a ravine. Of course, that meant we had to come back up later. At one point a hooded warbler landed on a handrail just ahead of me, and I halted, but in two seconds it realized I was there and flew off.

We reached the bottom, surrounded by hemlocks and rhododendron. A short walk took us to Creation Falls.

A view from downstream.

Very soon thereafter, the bridge appeared, the only bridge/arch in the Red River Gorge that is over water.

A better view.

After admiring the bridge, Joan and I continued along the loop through this magical forest, and didn't encounter anyone else until near the end.

Chimney Top 

We drove back out on the gravel road and then several miles north to the Chimney Top trailhead.

There is a stern warning at the beginning of the short path out to the viewpoint. People have fallen to their deaths going beyond the fence.

A portion of the panorama there. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Closeups of the features rising out of a green sea.

Zooming in ...

Princess Arch

Back at the parking area was also the trailhead for Princess Arch, just off the top of the prior map, but only a short walk away.

 

Standing almost underneath it.

A closeup of the far end of the arch; a short loop trail heads out to a point and then returns to the top of the arch.

Looking from the other side.

We spotted these interesting bi-colored leaves here, green on top and pink underneath.

Sky Bridge

To reach the Sky Bridge, second in popularity only to the one at the eponymous Natural Bridge State Resort Park, we drove back down to the main road and headed north.

We expected a crowd, but, perhaps because of the day of the week (Thursday) or yesterday's downpours, Joan and I saw only a handful of other visitors. The top of the bridge is close by the parking area.

No guardrails, but it's several feet wide.

At the far side, the path narrowed,

led to a small viewpoint, and then began to descend, taking us to the bottom of the arch we had just walked across.

I couldn't take it all in with one image ...

panorama mode on my camera wasn't tall enough, and the auto-stitching stuttered.

The path continued level alongside the ridge, whose flanks were often exposed.

The rock strata have seen a lot of torment. Definitely click on this one to enlarge.

Water erosion has also created cups and curves.

There is a short drive from the main parking area to a two-vehicle spot at an overlook; however, the vegetation has grown up and obscured the view. Don't bother with that one.

 

Whistling Arch
Our next stop was at the Whistling Arch.

It's a short quarter-mile to the arch. This photo looks along the side of the arch.

Other hikers standing in front. Now you can see the "arch," which feels more like a rock shelter with a window in the back.

It whistles because the wind blows through this gap, a constriction in the arch's only opening.

A quick walk back to the car followed, and a short drive south to Angel Windows. Angel Windows is also a quarter-mile from its parking area.

 

Angel Windows
As usual, the trail began with a small descent.

A small, preliminary window.

We passed a very rusty-looking bluff.

This formation has lots of arches and windows.

Eye-catching roundleaf catchfly nestled at the foot of the main column.

On our return walk we encountered some eager young boys and their dads. At the parking area the two moms were sitting and chilling with each other.

 

Angel Windows was our final stop for the day. Cleanup, dinner, and packing followed, and the final day of hiking was done. The next day we drove back to Ohio, having thoroughly enjoyed our first overnight outing (six nights! six!) in a long time.

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.