I was surprised to learn that the headwaters of the Kentucky River aren't very far upstream from this. However, there are a number of low-head dams that help regulate the amount of water flowing more consistently. In fact, one was just upstream from the bridge, but I like the downstream picture better. From here, it flows northwest until joining the Ohio River east of Louisville.
The first 8 miles were on roads- fairly populated roads. We needed a place to sit and eat our snack, and I needed to pee. A small rural church appeared at just the right time! They had a welcome banner, so we made ourselves comfortable on the edge of their ramp. (There were no steps!).
And they had two primitive but clean privies! Everything was perfect. Thanks for the hospitality, Cressmont Baptist Church! We left no trace... just sayin'.
Finally we left the road, but this also meant we started the first of two big climbs for the day. We ate lunch beneath this shelf cave.
Most of the afternoon was kind of tough with two big climbs and a downhill between them. But the weather didn't get too warm, and except for a couple of messy trees to get around the trail was pretty good.
Our new campground was serving nice dinners at a reasonable price, so we did that for our evening meal. Brisket, mac & cheese, vegs. Yum!
We did 13.3 miles today. The biggest challenge of the day was loose dogs. One pack of 5 were overly friendly. 3 of them followed us for about a mile. Then the 4th went a little farther, and one went maybe 2 miles before we convinced it to go home. At another place, one dog came for me, and actually got its lips on my elbow, but the teeth didn't connect.
Miles walked in 2026: 449
Miles hiked on the Sheltowee Trace: 122.3
Sheltowee Trace, Kentucky, Quillan Cemetery to Arvel. 13.3 miles.
 | See Sheltowee Trace- Sinking Creeks |
Nice to have that church pop up at just the right time. How fitting that a church provided you with what you needed.
ReplyDeleteScary with those dogs. Glad to hear that the one that got your elbow didn't chomp down.