Frozen

A couple dayhikes at Raven Run in Lexington and the Red River Gorge

January 2 & 3 2018

The temperature has not been above freezing in more than a week which means it is time to find frozen waterfalls.

I visited Raven Run on a very sunny afternoon, no clouds and lots of ice and snow. It was pretty obvious that it was going to be a mostly black and white day for photos. 

 

I tried photographing some of the more interesting ice crystal patterns, but this was the only one worth saving.

The next day I dropped my kids off at school and headed for the Gorge to check out a popular summer waterfall.

This rock face always fascinates me, I love the geometric patterns in the rock.

 

 When I got back to my car for lunch, I had about 2 hours until I had to leave to pick up my kids, so I decided to check out Creation Falls and Rock Bridge.

Both days were awesome winter weather, sunny and dry with highs right about 20 degrees. As long as I kept moving, I was very comfortable. But, when I stopped to photograph, my hands ended up very cold. I think I need a better pair of gloves.

Creek Hiking

8/25/17

Dayhike somewhere in the Daniel Boone National Forest

I got to the trailhead and the temperature was 65, the forecast was for sunny and upper 70s. A perfect day for a creek hike. 

The whole day I was thinking how nice this area is compared to the RRG. There was very little trash and even the couple fire rings did not have garbage in them. I would hate for this area to become a "destination" like the Gorge, so I am not going to mention it by name. 

Not many flowers today.

Not a flower, but still pretty

A small waterfall just off the trail

A much larger waterfall and a great place for lunch. I saw a biker here, he was in the process of lugging his bike up the trail and was planning on riding some of the forest roads up on the ridges.

I took the creek back to the car instead of retracing my path on the trail. I had heard good things about this creek hike and was really looking forward to it. Most of the creek was ankle to calf deep, but there were parts where it was up to my crotch. I was glad I was doing this hike in August and not in March.

There were lots of rock houses...

... and cliffs ...

... and waterfalls (this was the biggest, about 50 feet tall) ...

...smaller waterfalls (this was about 5 feet tall) ...

...and lots of little trickles ...

... and only one snake. This one was small enough that I though it was a big worm at first, still don't like snakes.

This was a great way to spend a couple of hours. Now, I need to go back with my camera and tripod.