Red River Gorge, Spring '11

We had a good group of people for the annual spring hike at the Red River Gorge. Like many of the spring hikes, it poured Friday night. I enjoyed testing out getting into my hammock with the my sleeping bag and sleeping bag cover. Managed to do that trick without getting wet. I love to listen to the rain and whip-poor-wills. The waterfall is near camp on the Rough Trail.

The streams were quite swollen from the previous nights rain. Usually, we can hop on rocks across this creek. Instead, a couple of us had a fun challenge of crossing by hanging under the tree. I crossed fine, but did not realize my car key fell out of my pocket. However, the Lord blessed me by helping me find it in the bottom of the creek, over eight hours later! Here you can see Mark demonstrating the crossing technique.

I rarely think to try to take panoramic pictures, but this overlook was impossible to capture in one picture. There are three levels, several waterfalls, incredible vertical interest, and lush vegetation that makes it appear surreal.

This waterfall was behind Gray's Arch. The colors of the rocks were striking. Each waterfall, cliff, cove, cave, arch, and stream makes you want to show someone the amazing thing you have found, but then you come to another place just as amazing. Each hike at the Red River Gorge feels like a discovery.