Tucked into a beautiful valley on the north side of Pine Mountain in Harlan County, this 100 year-old boarding-school-turned-education-and-retreat-center is worth the effort it takes to get to its remote location.
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This weekend my heart was warmed to see so many people from across our nation taking the opportunity to visit of one of Kentucky’s gems; the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. I feel blessed that we hosted such a diverse showing of craft in a first-year event with a rowing shell, SUPs, an outrigger canoe, canoes, kayaks, surfskis, ICF K-1s and a tandem surfski along our 8-mile course.
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Greetings fellow waterfallers and explorers to the latest installment of the Explore Kentucky Must List: Waterfalls! Last time, in Part 1, we visited 5 waterfalls which stretched from outside of Berea to the Daniel Boone National Forest a few miles downstream from Cumberland Falls. Here, with Part 2 we’re going to pick up with where we left off and begin with The Big Falls itself, Cumberland Falls, and make our way into the less visited Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and then back into the Daniel Boone National Forest. So take a seat and let’s continue on our journey to Kentucky's beautiful falling waterways...
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A few weeks ago, my good friend Gerry James was kind enough to come visit and speak at one of my events at the Brown County Library in Mt. Orab, Ohio. I asked him to bring ‘adventure’ and ‘outdoor exploration’ to our young people, and he delivered so much more. He brought a beautiful message from the Explore Kentucky Initiative, of his adventure paddling 137 miles on the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Louisville, that did spark enthusiasm and excitement in the children. The children were given an opportunity to get a close up, hands on view of the SUP board that was used in the presentation.
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There are many ways to walk on a trail. There are times when I walk in order to talk with a friend, get to know a person. Other times, I walk by myself, wondering as I wander like the Kentuckian folksinger John Jacob Niles. When, at 26 years old, a misplaced Kentuckian living in Montana, I learned how to “bird,” I found yet another way to walk, a way where my tinkering mind quieted, and I could hold each present moment, lingering in the forest, in the meadow, by the wetland, with my binoculars fixed to my eyes, watching wild birds do their secret magic of flying, full of hollow bones, covered in a quilt of feathers.
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As the sun began to sink below the horizon, we packed up our gear. We wished them well for the long evening ahead and for the last leg of their trip. Their exhausted smiles will forever be etched in my memory. Smiles that only come from contentment from an excellent day on the river with friends. Perhaps by the time they return, we’ll have larger kayaks ourselves. And we’ll be strong enough to keep up with their speed. If not, we’ll offer them trail magic again, and find a few more lessons learned.
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About a quarter mile down the trail we cross Buttercup Hill, which is just past peak bloom. We turn right down a side path to our first point of interest, Jones-Keeney Natural Bridge which is only about ten feet high at the top with an arch. Ducking under the rock slab, Shara shows us the chamber behind the arch which is backed by a 15-foot rock wall with a small waterfall and a couple of cairns left by previous hikers. Mosses and ferns cover many of the rock faces. The place is magical.
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You might notice, that I mentioned earlier, that I had a chance at changing my own equilibrium. I have changed. I have Melinda Walker and EKI Director's Gerry James to thank for it. You see when I started BeintheWater my intentions were to inspire people and to help make changes in our community. I fell prey to my own comfort zone issues. You see, I felt like if I couldn't create a huge event or undertaking, that it wasn't worthy of the effort. I wasn't heeding my own advice. I wanted the mountain in one big step. I had forgotten my own personal motto. "Be Water, Matthew. Be Water." I needed to focus on the raindrops and not worry about where the river merged with the ocean.
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I took what I’d call a reconnaissance trip to The Breaks in 2012. I wanted to look at it with my new climber’s perspective, and I was thrilled with what I found. Several sport routes had already been developed. Assuming (generally a bad idea) that climbing was permitted, I got a crew of Lexington climbers together to explore the new territory. That’s when I met Austin Bradley.
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Writing about the great outdoors is incredibly intimidating when you haveThoreau's Walden and Leopold’s Sand County Almanac at your bedside stand. But here it goes, and I’ll do my best not to murder their legacy with this page out of my sketchbook…
A few months before moving to Kentucky....
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I turned the video camera on and acted as if it was set up for a remote picture. She hardly even notices the constant clicking of my camera, so she was still oblivious. I went over to Lois Jean and held her in my arms then asked her the magic question
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Nestled between the bourbon distilleries and horse farms of Kentucky is a landscape of unbridled beauty where far below the soaring mountains and towering natural arches water flows through the tributaries, creeks and rivers. One would not realize it, but on these many waterways Kentucky has hundreds of waterfalls scattered throughout the state
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One place I had never been and one of Kentucky’s largest attractions is Cumberland Falls located within the Big South Fork area of Daniel Boone National Forest on the Cumberland River. The falls is the largest in the state, one of the largest in the region, and it separates both McCreary and Whitley County, Kentucky. The state park resort Dupont Lodge is the key place to stay when visiting this nearly 1,700 acre park and has a very warm and friendly environment.
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As we met one another early Saturday morning, it quickly became apparent, that this was going to be a great event. The level of enthusiasm that Gerry brought to the gathering was contagious. Everyone was smiling and sharing a little bit about themselves. Rather quickly everyone was making informal introductions as they seemed eager to meld into a group.
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On Thursday, February 25th, I worked my last day as a graphic designer, and plunged head on into starting my own business, Timber & Bluff Design Company. I have been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by creative friends from Kentucky, and to meet some awesome creative individuals that have helped me get this thing started. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m excited for the future.
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When we left camp we headed up to Sky Bridge to catch the beautiful scenery before the crowds came. Sky Bridge is a natural arch formation that can be walked across. It's one of many arches within the Red River Gorge National Geological area and Clifty Wilderness and is very similar to the larger arch Natural Bridge just outside of the gorge in Natural Bridge State Park. The biggest difference between Sky Bridge and Natural Bridge is that Sky Bridge is much higher while Natural Bridge is much wider and longer.
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Today we got to do a bit more than we had on the entire trip and we found a flushable bathroom at the Gladie Ranger Station. That's a good place to be near because you can go in wash up with warm water and use a clean bathroom. We got up late but still managed to get quite a bit done. We started by going to Chimney Top Rock, we took some cool pictures and then started driving through the Red River Gorge scoping out some campsites.
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Far off the highway in Eastern Kentucky’s Appalachian mountains, Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve is home to the largest known old-growth forest in the state. Old growth forests are rare in the eastern United States. Their trees die from rot, disease, and windfall, rather than from crosscut or chainsaw.
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The event was organized by park naturalist Drew Stevens with instruction provided by survival expert John Rose. John has vast experience in wilderness and urban survival, bushcraft, wild edible and medicinal plants, and much more. He has worked as a wilderness advisor for a movie that was filmed in Red River Gorge and on the Discovery Channel’s “Man, Woman, Wild.”
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