Hidden Arches
Location: Red River Gorge Geological Area - Slade, KY
General Rules and Regulations: Overnight permits are required (available at gas stations in Slade, Sky Bridge Station or Gladie Visitor Center). No camping within 300' of a marked trail or road. No camping or fires within 100' of rock structures. Fires are permitted unless there is a fire ban in place - No cutting standing timber (dead or alive). Bear precautions are required.
Please see the USDA website, which is over Red River Gorge, for details on the rules.
Trip Highlights: 3 days/2 nights; temps ranged from mid 20s to upper 50s; 7 arches and multiple windows.
Menu: Subway, Biscuits & Gravy, Tuna, Spicy Sausage & Pasta, Breakfast Bar, Snacks & Java.
Shelter: Warbonnet Blackbird hammock, Underground Quilts Top Quilt and Hammock Gear Under Quilt, Warbonnet Outdoors Mamajamba tarp.
Wildlife: Just birds
Miscellaneous: www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/dbnf/recarea/?recid=39458
On a whim I texted Nate Friday morning to see if he would be interested in a last minute exploration of The Gorge. Turns out he had a tripped planned to RRG that fell apart and said he could possibly swing it and would let me know.
Day 1
After fighting through traffic I got to Slade, KY around 7:00 PM to pick up a permit and a Subway samich. After stopping for the essentials I arrived at the Princess Arch trailhead around 7:30 PM. I quickly organized some gear and headed out in search of a camp on the way to Cherokee Arch. I passed a few well used, lack luster, campsites before spotting a nice place to hang near the cliff overlooking a valley between ridge lines.
I had camp set up before dark and then had dinner while the sun set behind behind me. I relaxed and enjoyed the clear night before retiring to the hammock. Surprisingly, I had signal and got a confirmation text from Nate that he should be arriving around 10:00 AM Saturday.
I waited for the sun to break the ridge line from the warmth of the hammock. As the sun came up I retrieved my food bag and prepped breakfast while sipping on a warm cup o' joe from the hammock. After breakfast I backtracked to the trailhead and dropped my pack to make the short hike to Princess Arch.
The plan was to meet up with Nate today and hunt some arches. I explored the area around Princess Arch while waiting for Nate and found a couple areas to possibly explore and camp on a return trip. Timing worked out well and we met at the arch before hiking back to the trailhead.
From Cherokee Arch we continued on to the Rat Windows and Mushroom Arch. We attempted to see Rat Windows 1 from below the ridge before backtracking and climbing the ridge to go through Rat Windows 1. From there we could see a faint path up and across the ridge which led us past Rat Windows 2 and toward Mushroom Arch. Mushroom Arch was a bit more difficult to locate and access. But, after crawling through some mountain laurel we were able to locate the arch.
We found Friendship Tube and Arch with no issue. We opted not to do the belly crawl through Friendship Tube. We took our packs in hope of finding a good place to camp but, didn't find anything without significant effort and exploration. So, we backtracked and went in search of Tabletop Arch and Cat's Paw. After a little searching we found both. We poked around a bit and then scrambled back up and headed out to Poor Edgar's Rock.
We finally made it to the end of the ridge where the trail opened up just before the overlook...Which did not disappoint. We found both a good view and a sweet campsite above Laurel Branch and the Red River. I was pretty excited that we didn't give up and turn back.
We were in a prime location for a spectacular sunrise. Unfortunately, clouds moved in overnight and only gave us a brief view of the sunrise. But, it was still beautiful!
Coffee and breakfast bar down - time to pack up. Packed, camp cleaned up and fire checked we prepared for the push through the overgrown trail back toward the trailhead. Back at the trailhead we again dropped our packs and hiked to Chimney Top Rock and then to Half Moon Arch and Half Moon. I wasn't feeling the climb up onto Half Moon and called it a day there.
Summary
This trip didn't add up to a lot of miles but, sure added up to a lot of smiles (did you see what I did there!) and some great sights! Red River Gorge is perfect for this type of trip with so many interesting features to see. I look forward to more exploratory trips to The Gorge!