This was another amazing trip. My favorite part was camping and making some new friends in the shelter Saturday night. There is a strong camaraderie among long-distance hikers that few outsiders can really understand. We know the pain. We know the joy. We know what it takes to get the job done. We know the miles ahead of us, and the ones far behind. There is something magical in that bond.
Saturday morning started out with a road walk up to Thunderstruck Rd. I giggle every time I hear that name. It makes me think some of the locals named the area after their favorite ACDC song (probably not, but fun to imagine anyway). We then descended to the river to pass by Thunderstruck Shoals.
We rolled into Cumberland Falls State Resort Park at about 12 noon like a pack of hungry wolves. We pretty much commandeered the snack bar. I enjoy the quizzical looks tourists give us. We’re a strange motley crew with hodgepodge clothing, and large cumbersome backpacks; some of us dirty from crawling in the mud; most of us sweaty. You can see the question forming on their mouths, but they don’t exactly know what to ask. Are we a merry band of hobos? Have we come to steal their children? Are we going to ask for money? A few still approach us with informed questions.
Lunch was awesome. I had a chili cheese hotdog, chili cheese nachos, a PB&J sandwich, an ice cream cone, chips, a slushie, and some trail mix. And I still probably didn’t even meet my required caloric intake for the day!
The weather was gorgeous. The sky was a deep blue, and the water an emerald green. Most of the trip followed along the Cumberland River. Temperatures were warm but pleasant. The only drawback to clear skies was the lack of green foliage in the canopy of trees. The sun was brutally direct and beat down on us unmercifully. It’s amazing that I made it out without a major sunburn.
That evening Daniel, Greg, and I camped on a flood plain a little bit below the Bark Camp Creek Shelter. I made a perfect pitch of my hammock, and Daniel threw our bear-line. He made the throw perfectly not once, but twice! (we had to make some minor adjustments which caused him to throw a second time). We climbed the hill and hung out with the crew at the shelter for the rest of the evening. We spent the rest of the night watching the campfire, making jokes about the mileage, talking about music, and waiting for Steve and Laura to show up at the campsite.
I didn’t bring an under-quilt in my hammock, so I nearly froze to death in the night. The next morning, it was ridiculously cold. We headed out to cross Bark Camp Creek on our way to KY Hwy 192. Most of the rest of the day we skirted the edge of Laurel Lake. The sun was unforgiving the entire day. I stopped at Holly Bay Marina and drank all of their cold bottled water. Of course, I was dressed in my full hiking regalia with a red bandana. I was dirty, sweaty, and sunburned. Some rich ladies with her husband and kids was looking at me funny from one of the other tables. I could almost hear her whispering “what’s wrong with that man?” LOL. She probably wasn’t, but that’s just how I felt.
In retrospect, I should have jumped into the lake to cool off.
I’m going to chalk this one up as another amazing trip! I love hiking so much. I can’t wait to do it again. See the rest of you hiker guys on the flip side!