GOING OUT WEST
“Well
I’m going out west
Where
the wind blows tall”
From “Going Out
West”, written by Tom Waits & K. Brennan
For
this year’s trip we decided to simply things. Over the last few years it had begun to feel
like we were always attempting to outdo the previous year’s trip. In 2008 I thru-hiked the
John Muir Trail in California.
The next year we spent three weeks in Alaska. We followed that up with a trip to Peru. Those trips were all fantastic, but in many
ways, they weren’t really vacations.
They were complex adventures, and the planning had been exhausting. This time around, we wanted a more relaxing
experience.
Even
more importantly, we wanted this trip to focus on family time. I travel for a living, and I’m out of town
more often than I’d like. For this trip,
we wanted to spend as much time together as possible. Also, we felt like maybe it was time to take
our dog, Boone, on one of our adventures.
He had definitely been disappointed when we’d left him behind the
previous two years.
With
these criteria in mind, we decided to go back to one of our old favorites. Back in 1999, Christy and I took our first
trip together. We spent a week in
Wyoming backpacking in the Wind River Range.
Since then we’ve taken two additional trips to Wyoming. This time, we planned a 4-week trip that
would include two backpacking trips in the Wind River Range, a backpacking trip
in Yellowstone National Park, and at least one dayhike
in Grand Teton National Park. Since we
were bringing the dog with us, we would be driving. That meant we’d have a chance to visit some
new areas in the Midwest along the way.
It
seemed like such a simple plan, but it wasn’t long before things began to
unravel. First gas prices nearly
doubled. Since we were driving, that
meant that the cost of our trip doubled, too.
We considered flying instead, but that meant leaving the dog at home. Plus, by the time we factored in the high
airfare, the rental car cost, and the obnoxious baggage fees, it was still
significantly cheaper to drive.
Then
the winter of 2010 / 2011 hit the Rocky Mountains. By April, the snowpack in parts of Wyoming
and Colorado exceeded 400% of normal. In
a typical year in the Rockies the high passes are clear of snow by early
July. Because of Christy’s school
schedule, the latest we could start our trip was mid-July. With the deep snow, we had no idea if we’d
even be able to pull our trip off.
Conditions
actually worsened in May and June. Snow
continued to fall. A major snowstorm
actually hit the Sierra Nevada in early July.
At the last minute we began considering other options. The Rockies were buried under a massive
snowpack, but there were no other appealing options. The Sierra Nevada and the Cascades were just
as bad. In New Hampshire, a ski slope
was still open in late June. The only
part of the country worthy of a month-long trip that wasn’t still buried in
snow was Arizona and New Mexico, and that area was on fire due to drought. What to do?
We
decided to roll the dice and proceed with our trip as planned. I had doubts as to whether we’d be able to do
the hikes I’d planned, but I figured we could afford to be flexible. Since we were driving, we could always alter
our plans based on the conditions we encountered.
By
the time early July rolled around we had our plans in place. Unlike our more complicated trips, we had a
good bit of flexibility built into this one.
We had a backcountry permit reserved in Yellowstone for 5 days, along
with a corresponding reservation for Boone at the Happy Tails Pet Resort in
Jackson. Beyond, that, we were only
marginally committed to a few hotels and campgrounds along the way. There’s a lot to be said for the open road!
GRAY’S ANATOMY
The
final days leading up to our trip featured a flurry of organizing and
packing. Items were crossed off the
to-do list, but somehow the list got longer.
Meanwhile, the dog began to lose his mind. He knew what was going on, and he remembered
how he’d been left behind the last couple of times. We told him over and over that he was
actually going to get to GO this time, but he didn’t seem to believe us.
Packing
for this trip was a little different.
Because we were driving, we didn’t have to stuff everything into four
massive suitcases and two giant carry-ons. Hell, we could take everything we
wanted! Well, everything that would fit
in the car. Since the car was already
going to be occupied with two adults and one 85 pound Weimaraner, that didn’t
really leave a lot of room. It did help
that we had upgraded our ride a couple of months ago, partially with our trip
in mind. We’d traded in our Subaru
Forrester for a Honda Element, which was more practical for a cross-country
drive.
Once
I started packing the car, Boone was so beside himself that it was easier just
to put him in the car than to have him underfoot. We used a system of bins to organize and pack
our gear, which worked out pretty well.
Unfortunately, more often than not it seemed like the bin that was
needed was on the bottom. Still, it was
better than having a giant pile of crap to sift through.
We
finished our packing and headed out of town on Friday morning. This was convenient, as we wanted to be in
Lafayette, Indiana Saturday evening. The
first goal of the trip was to visit Wolf Park.
They have “howl nights” about once a month on Saturday evenings, and
that was something we wanted to experience.
Stay tuned for more about Wolf Park.
Since
we managed an early start, we took the scenic route to Indiana. The night before we left, I did a little
planning and found a campground and some hiking opportunities in the Daniel
Boone National Forest in Kentucky. We’d
head for the Red River Gorge, which is famous for its natural sandstone
arches. That’s an area that I’ve wanted
to visit for years. We wouldn’t have
time for a lot of hiking there, but at least I’d be able to check the area out.
There
is no good way to get to the Red River Gorge from Charlotte. Interestingly, we decided to take back roads
through Boone, NC. We headed that way,
and Boone the dog was certainly confused.
He was probably wondering if we were going camping or to a football
game. It’s probably good that we weren’t
headed for a football game, since it was raining and downright cold when we
reached town. Despite the conditions, we
stopped at Wal Mart for groceries for our first
couple of nights of camping. We also
picked up lunch at Jimmy Johns, since we figured that our options would be
limited once we left town.
We
drove through Mountain City, TN, and on into southwest Virginia. The rain finally quit and the temperature
warmed as we headed north. The highlight
of this part of the drive was passing the “Pound Church of Christ”. The sign out front actually said, “Who let
the dogs out? Jesus! Jesus!” *
From
there we drove deeper into the mountains and on into eastern Kentucky. The rain resumed here, and we began to wonder
how our first night of camping was going to be.
Christy drove most of this first day, bless her
heart, since I had to finish writing a report for work. She whined a bit about having to do most of
the driving, but I think she came out ahead.
At least she wasn’t staring at an overheated laptop the entire day.
We
arrived at the Koomer Ridge Campground late Friday afternoon. We didn’t have reservations, but fortunately
the campground was only half full. By
7pm though, every site was occupied.
We
were impressed with the campground. It’s
a nice, scenic place with pleasant campsites.
At $18 a night it’s a little pricey, but they do have showers. We didn’t actually make use of them though,
as it seemed a little early in the trip for bathing.
We
took campsite #1, as it was rather isolated from other campsites. The rain stopped just as we pulled in, which
seemed like an encouraging omen. We set
up the tent quickly, not knowing if the foul weather would return. By the time camp was set up rain was clearly
not a concern, as blue sky began to appear through the tree canopy above us.
I
decided to take advantage of the break in the weather with a short hike. Christy was worn out from packing and driving
though, and elected to take a nap.
The
Red River Gorge has the largest concentration of natural stone arches in the
eastern United States. There are over
100 natural arches in the gorge, and Gray’s Arch is the largest, spanning 79
feet. The hike to it is less than 2
miles (one way), so it seemed like the perfect choice for a short hike.
Boone
and I drove a few miles from the campground to the Gray’s Arch Trailhead on
Tunnel Ridge Road. This is a popular
area, but facilities are limited to pit toilets at the trailhead. There were only a few other cars there when
we arrived, and we didn’t see many other hikers on our walk.
The
hike was easy and pleasant, except for some pesky deer flies near the
trailhead. At several points there were
side paths leading off the main trail, but they generally led to only marginal
views. Fortunately the trail was in good
shape despite the rain, and the hike offered an easy leg-stretcher after a long
day in the car.
After
a little over 30 minutes I reached a sandstone cliff that was initially
impressive. It turns out that I hadn’t
seen anything at that point. I descended
a long staircase, which brought me to the base of a massive cliff. The cliff harbors an incredible rock
house. Towering high above was Gray’s
Arch.
I’ve
seen many arches over the years, both in Kentucky / Tennessee as well as out
west. Gray’s Arch is as impressive as
any of them. It’s a little harder to see
that the ones in Utah because of the surrounding vegetation, but not a lot
harder to see. It’s a massive feature,
and the rock house below is equally impressive.
I
spent the next half hour exploring the arch and the rock house. Surprisingly, I had the whole place to myself
right up until we were about to leave.
On our way out, we stopped at a tiny stream down at the bottom of the
cove so Boone could get water. We
climbed back up to the trail, but explored a side trail before leaving. It led out to a nice view just above the top
of the arch. From there I hurried back,
ready to return to the campground for dinner.
I
grilled a steak that night, while Christy had a veggie burger. The meal also featured sautéed potatoes and
steamed broccoli. I washed my dinner
down with a beer, which was particularly enjoyable since alcohol is strictly
forbidden in the campground. We went to
bed early since we had a big day planned for Saturday.
It
rained again Friday night, but cleared before dawn. We were up at 6:30, eager to see more of the
Red River Gorge before the road beckoned.
I made eggs, hashbrowns, and coffee, and we were very efficient breaking
camp. We got on the road by 8:15, and
drove a scenic loop through the Red River Gorge. Highlights included the Red River and the
Nada Tunnel (meaning “not a tunnel” in Spanish), which is 900’ long but only
12’ wide. I was tempted to squeeze in
another short hike, particularly since Christy had missed Gray’s Arch the
previous afternoon, but I wasn’t sure if we had time. Ultimately, we both agreed that we should’ve
hiked there rather than doing a hike in Indiana that afternoon.
Back to Kentucky
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!
*Not
really