Since the weather has warmed up here in Kentucky, I've been dying to get out hiking Cumberland Gap National Historic Park again. It's located in the southeast most tip of Kentucky and really involves travel into Tennessee and Virginia. Nothing says exciting hiking like getting to do so in three states during one trip! I should start first by saying that on Saturday, my dog Jake decided that our daily walk should be 4 miles instead of a normal 1 or 2 mile walk, though in summer we typically do a 3 mile on the weekend. He was very tired yesterday afterward, but was still getting excited at the mention of going hiking on Sunday. Being tired didn't stop him from wanting to go up to the edge of any rock he found however much against me calling for him to not go any further. What can I say, he likes to see what there is to see! One of the many things I like about Cumberland is that I've yet to be out there hiking the trails when it's been crowded. Yes, if I go up to the lookout at Pinnacle, there is a bunch of people, but walking on Ridge Trail, I didn't meet anyone after I left the paved road. It's a great place to go and be alone or think. You can hear the squirrels move around the ground as if a large animal is nearby. Which one got Jake's full attention when I was hoping to turn him around the first time. All of a sudden, he was on full-alert and ready to go forward farther just to see if we can see what caused the noise! | So that being said, we sat out to Cumberland Gap for a hike, though Jake displayed himself as not being overly excited to get into the car and go for a ride, which translated into not being very excited when we sat out at Cumberland. Such is the life though of a 11 year old dog! We did complete about a mile of the Ridge Trail, which runs the Kentucky/Virginia border. It was definitely the slowest mile we've ever done! 48 minutes one way. I wasn't kidding Jake wasn't feeling all that excited. However, being that he's always more interested in going away from "home" than towards it, the trip back to the car took another 50 minutes! Don't get me wrong, the terrain wasn't over his level, he just isn't feeling like his normal self. I'll let him sleep it off while I'm at work tomorrow and we'll go from there. |
Afterward, because I didn't grow up somewhere with tunnels, we drove through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. I love the HazMat warning sign! Ok, it's the chemist in me wanting to know what HazMat is going through and how it's being treated on the way. Always enjoyable experience.
I should add that we made it safely home and Jake went straight to a nap in the backyard. I roused him long enough to eat a couple of bites of kibble, but it took me having to give him a tummy rub to convince him to get up.
Places I've seen
The view from Pinnacle is amazing, however we didn't make it up there this trip. We did however walk the Ridge Trail for a mile, the farthest we've done yet. We would have gone farther, but my dog Jake was still tried from the 4 mile walk we went on yesterday. One day we'll walk up to Lewis Hollow Trail!
Another of my favorites at Cumberland Gap is to take the Wilderness Road Trail over to Saddle Gap and Iron Furnace. It's a wonderful hike. I have yet to make the turn and make it to the Tri-State Peak, there's another adventure waiting there!
Best of all, it's a dog friendly experience! That is, until the dog had had enough!