Princess Arch and Chimney Top Rock: A Cliffside View of Red River Gorge
Last weekend, two of my best friends from Asbury, Kari and Kayla, joined me on a road trip to Red River Gorge, entrusting me with the job of navigation since they'd never been there (I'll let you decide whether that was a good idea). Our church, lunch, hiking schedule promised to play out for the perfect Sunday afternoon of adventuring.
At lunch, our probably-hungover waiter lamented the fact that it was perfect hiking weather and that he'd decided to pick up an extra shift (sorry, man, but I don't think you would have been hiking even if you had been free). He then left us with the advice, "Be careful out there. Don't want an Amber Alert." If I wasn't confident about journeying into the middle of the woods without a set plan before, I was now.
As we exited onto the Mountain Parkway, reminiscing about our Eastern Kentucky roots and the coincidence of having all three been to Dewey Dam Park, I pulled up the Gorge trail map to pick our route. If you know me, I'm not a map person at all. I could get lost driving across the road (in fact, I did once get turned around driving from LCA, my high school, to Lexington Green, which you can see from LCA). Nevertheless, I followed the winding gravel roads and highways until I found two short trails that we could complete in less than two and a half hours, before the sun set: Princess Arch and Chimney Top Rock.
It was probably my fault that we got lost. Every time I've been to the Gorge, I've taken the same exit as Natural Bridge, Exit 33 at Slade, Kentucky. However, after a number of three-point turns, it was soon very clear that we could not get to our destination on that exit and found our way back onto the Mountain Parkway, en route for Exit 40 at Pine Ridge.
The roads kept getting smaller and smaller. After the Mountain Parkway, it became a two-lane highway. After that, a skinnier paved road without a yellow line. And finally, a gravel road that kicked up dust and was filled with potholes, Kayla and Kari's green Ford Focus clinging to the side of the cliff.
The last time I went to the Gorge, on a gorgeously warm day just a few weeks ago, it was an anomaly in winter. This time, it was clear that spring is (mostly) here to stay. Unlike the eerily empty campgrounds of February, where we were close to the only people on our trail, there were backpackers, puppies, and backcountry campers peppering the forest. On the cliffs, we saw brave individuals on solitary crags in the distance, tents like eagle nests on the bluffs.
Princess Arch is one of the Gorge's many natural rock formations that resembles human architecture (or the other way around). It's a bridge, the sandstone bearing you to an enticing monolith across a six or seven foot gap. Had it been a different day, I might have joined those who have tested the "A Dangerous Place" warning at the beginning of the trail, risking the precarious climb. Underneath the arch, a cave tempted us inside one by one, where by serendipity we fit perfectly. This arch, like Silvermine Arch, was a kind of haven. Shielded from the sun's rays, the cave was chilly, a strange constellation of erosion winding along the ceiling. It felt almost otherworldly.
Once we reached Chimney Top Rock, we stopped and stared. Though the forests weren't yet aware it was spring, the views were absolutely breathtaking. We could see for miles, tracing trucks winding along the mountain roads, the river cutting an icy path through the trees. From there, it was easy to see why this place is called Red River Gorge: the rocky walls of far-off cliffs walled us in this sanctuary of towering trunks and steep drops.
Kentucky continually amazes me with its natural beauty. One of my favorite things about this state is that I can live in an urban city with all its amenities, then drive only an hour to find myself on an isolated cliffside, watching a hawk soar through the slumbering valley below.
Join me on my adventure! Click on the pictures below to view them full-size and look through the slideshow.
To see my last trip to Red River Gorge, where I explored Silvermine Arch, go here.
