Frankly I’m not sure how many miles we hiked this time; supposedly 29 according to the trace notes, some guy’s GPS said 33, the signs on the trail said a puny 26, and the maps something else entirely. I don’t keep count much anymore, I just hike back to my car from the trailhead. A lot of times fellow hikers will ask me how far to the next landmark. I tell them I don’t know, because honestly, I don’t know.
And I like to keep it that way. I don’t look at my maps very often. I carry a GPS, but I only use it occasionally when I want to do a spot check. I really enjoy the mystery.
The mystery comes from letting the land unfold before you. Sure, I am walking a well-established trail that has been hiked, and biked, and sometimes ridden with horses many times before, but I do my best to imagine that I am personally rediscovering the trail all over again. I treat it as though I am the first person to ever walk it. I think it has something to do with being human and letting out the explorer that resides in the DNA of every one of us. That is a big part of the fun for me.
Hiking can also be a puzzle. Sometimes you get into situations where the trail’s direction may not be obviously clear. You then have to rely upon some well-honed skills that you have developed over the years. This could mean looking for tracks, scat, looking at the actual geography (the lay of the land, hydrology etc.), geology, plant life, the current location of the sun or stars, map reading, and orientation with a compass. All can give clues to keep you out of trouble.
This weekend some of my co-hikers voiced criticism when I hung a bear bag at our camp Saturday night. It’s true, there was very little chance of a bear encounter when we camped at Pine Creek Church, and Steve told us it was okay not to, but it was personally important to me to practice my skills. It was a nice evening, I had the time, so why not? Despite the low danger, it was also prudent. Every hiking trip I try to use the skills I’ve learned over the years. I also try to use every piece of equipment that I carry. Gear that is not used is dead weight, and dead weight needs to be left at home. And what do you know? My detractors learned something new. They had never seen the PCT method of a bear bag hang before. So, in the end, hanging a bear bag did turn out to be valuable because they learned something they did not know before. I don’t question other people’s methods. I did see a guy wear a skirt one time, and even though you won’t see me personally wearing a skirt any time soon, it must have been good for him, and I’m glad. I think it is always important to hike your own hike.
The hike itself was great. It was sopping wet Saturday morning. Our first big stop was Vanhook Falls, which was incredibly beautiful. All of the creeks we crossed were swollen from the recent rains. There was not much in the way of interesting geology on our trek, but our surroundings were beautiful. I hid some of my gear in the woods at a major road intersection, which enabled me to slack-pack most of the day. Due to some logistics changes, Steve was nice enough to help me get my gear in his van before the camp Saturday night.
On both days we crossed two major swinging bridges (similar to the one crossing the Red River below Chimney Top in the Gorge). One was at Sinking Creek, the other above Hawk Creek. I love those old swinging bridges.
We ended our trip on a road walk. It more or less started at Cromer Ridge. Cromer Ridge is an interesting part of the trail. When I hiked it many years ago it resembled the surface of the moon; barren and devoid of any life. The area had been destroyed by off-road vehicles. Since my last visit, the Forest Service has built barriers to prevent the entry of these vehicles which has allowed the forest to slowly reclaim the area.
Daniel, Greg, and I ate at a greasy spoon truck stop called the 49’er Diner before finishing the last several miles to Wildcat Battlefield.
One of my favorite parts was getting to walk a portion of the old Wilderness Road. I love getting to experience Kentucky history.
As always, I had a great trip. I love hiking and I can’t wait to do it again!