Any thought on the potential of colors this fall?

[MS. HANDGUNNER]

October is my favorite month of the year, with fall coming and all the color changes. Love to go out camping with my husband (he hunts, I hike) and take pictures. Warm days, cool nights and a camera. Anybody thought about what areas will have the best color changes this year? And what about a place that serves both hunting and hiking pasttimes? We have spent the past, going to the back side of Pioneer Weapons at Cave Run Lake--access it by boat and have a blast! This year I'd like to try something different. My pictures are all turning out the same anymore. Would like a different scene. Thought about going to Big South Fork-- but it's such a huge area! Suggestions would be nice.

[Auk1124]

Rainfall has been real sporadic in southern KY and East TN, I'm guessing fall colors won't be much this year cause of the dry weather. Soon as the leaves start changing I'm thinking about taking a drive down to the Smokies but I really doubt the colors will be great.

[trust me]

Get a map of the Red River Gorge area and drive/hike around. Lots of scenery, rock formations, even if the color is dull this year. Lots of great photo opportunities.

I'll be going up there with the family sometime the first week of October. Rock Bridge is beautiful, down in the creek, and Chimney Rock is a great skyline view.

[MS. HANDGUNNER]

I appreciate the input. I had forgot about the Gorge. Been all over it, with the exception of where the Indian Staircase is---have lots of pictures. Never been down there during fall though, mostly winter and early spring when the ice was falling off the cliffs.

[trust me]

Indian Staircase is very interesting but not real scenic. Huge big overhanging rock shelter the natives spent the winter in. The path up from the creek has small toeholds carved into the sandstone, still visible after all these years. Once up there, they were safe from attack from all directions but the staircase, which would have been easily defended. It's kinda eerie to put your foot in the same little spot that countless native americans used a few hundred or a thousand years ago.


The staircase is not on any maps because they don't want it overrun and abused, which, of course, it is anyway.

[MS. HANDGUNNER]

How secluded is the Indian Staircase? Are there markers now or is it still proposed? The book I have been using is Kentucky's Land Of The Arches- The Red River Gorge, copyright 1976 and 1986 by Robert H. Ruchhoft. Although not the most recent edition I'm sure, there is a topo map of the area. I've heard that it can be difficult to go up the staircase. And you're saying toe holds:eek: I just recently put 12 stiches in my ankle that doctor's say is going to take 12 weeks or longer to heal! Do you think I could manage it:) I'd love to try, but my nursing training tells me not too:) What other areas do you think would be good without overdoing it? Also, I know there is hunting allowed, but where are the "hot spots":o I just try to keep the marriage in tact ya know:)

[trust me]

Uh oh, better wait and let that ankle heal. It's a pretty strenuous climb at a couple places. But anybody that is in average condition should be able to make it. As I remember, round trip wasn't more than 3-4 miles at the very most. But half is steep upward, half is steep downward.

It's located near the Gladie Creek Buffalo area. You can park at Gladie, walk across the new bridge, and turn right up the trail that follows the creek. Bear left up a hollow and after that, well, it's been a few years! A marked trail (Sheltowee?) runs right through the area, and you follow it for a short distance. The staircase wasn't marked the times when I was there, in 1993-98.

The book by Ruchhoft- was he the Univ. of Cin professor? If so, I'd like to strangle him! The Gorge is overrun with drunk U of C college students clutching a copy of his book in one hand, a beer in the other. I once talked to an employee at Gladie by the name of Castle I think- he was limping quite badly, so I asked him if he stepped in a groundhog hole. "No," he said, "we had to go retrieve a body of a guy that fell off of one the cliffs last night. Turned my ankle on a rock while packing him out." I asked, "Was it a drunk Buckeye?" "Yep," he said. So I asked him what percentage of the people that get in trouble in the Gorge are drunks from Ohio and he said it was probably 75%. The other 25% are usually drunks from KY and other states, but alcohol is almost always a factor in accidents there. Kentucky drunks at least seem to know better than to dangle around on high places when they drink.

Back to your question. There is some deer hunting in the Gorge, but it isn't the greatest. The Menifee side is supposed to have a good population-I've hunted the Wolfe side and saw more hunters (12) than deer (3). But that was a few years ago. Some of the real remote areas may get you some hunting solitude, but you'd have to work for it.

[KY_Fried]

I don't think the colors will be very spectacular anywhere in the state this year. Seems it's been a very dry year statewide.

[MS. HANDGUNNER]

The drunk !@$%@!# is why I go down there when the weather's still ---well not their style! Maybe that's why I don't think of The Gorge at fall:)