Red River Gorge Fall

A couple day hikes in the Red River Gorge

October 16 - Douglas Trail

October 21 - Sky Bridge for sunrise & Rough Trail for the rest

I almost never see the sunrise in The Gorge because I rarely camp there and I don't wake up early enough to drive there in time. But, I woke up at 5 am and could not go back to sleep. I was already planning on a day hike, so I just left a lot earlier than I normally would. 

Early light on Sky Bridge

I then drove over to Chimney Top Road to hike a part of the Rough Trail that I had not seen in a couple years. 

I saw a 4 foot rattlesnake slithering off into the woods. It was too far back to get a photo, but he did rattle at me as I tried to get close enough for a photo. A minute later this frog freaked me out when it jumped right by my foot :)

And then a minute after leaving the frog, I saw a tiny movement on the trail. It turned out to be one of the smallest snakes I've ever seen. 

For perspective, note the leaf stem near the body. The snake was the size of a strand of linguini or thick spaghetti. I thought it was interesting that as I took some photos he would open his mouth and rear back like he was going to strike. I would have thought that a new snake would be more likely to hide but I guess not. 

November 13 - Swift Camp Creek