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  1. #1
    Senior Member sbmcghee's Avatar
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    Those that have been to Red River Gorge

    I'm getting to head back out come Labor Day weekend in September and have been looking in to the Red River Gorge area of the Daniel Boone National Forest. For those of who have been there, which points of interest or trails do you suggest?
    Last edited by sbmcghee; 06-05-2009 at 13:45. Reason: Inability to spell check myself
    "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

  2. #2
    Senior Member rigidpsycho's Avatar
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    Grays Arch area is nice. The Swift Camp Creek Trail is nice as well as the Rockbridge trail. Actually to be honest with you except for the party animals that go down there you can't go wrong with any of the trails in the Gorge it is all beautiful.
    Chris

  3. #3
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    How long you out for? Miles Per day? etc.

    Swift camp creek trl has some difficult stretches, but it do keep the party aminals* mostly away. There is limited water on some of it also, sort of frustrating, since you are only 50' from swift camp creek, but it's 50 VERTICAL feet.

    Gray's arch is popular with day hikers, but a worthy hike. The arch is so large it can be hard to find if you know not where it is. LOOK UP!! LOOK WAY UP!!!! NO, HIGHER.

    A harder, but less traveled trail, no views but no crowds after the first 1/2 mile or so, Osborne Bend Loop.

    The Auxier ridge area is nice. Lots & lots of views.



    *not a typo.
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  4. #4
    Senior Member sbmcghee's Avatar
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    Looking over the Labor Day weekend. Start in Saturday morning and come back out Monday morning. Shooting for about 20 - 30 miles total but if it's a rugged or rocky area (unlike here in Indiana), we'll obviously not be going that far since we'll be going slower.

    I was thinking about doing the Auxier ridge trail loop and then go across the street and do Rough Trail.

    I haven't picked up a topo map of the area yet. Are there many sources of water (other than the Red River)?
    "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

  5. #5
    Senior Member scooterdogma's Avatar
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    The best topo maps of the Red are by OutrageGIS mapping. Stop at exit 33 of the Mountain Parkway, take a left at the end of the ramp and go under the Mountain Parkway. At the stop sign, go to the left and pull into the gas station on the left. It is a mom & pop setup and they sell the maps. They have always been great to hikers and climbers. You might want to buy Jerrell Goodpaster's book, Red River Gorge Trail Guide. It is well worth the money and I love the guy's sense of humor.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sbmcghee View Post
    Looking over the Labor Day weekend. Start in Saturday morning and come back out Monday morning. Shooting for about 20 - 30 miles total but if it's a rugged or rocky area (unlike here in Indiana), we'll obviously not be going that far since we'll be going slower.

    I was thinking about doing the Auxier ridge trail loop and then go across the street and do Rough Trail.

    I haven't picked up a topo map of the area yet. Are there many sources of water (other than the Red River)?
    Be sure to do the side trail to Double Arch. Well worth the effort. The trails arn't that hard, a bit of upping & downing, but not bad. Water in a stream just past courhouse rock on the Auxier Branch trail (#203) if you go in on the Auxier ridge trail (trl #204). The Auzier branch trail follows the stream for about 1/2 mile or so.

    Rough trail is not exactly across the street. There is water at a few places on Rough.

    All of the trails mentioned above have ample hanging oportunites and worthy views along the way. Be warned that there are a few places along the way to fall a L O N G time before comming to a sudden stop.
    IMHO the best place for views (& the longest drop,, LOL) is atop Double arch.

    I too like the OutrageGIS maps best.
    When you have a backpack on, no matter where you are, you’re home.
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  7. #7
    Senior Member scooterdogma's Avatar
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    You could do Rough Trail and Swift Creek together, that would give you your miles and amazing topo and scenery. If you could bring a buddy, which i recommend in the gorge, you could hike both and then backtrack. You won't run into a whole lot of people, as both these trails are a 10 on the strenuous meter. If you are in decent shape, u shouldn't have any problem. These trails are an excellent way to spend a weekend.

    You need a permit to attach to your car mirror and you must camp 300 ft from any trail, water source or rockshelters. Was in the gorge this weekend and ran into several campers who got a $75 ticket for violating this rule. Course, I don't see many rangers on those two trails

    If you like water, I like camping off the Buck Ridge trail and the section of Rough Trail between the intersections of Buck Ridge and Koomer Ridge. It doesn't get much sweeter than this.

  8. #8
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    That is going to be a busy time of year on the popular spots.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

  9. #9
    Senior Member Ewker's Avatar
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    This doesn't sound good for RRG I got this off another site

    It appears that Hansons Point has fallen to the same fate as Indian Staircase,Cloudsplitter,Eagles Nest and Halfmoon. My brother and I did a trip up there last weekend and it was crowded! We went in through the Pinch Em Tight trailhead on Tunnel ridge Road and passed at least 3 well established group camping sites near the end of the ridge at Hansons Point. The trail is well worn and very easy to follow.

    We arrived around 8am and set our hammocks up for what we thought would be a great spot. around 10am we got several groups of day hikers and decided to wait and see how things went. A large group came through later that afternoon and advised that they would be camping for the night. We decided to pack up and leave to find a more private/quiet/remote spot.On the way out, all of the large sites on the ridge were tent cities.

    The worst part of all, was the first group site on Pinch Em Tight Ridge had a well established rock fire ring about 5 feet in diameter and was packed full of beer cans and can goods.There had to have been a couple of cases worth. This is at least two miles from the trailhead at Tunnel Ridge Rd! There were several unopened cans of beer and a couple family sized cans of vegetables left setting around.

    Another disturbing thing is that the well worn trail to Hansons Point appeared to head out to Pinch Em Tight Gap as well. The area down in Pinch Em Tight Gap is a really pristine area of the Gorge and there are several nice rock houses and other features in that general area. I hope these morons dont find the way down into the gap or the surrounding area. There are spots (rockhouses and view points) out there with no carving or trash.....YET!

    The last time I was on Hansons Point (about 4-5 years ago) there was little to no trail to get there,and there were not any campsites to be seen. The amount of traffic out on Hansons Point on Saturday was earily similar to Half Moon or Chimney Top.

    Just a heads up on what we found out this past weekend. I am really starting to see a whole lot of areas in trouble at the Gorge.How long before Red Byrd gets transformed into Greys Arch?The amount of traffic out on Hansons Point on Saturday was earily similar to Half Moon or Chimney Top.
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  10. #10
    Senior Member sbmcghee's Avatar
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    That doesn't bode well for RRG. Other than RRG anybody know some good areas to do backcountry camping that is within 3 hours of Indianapolis and has more than just hills and trees? We were picking RRG because of the scenery unlike the relatively flat tree filled areas of the Hoosier National Forest.
    "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

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