American Byways

The Battle of Mill Springs is one of Kentucky’s most significant Civil War events, and was the second largest in the state only after Perryville. It also afforded the Union the first significant victory of the war. The battle, fought on January 19, 1861, was the conclusion of a Confederate offensive campaign through the eastern part of the state.

I have been wanting to travel down to the battlefield site for the annual reenactment, held on the weekend closest to January 19, for several years and I opted to take a weekend and travel down to the southern reaches of the state to Nancy, which is about 10 minutes west of Somerset. The weather in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I departed from, was downright chilly with a touch of snow, but despite driving 150 miles southward, the temperatures did not improve. It even began to rain, which only added to the effect of winter.

The first reenactment was held on Saturday morning, January 21 at 10 AM, followed by another at 1 PM, both featuring different reenactments of the battle. Despite the cold and the unexpected wind that accompanied both reenactments, there were an estimated 200 spectators per event. Sunday’s 10 AM event was a touch warmer, although fog enveloped the region and gave the scene a definite gloomy appeal. The rain that had passed through Friday night certaintly added to the realism of the battle, considering that both the Confederate and Union troops were not in high spirits due to the waterlogged travel that was involved and the bitter temperatures that were surely evident in January.

The event, which was only a $5 donation to the Mill Springs Battlefield Association, included a ceremony to honor the soldiers who fought in the battle.

Part of the enjoyment of the reenactments is to not only learn more about the history of the United States, but to learn how different some battles were described and written about in our textbooks. Part of the enjoyment also comes from photographing the event, and from learning about the individuals who portray historic characters.

This reenactor was displaying his bayonet and gun to some children.

This father and son combination was most interesting. The father had gotten into Civil War reenacting several years ago, and explained his interest in the war to great detail and how he wanted to pass along a little bit of knowledge to others – information that is either misreported, buried or just not told. His son has only been to a few reenactments, but finds the joy in dressing up, portraying a character and acting out a scene.

Young or old, everyone gets involved.

Everyone loves a good photograph!

If you are wanting to know more specifics about the battle and the region, it is worth a trip to visit the museum, open May – September, Monday – Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM, and from October – April, Tuesday – Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM and Sunday from 1 PM to 4 PM. It is closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Additional information, including scheduling field trips, group tours or inquring about the site, can be found at their official web-site, by calling 606-636-4045 or via e-mail.

The battlefield renactment, held yearly around January 19 on a weekend, is free to the public but a $5 donation is requested.

Further Reading

• Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky

A picturesque sunset at a farm along Pretty Run Road in Bourbon County, Kentucky.

A curious horse throws a curious glance and softly nudges my hand for attention as I captured this sunset at a farm along the ridge tops of State Route 22 west of Neave, Kentucky in Pendleton County.

A diamond in the rough. That’s how Dave Shuffett of KET’s Kentucky Life describes Laurel Gorge in northeastern Kentucky.

Snuggled in a narrow valley along Laurel Creek, Laurel Gorge is one of Kentucky’s best kept secrets. The region is better known for its wide lakes and fishing opportunities than anything else, and the landscape is dotted with family farms and the Kentucky Quilt Trail. But nearly a decade ago, with the cooperation and assistance of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, this small reserve was created to showcase the natural beauty of the region only minutes from the county seat of Sandy Hook.

And does the gorge pack a wallop to those who explore within its towering 300-foot sandstone highwalls and cliffs. It acts almost as its own biosphere, containing a seemingly different climate than the hilltops, leading to a diverse range of wildflower species – many of them rare or unusual for Kentucky. Laurel Gorge extends from the visitors center to where Laurel Creek meets the Little Sandy River, and over three miles of trails grace the park. An observation deck overlooks a seasonal waterfall, and a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk and wide path extends for 1/4-mile into a rock shelter.

At the head of the gorge is the Laurel Gorge Cultural Heritage Center, which features exhibits on local history, folklore and folk music.

Black mustard with a dandelion in the center.

Wood Violet

Large-Flowered Trillium, which is white that turns pink with age.

Large-Flowered Trillium

Large-Flowered Trillium

Large-Flowered Trillium

A rare beaked trout lilly.

Wild Geranium

After walking through Laurel Gorge, we ended the day with a short hike at Grayson Lake State Park just to the north.

A cluster of Forget-me-not's around the base of a tree.

Be sure to jump to the new Laurel Gorge page for directions and additional photographs!

Nothing like the scent of lingering campfire and cloudy skies to greet you at dawn at the Hensley campsite at Cumberland Gap. With no sunrise to speak of due to a turbulent cold front that was passing on through, I walked over to Hensley Settlement to refill my canteen.

Cloudy skies or not, the soft light provides excellent fill for this Hensley Settlement barn. An American Chestnut split-rail fence provides a rustic bottom, while dogwoods bloom overhead.

A quiet morning without a soul around at Hensley Settlement.

I walked back to the campsite and headed east along the Ridge Trail with the new found backpackers that I had met before. The destination that day was White Rocks, which was 5.3 miles from Hensley Settlement, via a mostly level and wide trail with mud pits that were occasionally rutted out by horseback travelers. The biggest highlight was Table Rock.

Table Rock

The trail continues eastward, rolling through easy terrain before descending a moderate hill to the Sand Cave and waterfall spur. The side trail, which is single track and reserved for hikers only, is all downhill via switchbacks and some long stairs that require some fanagling so one does not slip down. But the views are worth it – for the waterfall and for the namesake rockshelter, which is 250 feet wide and 1.5 acres large. Carved due to the forces of nature – wind, water and ice, the sandstone ceiling erodes, depositing sand along the floor that is not only deep, but colorful. Peer into the floor and ceiling and spot over 20 different color variants!

Waterfall at Sand Cave. The water is clear, but it is always good to purify the liquid.

It is not exactly an easy hike to the top of Sand Cave. A steep gradient, along with a thick sand base, makes trudging to the top tiring.

Their sizes gives an easy indicator as to how large and steep Sand Cave really is.

Sand Cave

By the time we reached the Ewing Trail junction near the White Rocks campground, we dropped our packs and opted for an easy climb gear-less. The views from the top were as spectacular as they had been over two years ago. The climb to the top was fairly easy – but it requires scrambling up some rocks, although this is an easy process due to roots, branches and trees that can be held onto for support.

No sunset that evening at White Rocks due to a strong storm that had moved literally one mile north of Cumberland Gap.

We took in the sight of pure scenic bliss. White Rock, named for the white quartzite pebbles that are embedded in the sandstone, presents the cliffs as a bright beacon on sunny days. And for those that were traveling the Wilderness Road, it was a sign for those heading west that Cumberland Gap was only a day’s walk away.

Back at the Ewing Trail junction, I said goodbye to the friends that I had made backpacking from Hensley Settlement, and made my way down to the White Rocks campground – which is accessed from a winding single track path about 200 feet or so down the hill. It is not the most accessible, although it is far enough from the Ridge Trail that you rarely hear anyone else in the vicinity.

The night was young, but I was quite tired and after cooking a quick dinner, I retired to the tent. Thankfully, I had minded some advise given earlier to pack everything that had a scent into one bag and hoist it up – toothpaste, food and anything that had a scent, due to the growing bear population. Whereas Cumberland Gap had few black bears a few decades ago, it is full of them. Their signs are everywhere – claw marks on trees are frequent observations along the trails, along with bear dung and infrequent sightings. It didn’t help matters that I had spotted one earlier on this trip near Hensley Settlement along the Ridge Trail!

But thankfully, this advise was well heeded, because at 1 A.M., White Rocks campground was paid a visit by a single black bear. I could hear some claws scraping the ground about 50 feet away from my tent where I had cooked earlier, but not much else.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered inside my tent. “What the hell am I going to do?”

Sweat began pouring, as I was completely unaware of the events going on outside of my tent. Thoughts began forming in my head almost like clockwork, some more worrisome than others. What if the bear wandered closer to my tent? Or what if it would grow angry over the lack of accessible food? This was my first encounter with a bear so close, and I was alone. I hastily began throwing on socks, a shirt and shorts, and laced up my boots. I unzipped the tent ever so slowly, and had made preparations to dart to the outhouse – a relatively stable structure with a door which was thankfully a few feet away.

But just as soon as the bear was clawing the ground for food, it wondered off. I sat in my tent for the next hour, wide awake, listening for any sounds that the darkened forest emitted. Morning could not come soon enough.

As soon as first light hit the tent, I was out. I checked the grounds and confirmed my suspicion – claw marks were visible on the ground under the food bag that was hanging high from the ground, undisturbed. My composure was back and it was time to the the trail – and in 20 minutes, I was ready to hit White Rocks again for the morning sunrise. Clouds were looming overhead, but the quartz was as beautiful as ever.

White Rocks in the early morning.

Ewing can be spotted at the base.

White Rocks

White Rocks

I headed west along the Ridge Trail – destination was the Chadwell Gap Trail. But the walk, which began at ease with a decent cloud cover, declined to something more nerve wrecking as it progressed. Fresh bear markings and dung littered the trail, and my overactive imagination, fueled by the events of the night, only hastened my paranoia.

“Black bears are scared of humans,” I thought. I had not thought of bringing a bear bell, so I whistled familiar tunes and made some noise. It wasn’t long before I had reached the Chadwick Gap trail junction, where I began my descent towards the base. It was at the first rockhouse that I encountered that I was in for a surprise, though. As I began climbing down stairs, whistling all the while, two figures appeared from behind a rock.

“Shit,” I exclaimed, only to realize it was two other hikers that were going to Hensley Settlement for a day hike.

Now I knew my paranoia was reaching absurdity, so I relaxed a bit, swigged down the last of my water, and continued my hike. I did manage to photograph some gorgeous purple wildflowers, which I was not able to identify.

Unknown wildflower species.

Unknown wildflower species.

Unknown wildflower species.

After laboring down the nearly 3-mile long trail, I climbed into the car and headed west. I decided to photograph more of Cumberland Gap, but desired some rhododendron, which I had heard was in early bloom at the Pinnacle.

Rhododendron in early bloom at the Pinnacle.

Rhododendron in early bloom at the Pinnacle.

The common periwinkle is in bloom.

Alas, all good times must come to an end, right? Not really, so I opted for a quiet drive on the back roads until I got back into Cincinnati that night. On the way, I managed to squeeze out a pre-storm photograph of the Rolling View Farm west of Berea, Kentucky!

The historic Rolling View Farm near Berea, Kentucky.

I hope you enjoyed my hiking reports from Cumberland Gap! Here is a recap of the Cumberland Gap series:

• Surprises in southwest Virginia
• Going up to Hensley Settlement
• Sand Cave and White Rocks

After traveling the back roads of southwest Virginia and coming across some unexpected surprises, I opted to start out my second day of my trip to Cumberland Gap fresh in the early morning light and began ascending to Chadwell Gap and the Ridge Trail via the 2.9 mile Chadwell Gap Trail.

The trail itself is strenuous, notably for the climb that is required to ascend to the top of Cumberland Mountain. The first mile or so, however, is fairly easy, climbing a gentle grade north before heading west through a typical pioneer forest dominated by Yellow Poplar, Black Locust, White Oak, Red Maple, Sugar Maple and Hickory trees, among many other species. Approximately one mile into the walk, the trail turns north along an old road bed and begins a steeper climb to a former homestead, marked only by the visible remains of the foundation. The trail then begins a more laborious climb over rocks and a rough dirt path, although the rich forest floor becomes more abundant with mid-Spring wildflowers. As the trail progresses further up the hill, the tree stands become increasingly older. There are several switchbacks and steps, especially towards the top as the trail passes under an impressive rock shelter.

I am not the best with identifying wildflowers, so if you have any corrections or additions to my identifications, please let me know in the comment box!

A Crested Dwarf Iris photographed along the Chadwell Gap Trail.

Unknown wildflower. Please help identify it!

Wild Geranium's cover the ground.

At the top, I diverged left towards Hensley Settlement, which is an easy one mile hike on the wide trail that is shared with horseback riders. Hensley Settlement was a 67-acre self-reliant community, which was purchased in 1903 by Sherman Hensley and subdivided into 16 parts for his family and relatives. The mountaintop homes were constructed of chestnut timber with shake roofs, with stone foundations and chimneys – all locally sourced. Corn cribs, chicken houses and barns were built, along with a grist mill, school, blacksmith shop, sorghum mill and whiskey stills. At its peak in 1925, 50 to 100 residents called Cumberland Mountain home.

The last resident left the settlement in 1951. Since 1965, the National Park Service has restored three of the farmsteads to their 1940s appearance.

After setting up camp .3 miles east of the Settlement, I walked over to photograph some of the buildings as evening light began to set.

A reflection through a window provides a glimpse into a rough, hand-cut fence.

Unidentified wildflower.

Bulbous Buttercups in bloom.

Dogwoods in bloom at Hensley Settlement.

A view towards one of the spring houses used at Hensley Settlement.

After watching the sun set behind an ominous cloud cover that quickly rolled in, I retreated to the campsite, where I met some other folks who had backpacked in earlier. They had came from distant locales to take in the weekend at Cumberland Gap – Louisville, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia! The next update will regard some other features of Cumberland Gap, including Sand Cave and White Rocks, along with the descent back to the base!

There are surprises in southwest Virginia. Namely, why I have not yet explored this remote and serene parts of the United States, despite it being a relatively short drive from Ohio.

It had rained for most of the drive from Cincinnati southward to Cumberland Gap, and looking at the forecast that had called for even more rain that night, I opted to hole up in Middlesboro, Kentucky. I had been driven southward essentially in a bid to escape the rain that had tormented much of the Mid-Atlantic for April. For that month, Cincinnati had only two days of sunshine and 17 days of rain. How depressing is that?

But before checking into the motel, I explored. Ewing, Virginia, one of the westernmost settlements in the Commonwealth, only contains 400 or so residents and is a holdover to a time when small towns in America were more relevant in everyday discourse. It has since been bypassed by high-speed four-lane U.S. Route 58. (This has also been covered in my Abandoned blog entry.)

Ewing Theatre

A historic residence turned into storage facility office, now closed.

Ewing's Texaco service station.

Ewing's Gulf Station, closed since 1970.

Just hopping off of U.S. Route 58 and poking along the quiet side roads leads to more fascinating discoveries of beauty. Simple one-lane roads, surrounded by thickets of trees and flowering dogwoods, evokes images of a simpler time.

A one-lane gravel road, lined with a dense canopy of trees, leads up to a farmstead and cemetery off of Virginia State Route 690.

Virginia State Route 690

But the highlight came at sunset. What little sun there was came through and provided an excellent end to a day, and left me refreshed and looking forward to the hikes that would lead me to Hensley Settlement, Sand Cave and White Rocks over the next few days!

Sunset overlooking Fern Lake at the Pinnacle.

The clouds were rapidly approaching, and the sun began to dip behind them, leaving a nice soft and warm glow across Fern Lake.

Good night from Middlesboro, Kentucky!

My leg was quite stiff from a spill on my bike, where a softball-sized knot formed on my right knee after I did a quick save of my bike, but not my body. But I was not about to let a beautiful, sunny Saturday go by without at least heading out for my second trip to Red River Gorge for 2009. For this, I decided to take it easy and trek out on several smaller trails and take frequent breaks to let my leg rest up.

The first trail I pursued was the Whittleton Branch Trail (T 216) and the Whittleton Arch Trail (T 217). The trail begins at the Whittleton Branch Campground at Natural Bridge State Resort Park and meanders along an old logging railroad along the Whittleton Branch. Until 1928, the Mountain Central Railroad lumbered up the valley, crossing the creek an impressive 26 times in just two miles. The trail is almost entirely covered by dense second-growth forest canopy, and brilliant wildflowers blossom in the valley during the spring and summer months.

Approximately .8 miles from the campground is the junction with the Whittleton Arch Trail (T 217), which leads to Whittleton Arch — the primary focus of this hike. It is an easy .02 mile trek to the waterfall step arch, one of a few within the gorge. It is relatively difficult to photograph due to its impressive size — it is one of the largest arches in the gorge.

Whittleton Arch

I then attempted the Hidden and Silvermine Arch Loop (T 208 and 225), located near the Koomer Ridge Campground. Beginning at the trailhead parking lot, I followed the Hidden Arch Trail (T 208) for about one mile to a overlook of a deep watershed that flowed northward to the Red River. Twenty-seven steps led away from the overlook, snuggled amongst rhododendron, before coming to Hidden Arch — appropriately named for its location inline a rock house.

Hidden Arch

The trail then descended more steps before ascending a hill to the Koomer Ridge Trail (T 220). I turned right and took the Silvermine Arch Trail, following a mostly level path as it passed by the Koomer Ridge Campground. At two miles, the trail descended an impressive rockface via a 89-step staircase, which afforded great views of the valley below. The trail continued down the hill before ending at the impressive Silvermine Arch — also considered a waterfall step arch.

Silvermine Arch

I ended the day with the Sky Bridge Trail (T 214), is an easy .8 mile path that features Sky Bridge as its centerpiece. Beginning at the Sky Bridge parking area, the trail comes to a view of the top of the arch, affording impressive views to the east and west. The trail scrambles down some stair steps and loops back for a view of the belly of the arch, before returning via a staircase to the parking area.

Sky Bridge

The sun sets over the Parched Corn Creek valley.

Click through to find more about Red River Gorge and photographs of the terrifc sunset, Hidden Arch, Silvermine Arch and Whittleton Arch. Watch for new recreation pages on two prairies in Ohio soon!

It was a sunny Saturday in late August when I trekked to Red River Geological Area in Kentucky to explore some of the trails on the eastern front near Swift Creek and the Clifty Wilderness. It had been almost a year since my last trip to the area, so an excursion to what is one of the commonwealth’s most popular recreation areas was well overdue.

The first leg of the trail involves the Wildcat Trail (T 219), a 1.8 mile trail that involves a mostly gradual descent. I parked at the Wildcat trailhead off of Kentucky State Route 715, and started out on the Wildcat Trail. The path begins to make a gradual descent towards the creek, but at .3 mile, the trail makes a sharp left and parallels the state route, although it is out of sight. The trail turned a short time later onto an old logging road before descending down into the Swift Creek valley though thickets of rhododendron and towering oaks. Numerous wildflower species lined the trail, becoming especially vibrant and noticeable as I petered further from the main road.

The Wildcat Trail follows closely to sandstone outcroppings.

Late summer wildflowers, such as the Common Yellow Flax, dot the mixed woodlands.

Along the way, I came across a group of 11 that were hiking towards the Wildcat trailhead. Although they were mostly older individuals, they explained that once every two weeks, they would meet at the Eastland Shopoing Center in Lexington to caravan to a state park or naturalized area to “take in what this state has to offer.” I couldn’t agree more with that statement.

At the junction with the Swift Creek Trail (T 228), I turned left and followed what is a more moderate trail that closely follows Swift Creek — although it remained out of sight for a significant distance as I was high atop the bluffs. The trail meanders beneath tall hemlocks and hardwoods, and features numerous small climbs and descents.

The Spotted Touch-Me-Not, also known as Jewelweed, is present along the Swift Branch Trail.

At mile 3.5, I was finally afforded access to the placid and wide Swift Creek. There were numerous campsites along the waterway, although it is not recommended to camp along the banks due to the threat of flash flooding.

Soon after the creek sightings, the trail began its relatively steep ascent towards the state route and the Angel Windows trailhead. It is an easy 20 minute hike along the road, heading south, to the Wildcat trail.

Click through to find more about Red River Gorge and photographs of the Wildcat and Swift Creek Trail Loop gallery. Stay tuned for my early September trip to the Gorge in my next entry!