A Secluded Hike in Red River Gorge: Pinch 'Em Tight Trail
I can't believe I've been home a whole summer, and this is the first time I'm getting out to Red River Gorge! (I guess that's what happens when you work the old 8-5 Monday through Friday and spend every weekend wedding venue shopping.) Luckily, I had a day free during my last weekend in Kentucky, and what a better way to spend it than heading out to the Gorge. We decided to bring along Ryan's parent's puppy, Daisy, and try out a new trail: Pinch 'Em Tight.
The trail started off in almost desert-like terrain, thanks to the sand, lizards, and blazing sun. This segment along the open bluffs was reminiscent of Auxier Ridge Trail, which is probably my favorite trail in the Gorge.
Ryan gave Daisy a little break from walking after all that heat, and we then entered old-growth forest. This segment of the trail is classic Red River Gorge: towering trees shading the trail, rocky ledges and outcroppings appearing across gulches, rhododendron crowding the path.
We descended into the ravine towards Rush Branch Creek, where Daisy enjoyed a refreshing lie-down in the water. One of the things I loved most about this trail was how secluded it was. Oftentimes, I find trails in the Gorge (during the summer, at least) to be a little overcrowded, especially when you want to bring a dog. However, at this point, we'd only run into one or two other hiking groups and one group who was camping off the trail.
After crossing the log bridges over Rush Branch Creek, you begin a rapid ascent towards Rush Ridge Trail. This is where we hit a snag: at a random point (about a mile or a mile and a half after the ascent began), the trail suddenly became unmaintained, with undergrowth completely obscuring the path. It was such a sudden and drastic change that it made us think we'd just lost the trail. So we retraced our steps to see if we'd missed a fork in the trail. We hadn't missed anything that we could tell, so we decided to head even further back, all the way down the steep section we'd just climbed. By the time we reached the log bridges again, we'd figured out that we'd been going the correct way (though still had no explanation for sudden lack of maintenance on that specific part of the trail).
All in all, we probably added a good thirty or forty-five minutes (and a lot more calf strain) to our hike due to the confusion, but it was still a good time nonetheless. I'd like to try this trail again in the spring, as there are waterfalls along Rush Branch Creek when the water is higher!
Of course, after the hike we finished off the day with Miguel's Pizza. Because if you don't get Miguel's, did you even go to the Gorge?
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