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Thread: Red River Gorge

  1. #1
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    Red River Gorge

    My wife and I are thinking about doing 3-4 days at the gorge at the end of March. I am looking for route and campsite suggestions. Ideally a route around 20-30 miles with all backcountry campsites. That doesn't seem to be easy to plan out in the gorge.

    Thanks in advance

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    Senior Member jeff-oh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billcole View Post
    My wife and I are thinking about doing 3-4 days at the gorge at the end of March. I am looking for route and campsite suggestions. Ideally a route around 20-30 miles with all backcountry campsites. That doesn't seem to be easy to plan out in the gorge.

    Thanks in advance
    Little hard to get that many miles, as the gorge itself is only 5miles by 3 miles in area. However there are several crisscrossing trails and loops outside the main gorge area. There are available sites just about everywhere/ every mile. I'd suggest getting on GIA, Alltrails, and Caltopo and start laying some routes out. I'd suggest packaging several separate loops. Maybe move to new trailheads and sections once or twice. One great loop is the Auxier Trail Loop. Another is combining the rough trail with pinch'em tight and greys arch.
    The Clifty wilderness has some good out and backs. And there is a nice loop the is North of 715.

    Hope you have a great time. Stay one night out on Hanson's Point.

  3. #3
    bonsaihiker's Avatar
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    I agree with everything jeff-oh said. The RRG is beautiful but a little dis- jointed for that kind of mileage. Keep in mind that the terrain will slow you down a lot. Not just because of the elevation changes, but because you are going to want to stop and explore or sit and stare at a lot of things.

    Official trails are nice and clear and will take you to some great views and formations but you need to find the unofficial trails to see everything the gorge has to offer. Nat Geo has a nice topo showing the official trails but for the unofficial trails look for the OutraGIS maps, which also show camp sites. There is a book called Hinterlands that describes these unofficial trails in quite a bit of detail, but it, at least in the past, was only locally available.

    I would recommend stringing together a route consisting of an out- and- back on the Rough trail from West to East, with an extension south on the Swift Camp Creek trail to get close to your 30 miles. Keep in mind those aren't going to be easy miles, though water will be plentiful any time of year so you never need to carry much.

    For a much more scenic weekend, I agree with the Auxier Ridge area, mixing the official and unofficial trails. Water availability is going to be a challenge there (it's mostly ridge walking), so carrying water and research with the above sources will be important.

    Otherwise, either base camp in one of the campsites off of Tunnel Ridge road and day hike various trails or hike one overnight, then pick up and move on to another area for the next night, and so on. I've done each of these options and they all have their pros and cons, selection just depends on what your goals are.

    Backcountry camping is permitted throughout the area but not within 300 ft of an official trail or road or within 100 ft of the base of a cliff or back of a rock shelter. That means few "flat spots" so I hope you are planning to use hammocks. There are more sites near or on the unofficial trails, but I'll tell you this: the RRG is the reason I started hammocking in the first place. Study a good topo map and good camp areas will become apparent. One last bit of advice: avoid much bush- whacking and if you do any at all, be extremely careful as there are cliffs everywhere and sometimes they are hidden so well you won't see them even in daylight... at least not until you are falling. People die there every year. For that same reason, I recommend using any mind- altering drinks/substances in moderation, or better yet not at all-- just being there will make you feel high enough.

    Have fun and be sure to post a trip report with photos!

    Scott

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    Hi everyone, this is the current route I have planned starting on the 31st.

    https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?layer=G...43f250cc365e86

    I am interested in any feedback. Also, I am hearing that the trail to Grey's arch might be closed. Any idea if it is temporary or going to be our for a few weeks?

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    bonsaihiker's Avatar
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    Can't see the route. Link wants me to install GAIA.

    Trail just west of Grays Arch collapsed in a landslide. Will be closed for a while. Reports I have seen on FB are confusing, saying the arch is inaccessible. Makes no sense as you can get there West- bound OR East- bound on the Rough Trail. Not sure exactly what is going on. Seehttps://m.facebook.com/1124310247584...080852974/?d=m

    Also, Hwy 715 is closed from Sky Bridge road to Osborne Bend trailhead because of a road slip/ flood damage. Also will be closed for a while. See https://m.facebook.com/1124310247584...596477689/?d=m

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    "I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful... because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience...." --Robert Traver

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    Here is a screenshot from what the forest service told me and one of my route.

    Screenshot_20210320-185019_Gaia GPS.jpgScreenshot_20210320-184633_Messenger.jpg

  7. #7
    Senior Member KYHiker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billcole View Post
    Here is a screenshot from what the forest service told me and one of my route.

    Screenshot_20210320-185019_Gaia GPS.jpgScreenshot_20210320-184633_Messenger.jpg
    I volunteer for trail work in the Red River Gorge, we meet 1 weekend a month to do trail maintenance and clearing after storms. The US Forest Service has limited paid resources so a slide like the one mentioned near Grey's Arch will probably be done by us or another group sometime before June. (Nothing happens real fast when it involves government decision making). There is a 150ft+ waterfall adjacent to the arch that was probably the source of the slide. The trail (Rough Trail) should not be directly effected by the wash out...all this means is you would probably not be able to get directly underneath the arch until the trail bed has been repaired/cleared. As for the rest of your route, it looks to me that you will be traveling on pavement(road) at various points...there is no large loop that would include the mileage your looking for. The topography of the area just doesn't work well for that sort of thing. If you can arrange a shuttle you could hike the Sheltowee Trace through the RRG area as part of the mileage...I personally would include Swift Camp Creek to Hwy 715 to Osbourne Bend to Lost Branch cross Gladie Creek and pick up the Sheltowee Trace South bound toward the Red River...cross the suspension foot bridge and you could then hike Rough Trail and the various off shoot trails to get your mileage...making your way back toward 715 and walk Rock Bridge Road (gravel) back to Swift Camp Creek. This is the broadest loop style hike I can think of in the area...It still requires road hiking. IMHO the vistas and views are had by hitting some of the short touristy hikes like Sky Bridge, Chimney Rock and Princess Arch which are all out and back hikes about 1/4 mile each. Auxier Ridge loop is another day hike which could be made into an over nighter with great views...but very busy on the weekends. These places are must see locations but not really included in the loop suggestion above. The RRG is heavily used, especially on weekends with nice weather. Many times it is difficult to find parking due to all the day hikers. Any and every trail is subject to closing due to the up coming Spring storms which many times cause blow downs across trails. For next month our group will still be clearing trails from an ice storm over this past Winter. Like I said it is slow going... enjoy your trip, hope this helped ya some.

    FYI the section of Hwy 715 closed is from the Red River (concrete bridge) South toward Pine Ridge...about 1/2-1mile in length...this section can still be used on foot and would not effect the suggested route above.
    Last edited by KYHiker; 03-29-2021 at 21:15.

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    Hi everyone,

    My March trip was canceled, so I am going down the second week of October. Not sure is that is a good or bad time of year for crowds on trail. Any other suggested routes are appreciated. I am going to try to find a shuttle so we can do part of the Sheltowee Trace trail.

    Thanks

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