I’ve finally finished uploading the rest of the pictures from the Ramsey Cascades hike last Sunday. I hope you enjoy them.

Here’s to you and your’s having a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Have a great day, and go Cowboys!

I have another blog/community and the time to start it is now.

It’s called the Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review and it will be chock full of trail reviews, outdoor gear reviews and hiker photos of the beauty and wonder of Kentuckiana and beyond.

In the coming months, I’ll be writing regular weekly reviews of trails in the Kentuckiana area and their current conditions. The Review will also include reader reviews and photos of trails in the area and around the globe.

If you’d like to share your impressions of a trail, photos or even gear reviews, email me or comment to any post. I’ll get it and respond.

I hope you enjoy it.

– John Gowin, editor-in-chief Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

What a great trail. Being something of a desk jockey with a hiking fetish, this trail was an eye opener. Serious hiking requires consistent exercise and training, especially if you want to do 72 miles of Appalachian Trail.

The Ramsey Cascades trail is 4 miles one way to the objective, a 90 ft series of waterfalls that at this time this year, is mostly frozen. The rise in elevation from trailhead to Cascades, according to the the Little Brown Book of Smokies trails, is about 2100 feet.  That’s 2 Empire State Buildings if you do the math.

The first 1.5 miles is quite gradual and not terribly strenuous. The second 1.5 miles feels a little steeper and there are sections of stairs that are challenging, especially when you get above the snow line and the trail is slippery. The last mile is a series of staired traverses, and I would guess that at least 1500 feet of the total climb is done here. The payoff though is awesome. I took plenty of pictures with my sister, and we arrived at the Ramsey Cascades in 3 hours. The trip down took 2 hours so the 8 mile roundtrip wasn’t bad at 5 hours total. Take plenty of water, drink when you’re not thirsty and take some food for energy if your stamina isn’t great.

The payoff is well worth the effort. I hope you enjoy the album Ramsey Cascades Nov 2008. I’ll add more images this week.

Hitting the Smokies with the family this weekend. I’ll give you a recap next week, but the Ramsey Cascades are scheduled to be hiked Sunday.

I’m a creature of habit, but I’m not a slave of repetition.

I like the familiar. A place, a book, they are old friends and they deserve their visitations. And the familiar can still hold undiscovered secrets, wrinkles in the fabric of their intimacy.

Scott’s Gap Loop is a simple 3 mile trail in Jefferson Memorial Forest. It was the first trail I ever hiked in JMF almost 8 years ago. It was primitive, though well marked and a little overgrown, but it was close to home and there were plenty of ups and downs for a good workout. When I only want a 2 hour hike, it’s perfect, and if I push hard, it can be done in an hour. But even though I know almost every hill  and dale (I’ve even named them: The first steep hill at the trailhead is “The Assmaster 2000″, which actually was named by a friend that introduced me to the trail), I still take the camera in hopes of spotting something new. And I manage to almost every time.

I hit Scott’s Gap Loop this Sunday afternoon on a windy and cold day, with lingerring Fall colors still to be found. I hope you enjoy the album Scott’s Gap Loop Fall 08.

Holy CRAP!

111-103, might be a bigger loss than Gardner-Webb.

I wouldn’t recommend it what with the nasty weather predicted (rain turning to snow) but if you get the urge, wear flash orange or other bright colors because the deer season starts and the hunters will be out in force.

I hiked half of  the Morgan Ridge trail earlier this week, and there were hunters preparing for the weekend everywhere and the deer were a plenty.

So be careful out there.

I decided to go for a little hike on this gray Sunday afternoon rather than watch football. It was an excellent decision. Mid 40’s, windy and I even got sleeted on. But I saw more great Fall colors, at least a dozen white-tail deer and I spotted 2 pileated woodpeckers to boot. Although the ridges have been blown out of the most colorful leaves, every hollow is still bright with colors and even some green trees waiting to turn. A pocket of color around every turn.

The Siltstone Trail in Jefferson Forest has 3 sections, the first (when starting from the Scott’s Gap Section parking lot) is 3.5 miles one way. So I committed to the 7 miles there and back route. What a great day. I wore shorts with my gaiters and it was perfect without being too cold.

I hope you enjoy the album Siltstone Fall 08.

Well, Mitch McConnell retained his seat in the Senate after Tuesday’s election, and so, I thought I’d hike his namesake trail in Jefferson Memorial Forest.

Although it is only the second longest trail in the park at approximately 7 miles (Siltstone is 6.2 miles, but is not a loop, so 12.4 miles if you hike it there and back) the Mitch McConnell Loop Trail (Yellow and Blue combined) is a long series of ups and downs, valley to peak to valley for its entire length. I call it Mitch the Bitch for short.

It’s an excellent test for your hiking endurance (the best inside Louisville city limits in my opinion) and combine that with the beauty of this year’s Fall colors and you have a natural for a fun 3 hours with a camera and some trekking poles.

I hope you enjoy the album Mitch McConnell Loop Fall 08