Red River Gorge Summer Trip
My absolute favorite place on earth
It was the summer of Chappell Roan and iced lavender lattes with empanadas. After getting back from Nevada and the high that was exploring Zion National Park, I had my sights set on another upcoming adventure. One way or another at least once a year, I find myself heading toward the mountains of eastern Kentucky to one of my favorite places: Red River Gorge. I’ve talked about how magical this place is multiple times in this newsletter and this trip was no different. However, I did get to enjoy parts of the Gorge I had never seen before and I figured I’d spend this post gushing about how much fun it all was.
A little about my family and our hikes
With me living in Missouri and the rest of my family in Kentucky, we don’t get to spend as much time together as we would like. Since they feel similarly about RRG as I do, we decided to rent a cabin in the area and enjoy what it had to offer for a week. For half of the family, this looked like sleeping in until 3 pm and playing video games in the evenings with pizza rolls for dinner. For the other half, myself included, this trip meant daily morning hikes, multiple excursions to local shops, and trying every restaurant available. We all have our preferences, right?
While I went on a few solo hikes and runs throughout the week I was there, I spent most of the time on the trails with my older sister Tara and my mother. I had to admit, it was an adjustment hiking with people again. As someone who always hikes alone, I had to quickly get used to our different paces and attitudes when it comes to facing challenging terrain. My mom is the optimistic, yet self-conscious one. She embraces the steep inclines and takes her time scrambling through the Gorge’s rockier sections, but can be unsure of her footing at times. I normally assume the role of peacemaker and try to encourage everyone no matter how many times they feel bad about stopping to take a break. Then there’s Tara.
Tara is a badass hiker, but she doesn’t know it yet. We’ve tackled 15-mile days and explored the depths of our limits together. However, she gets frustrated after a few miles and likes to cuss her way through harder parts of the trail. She’s also been known to lie down in the dirt and refuse to move at times as well. Honestly, the longer you hike and spend time on trails, you eventually reach a breaking point. Tara just reaches her’s almost every time we hike. But like any type-2 fun addict, after some rest and a shower, she’s ready to hit the trail again.
Honey becoming a trail dog again
Besides our sunrise hikes and mid-trail crises, I also started bringing my dog Honey with me on a few of the excursions. Honey’s relationship with hiking is a little complicated. With her timid, shy nature, she tends to get overwhelmed if there are a lot of people on the trail. She also is very reactive toward other dogs, which has caused some unpleasant altercations in the past. Because of this, I feel conflicted every time I decide to have her tag along on a hike. I’m often flooded with worries of what could go wrong and spend most of my time on guard keeping an eye out for Honey’s triggers.
I thought retiring Honey from the trail would be the best thing for her since I’m still unsure if she enjoys it as much as I do. As her human, it would be unfair to not factor in her wants and needs. But the way she got so excited at the cabin as I was putting a harness on Tara’s dog, Moe, tugged on my heartstrings. I couldn’t leave her behind, so I swallowed a big dose of optimism and attached the leash to her collar. Overall, on the hikes we went on together, she did a lot better than I thought she would reactivity-wise. There were a few tense moments when passing by other hikers with dogs, but I knew how to navigate those situations and I like to say she trusted me enough to not freak out as much as she normally would.
Since Honey did surprisingly well, I started to daydream about more adventures we could do together. Ever since I moved to Missouri, it’s been a long-term goal of mine to hike all sections of the Ozark Trail. If I could do that with Honey by my side, that would be a dream come true. Even though Honey still has a lot of spunk and tenacity, she turned nine this year. A part of me believes that it’s now or never in terms of us finishing all parts of the OT. A thru-hike would be amazing but with her age and my schedule, it may not be possible. Section hiking or even a LASH (long-ass section hike) would be our best chance at completing the entire trail. More details to come soon!
Red River Gorge treats and eats
If the trails and mountains of RRG don’t capture your heart, the local food, shops, and overall hiker trash/climbing dirtbag culture will. When not hiking or camping, it’s so much fun walking into a homey coffee shop, looking around, and seeing so many other like-minded outdoor nerds with Cotopaxi jackets and tall socks with boots. With cute shops up and down the main road and most of Red River Gorge’s attractions tucked into various hollers, here is a list of some of the best places to eat and fall in love with while visiting this special place.
Miguel's Pizza: This eccentric restaurant is the epicenter of climbing culture with eclectic pizza flavors and toppings. There is a hostel behind the main building as well as camping spaces in a small field. Dozens of picnic tables provide ample space to accommodate their waves of hungry, sweaty pizza lovers.
Daniel Boon Coffee Shop: By far my favorite place to get coffee and cute stickers in RRG. They have an extensive menu with breakfast and lunch options as well as a bakery case with brownies, muffins, and different sweet breads. The shop also has a small gear/apparel store as well where you can marvel over plenty of Appalachian-themed goodies.
The Brick + Turtle Farm Pottery: This cute shop is on the way to some of the popular hiking areas in Red River Gorge. The building doubles as an ice cream shop/coffee shop as well as a handmade pottery store. What I love most about this place is the fact that they offer several vegan ice cream flavors that can also be transformed into milkshakes!
The Earth Shop: Go here for the earthy, celestial vibes. With gems, crystals, minerals, and artwork from local artists for sale, it was hard not to feel grounded while looking at all the Appalachian-inspired drawings and colorful rocks. They have various poetry books, journals, and RRG shirts too.
Red River Rock House: With a farm-to-table approach, sustainable intentions, and climbing decor, this restaurant offers a broad menu of burgers, tacos, and really big burritos. The food tastes fresh and definitely hits the spot after being out on the trail all day.
Red Point Barbeque: In classic Kentucky fashion, you can find this BBQ joint at the end of a gravel road behind a house with expansive farmland in the background. It offers the typical array of meats and sides but also has food for those who don’t eat animals. I suggest the pita chips and hummus. You will thank me later.
Hop’s: For drinks and a seasonal menu featuring locally-grown foods, Hop’s is the perfect place to hang out after a long day of hiking or climbing. It has outdoor seating with ducks wandering around the property and focuses on reducing their environmental impact through low-waste methods. Also, anywhere I can get drinks mixed with Bourbon and Ale8 is a place I want to be.
Dreams
In my mind, I see myself eventually living in Red River Gorge, tucked up on a mountain in a small A-frame cabin. I would hike and run the trails year-round with a fleet of rescue dogs in tow. In the mornings, I would build a fire and brew coffee to sip on the front porch. In the evenings, I would whole up in front of my desk with a cat curled at my feet while I write on my computer. At night, I would fall asleep to the sound of whippoorwills echoing in the surrounding hills. What would I do for work? Who knows. 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart? Who cares.
Maybe one day.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for another post next week.
See you out on the trail!
Love the RRG! That’s where my pup and I got our hiking legs as well.
I am the drama you need though