American Byways

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!

Cincinnati always blooms out during the spring time, in ways that are rarely captured, studied or admired. To many, they are just blips in a sea of buildings as the car passes by, but by stepping out and admiring the hundreds of different species that are cultivated or blown in, one can appreciate just what plant diversity Cincinnati really has.

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

You can’t argue with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The following were taken during the annual Tunes and Blooms event that was held every Thursday in April.

Blue Jacket Hyacinth

Blue Jacket Hyacinth

Pink Pearl Hyacinth

Pink Pearl Hyacinth

Banja Luka Tulip

Tulip about to open

White narcissus

The crowd at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden was awaiting a musican to perform during the annual April Tunes and Blooms Event.

Tulips abound at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Purple Creeping Phlox in the foreground, and red Columbine's rise in the back.

Eden Park

Eden Park is one of Cincinnati’s most popular parks. It contains the free Krohn Conservatory, overlooks and plenty of open space.

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum has just become more convenient to access, since I recently moved from Over-the-Rhine to Northside. The amount of plant diversity is astounding.

For even more Cincinnati, check out my partner web-site, UrbanUp, for even more photographs of downtown, Over-the-Rhine, North Avondale and more!

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!

Husky Branch Falls is a relatively small waterfall, one that dips down from a mountain stream and cascades down a rockface into a pool in the Little River. Located within a dense cluster of rhododendron and southeast of Elkmont, Tennessee, a historic logging town, this 5.4-mile hike encompasses an easy loop that strolls through the abandoned town of Elkmont and along trails that ascertain spring mountain beauty. Elkmont was a pioneer Appalachian community, later becoming a logging town and resort. Today, the community remains only as an active campground, with abandoned residences the only testament to its past.

Elkmont, Tennessee along Jakes Creek Trail

Elkmont is clearly visible upon the approach the trailhead for the loop – at Jakes Creek Trail. Seemingly forgotten buildings are abound – adjacent to the campsite, parking areas and along the roadway. The 5.4-mile loop trail for Husky Branch Falls begins along the former Jakes Creek Road at the southernmost tip of the old logging town of Elkmont in the parking area. The roadway south of the parking area is closed to all but emergency vehicles, and passes by vacation cottages from years past – most having been closed for some odd 30 years. While some are being stabilized for preservation, others are in much worse condition and require substantial repair.

The temptation is there to explore, but all are marked with no trespassing signs. That is not usually a deterrent, but my goal was to reach the waterfall before the rain – in the forecast, but overcast skies lie above with a warm breeze. In the spring, expect to see a diverse collection of flora, some native, others not – especially along Jakes Creek Trail and Cucumber Gap. On this trip in, I counted at least six different wildflower species.

Wildflowers are in bloom in Elkmont.

At .6 miles into the hike at an old parking area, Jakes Creek Trail turns slightly eastward and up a moderate grade. Bear left onto Cucumber Gap Trail, which is a single track trail, and follow this through the hardwood forest as it climbs through the gap and down onto an old logging railroad. The 2.4 mile trail includes an easy grade littered with spring wildflowers that seemingly carpet the forest floor, but after passing the gap, the forest composition is made up of more hemlock stands and rhododendron. Soon after, Cucumber Gap passes through Husky Branch which involves scrambling over some boulders – a tricky feat if the water level is high. Hope you don’t mind getting a bit wet!

At its end, Cucumber Gap intersects the Little River Trail, which includes a nice wooden seating area. Bear left onto what looks like a roadway – the Little River Trail.

The Little River Trail, in contrast to the Cucumber Gap Trail, is flat and wide, and I passed by numerous individuals from Elkmont taking a quiet stroll along the equally wide waterway that paralleled the trail. The path is partially graveled and was an old rail-bed at one point. Passing over Husky Branch, view left and spot Husky Branch Falls, which scrambles down a rockface to a deep pool in the Little River. From there, it is a 20 minute hike – at a good pace, to the Elkmont access road where the trail ends.

Husky Branch Falls

Elkmont is located west of the Sugarlands Visitor Center along Tennessee State Route 73/Little River Road. Check out Great Smoky Mountains National Park for additional photos from the Husky Branch loop, and watch for more updates in the coming days from North Carolina!

The Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is located in Cincinnati, Ohio within the Mill Creek valley, and was chartered by a special Act of the Ohio General Assembly in 1845. Spring Grove is one of the largest not-for-profit cemeteries in the United States, and it’s manicured 733 acres are host to thousands of visitors every year.

This was my first trip to Spring Grove in my two years of living in Cincinnati, so I spent much of my day here. There are 48 photographs in this gallery, along with a brief history and description.

A curious fish stopped to look at me for a few, brief minutes.

Flowering dogwoods reflect in a lake.

Wild Blue Phlox

Round Leaved Ragwort

Mahketewah Lake

Cornus florida dogwood frame Willow Water.

Soldiers Monument was crafted by Randolph Rogers in Rome, Italy in 1864. Section 23

I’ve also added a few photographs to the Alms Park gallery. Located in the historic Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood on the east end of Cincinnati, the 94-acre Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park on Mt. Tusculum offers a breathtaking view of the Ohio River and Lunken Airport. The point was originally nicknamed ‘Bald Hill’ for the clearing created by Native Americans, who cleared trees to have an sightless view of the early settlers of ‘Columbia.’ Later, the land was owned by Nicholas Longworth who used the property to produce Catawba wine prior to the Civil War. It was later sold to Federick H. Alms, who donated it to the Cincinnati Park Board in 1916.

A statue of Steven Foster, who was known as the 'Father of American music.' While living in Cincinnati, he wrote his first successful songs, 'Oh! Susanna' and 'Nelly Was a Lady.' He lived in Cincinnati from 1846 to 1849.

Be sure to click through to Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum and the Alms Park galleries for more photographs! Enjoy this springalicious update!

The Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve, located in Adams County, Ohio near West Union, is home to one of the more biologically diverse collections of plant and animal species in the Buckeye state. Within the 14,000-acre sanctuary, there is an abundant supply of diverse woodlands, prairies, wildflowers, rolling meadows, cool ravines, rock outcroppings, clear streams and small waterfalls. Over one-hundred rare and endangered plant and animal species reside within the refuge.

At one point, massive swaths of old-growth forests and sweeping prairies once blanked the southern tier of the state. The needs of iron production necessitated the stripping of the timber for the pig-iron furnaces, and what wasn’t converted for industrial uses was cleared for farmland.

I photographed three of the ten reserves from 2008 to 2009.

Lynx Prairie

Blephilia ciliata

Blephilia ciliata

Black-eyed Susan

Indian Paintbrush

The Wilderness

Saw Mill Branch

Buzzardroost Rock

A view into the Ohio Brush Creek Valley from the Buzzardroost Rock overlook.

You can find more photographs, including specific information about the three preserves covered here, along with trail information, at Edge of Appalachia Preserve. Enjoy!

Known as the second largest inland wetland in the United States, Canaan Valley is tucked amongst the mountains in the Monongahela National Forest. I journeyed to Canaan Valley for the first time en route to a conference in Charlottesville, Virginia in late-September, and I was amazed at the breathtaking beauty of the extensive bogs and diverse flora that is not often found in the lower-half of the United States.

Canaan Valley was not always known for this particular beauty, in terms of wetlands. Only one-hundred years ago, Canaan Valley and the surrounding mountains were revered for its dense red spruce forest that produced twice the amount of board per feet than other similar stands within the state. But post-logging, the valley was consumed in many environmental disasters. Organic material at the ground dried out and was nothing more than kindling. Many inevitable fires caused extensive destruction for months, burning away the productive layer of humus and leaving only bare rock and a very thin layer of soil.

Some say that Canaan Valley resembled more of a desert than the once-rich forest it had once been known for. A proposal for a hydroelectric dam and lake for the valley was floated around in the 1920s, advancing as far as property purchases by the West Virginia Power and Transmission Company — which ironically saved the valley from development and destruction.

Over the period of decades, Canaan Valley was left virtually untouched. Much of the land in the northern half of the valley was owned by the power company, who left the valley as it was and allowed it to naturally regenerate into a wetland. The southern half of the valley was slowly developed into farms and homesteads.

Today, Canaan Valley is home to Canaan Valley Resort State Park, the Canaan Valley National Natural Landmark and National Wildlife Refuge, the Canaan Valley Ski Resort and Timberline Four Seasons Resort.

Click through to find more on Canaan Valley, including 32 photographs. Enjoy!

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!