Life has been super busy this summer! There hasn’t been a ton of time for travel, and if you follow the YouTube channel, you know that our videos have been fewer and further between than usual. Jeff’s job has gotten extremely busy and we also have our house, yard, and vehicles to maintain and family to spend time with. Last year we got really used to it being just the two of us, the Bigfoot, and the truck, and since we have been home we have found it challenging to get back to “normal.” We aren’t complaining…we have a pretty amazing life; we are just explaining our absence!
This is Heather writing. Most of the time our blog posts are written by both of us since they chronical our joint adventures, but unfortunately, Jeff had to sit this one out, so I am writing on my own. Like I said earlier, Jeff’s job has been pretty busy and taking time off right now is not the easiest. Because of the popularity of the location visited in this post, we didn’t really want to go on the weekend.
My niece and nephew, Hallie and Ari, have recently spent some time in Kentucky (they live in Florida) and I decided to take them for their first hiking experience at a nearby state park, Natural Bridge. This is a place where Jeff and I have spent a fair amount of time in the past and so I knew that there are a number of short hikes that would be a good hiking introduction for them. I had no idea how this would go, though…they are good kids and I knew they wouldn’t complain or make things miserable, but you never know how an activity will be received when introducing a teenager and an almost-teenager to something new!
Natural Bridge is a sandstone arch that spans 78 feet and is 65 feet high. Since it is about 500 feet of elevation gain to get from the trailhead to the bridge, and since we were visiting on a typical hot and humid Kentucky summer day, we decided to take the sky lift up and then hike back down. They both seemed excited about trying out the sky lift and I figured it was probably a good idea to not wear them out before we even reached the bridge! It was a nice ride and longer than I expected. It cost us $11 each for a one-way ride.
From there we explored the lookout point on the Laurel Ridge Trail and also walked across the bridge itself multiple times. Since this isn’t something they normally do, we talked a lot about trail etiquette, cliff and wildlife safety, and Leave No Trace principles. They were quick to point out that there were many people in the past who did not practice Leave No Trace, though they still enjoyed attempting to read the inscriptions in the bridge and were amazed at how old some of them are!
After exploring the top of the bridge, we ventured down under it where Hallie was amazed at the narrow gap in the rock we would have to travel through to be able to see the underside of the bridge and get to our trail. I think her exact words were, “Are you kidding me right now?” 😄 After assuring her that no one was kidding, we ventured through the narrow opening and on our way.
On our way back down we decided to take the Battleship Rock Trail, then a left on the Rock Garden Trail to its intersection with the Low Gap Trail that we would take back to our parking lot. I’m not exactly sure of the distance. I know the Battleship Rock Trail is 0.75 miles, and the Low Gap Trail is 0.5 miles, but we didn’t travel the entire Rock Garden Trail, so I’m not entirely sure of the distance we were on it. I would guess probably about 0.75 to one mile, bringing our total hike to around 2-2.25 miles. (No, I don’t use any kind of GPS tracker when I hike. Jeff has one he uses occasionally, but since he wasn’t with us we were winging it. Don’t worry…the trails are well marked here and there are lots of other people around.) The kids did great. It was mostly downhill, but some sections were steep and a bit difficult, and we all know that going downhill is hard on the legs. Even so, there was no complaining. And thankfully, our trails were mostly shaded, so that helped with the heat, though we all worked up a good sweat. By the time we reached the bottom we were all ready for lunch!
So, what did they think about it? Well, neither of them would ever tell me that they didn’t like it. They are very polite and gracious and just thanked me for taking them, paying for the sky lift, bringing them lunch, etc. Hallie said it was a “good experience” and she seemed proud of herself for doing it, but I’m not sure it was really her thing. Ari had previously shown a great deal of interest in the mountains and landscape around Kentucky and in how different it is from Florida, and since he enjoys being active, I really thought he would like it. Afterward, though, he told my mom that he expected to really enjoy it, but just didn’t. Let’s face it…hiking is hard work and it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I’m glad I was able to spend some quality time with them and give them the experience, but also glad to know that next time I plan an experience for them it should probably not be hiking! I still want to help them develop an appreciation for nature since it is something that I love so much, but it will be a different type of activity next time. Maybe at a lake? In a cave? On a bike? The possibilities are endless and I have time to think about it!
Until next time!
