Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

Not everyone enjoys strapping on a pack and traveling over hill and dale for many miles. If you’ve never hiked a trail before, the stories of all-day treks in the great outdoors might be a little daunting. In this edition of the Hikers Review, I’m going to introduce you to a few trails in our area that aren’t long on distance, but are chock full of interesting things to see.

Jefferson Memorial Forest, Horine Reservation Mitchell Hill Trail: 1.5 miles

The Mitchell Hill Trail in the Horine Section of Jefferson Memorial Forest (JMF) is one of my year round favorites for its variety of wildlife and habitat. The 1.5 mile trail includes pines, hardwoods and the gem of the Horine section, Mitchell Hill Lake. The trail is set up as a short spur to a 1.1 mile loop that includes one long downhill and one long uphill section. At the bottom of the hill is Mitchell Hill Lake, where you’ll find a picnic table along with serene lake view benches for romantic outings, a family picnic, or for enjoying Walden-like solitude.

Also known as the Blue trail (marked with blue flashes), Mitchell Hill is known for its tortoise population during the Spring and Summer. Lakeside, you can expect to see a wide variety amphibian, reptile, and insect life. If you’re a photography buff as well as a hiker, Mitchell Hill Lake is one of the best areas in Jefferson County for snapping literally dozens of varieties of dragonflies. (Fishing on the lake is prohibited)

Halloween Pennant on Mitchell Hill Lake

Be sure to hike this trail year round and try to take advantage when Louisville gets an occasional snowfall. (Also, don’t forget that the Horine Section of JMF requires a free pass which you must acquire from the Welcome Center. Directions to the park can be found at the JMF website).

Mitchell Hill Lake in Winter

Other short trails in Jefferson Forest:

• Horine Reservation Orange Interpretive Trail: 1.7 miles
• Tom Wallace Purple Heart Trail: 2 miles
• Tom Wallace Lake Loop: .5 miles
• Tom Wallace Tulip Tree Walk: .5 miles
• Scott’s Gap Shortcut Loop: 1.4 miles

You can checkout more photos from a recent visit to the Mitchell Hill Trail here.

Hoosier National Forest, Hemlock Cliffs Loop: 1 mile

It’s not often you find as many remarkable sights on a short trail as those you will find at Hemlock Cliffs in Hoosier National Forest. I hadn’t heard about this tiny section of the Forest until this year, and I was thrilled after my first visit.

Hemlock Cliffs is a steep box canyon that includes two remarkable waterfalls over 60 ft high, sandstone rock formations and steep rocky cliffs all within a simple 1 mile trail loop. (A note of caution should be made for family outings: watch carefully after young kids since this trail includes some sheer rocky drop offs and areas where rock falls can occur.) Both waterfalls are accessible and there is a short loop trail to one of the waterfalls that allows you to walk behind the falls on a rocky outcropping with an incredible amount of space. If huge overhanging sections of rock make you nervous, you might want to skip this section of the trail.

Waterfall at Hemlock Cliffs

For Louisville natives, Hemlock Cliffs is an easy hour drive west on I-64. You can find a map to the trailhead in the link to Hemlock Cliffs above. I look forward to returning here in winter to see the ice formations. (Check out more photos of Hemlocks Cliffs here.)

Bernheim Forest, Lake Nevin Loop: 1.3 miles

I’ve been visiting Bernheim Forest since I was about 3 years old, so this park and arboretum has a very special place in my heart. As you enter Bernheim (free on weekdays, 5 bucks per car on Saturday and Sunday), one of the first things you will see is Lake Nevin on your right. The Lake Nevin loop trail, as the name suggests, is a beautiful gravel covered trail that completely encircles the lake.

Along the trail’s 1.3 mile course, you’ll see wildlife, sculpture and a combination of habitats. On the backside of the loop, there is a section of bluegrass savanna habitat that segues into a cypress marsh complete with 2 bridge expanses across low water sections of the lake. During the warmer months, you can enjoy the sounds of a wide variety of frog songs.

Lake Nevin

Lake Nevin Loop is also a remarkable four season trail. In Spring, you can enjoy redbuds and dogwoods in bloom. In the Summer, you’ll see Canadian geese and you might spot a huge grass carp tail in the lake as it feeds in the shallows. The Autumn colors along this trail are outstanding, and the Sunrise Amphitheater at the southern end of the lake is a great place to enjoy the view. Winter offers serenity and stillness if you’re hardy enough to brave the hike during a snowfall.

Short trails in Bernheim Forest:

• Rock Run Loop: 0.5 miles
• Cull Hollow Loop: 1.5 miles
• Jackson-Yoe Loop: 1.5 miles
• Fire Tower Loop: 0.5 miles
• High Point Loop: 0.5 miles
• Iron Ore Hill Loop: 1.5 miles
• Guerrilla Hollow Loop: 1.3 mile

Look for an upcoming blog post on some of the other loop trails in Bernheim in the next week or so.

Hoosier National Forest, Buzzard Roost Trail: .8 miles

The Buzzard Roost Trail is a short and remote trail in Hoosier National Forest. The trailhead is located on a high bluff overlooking the Ohio River and it includes a small campsite area for mobile or tent camping. The trail begins next to a lily pad clogged pond that you should really walk down to just to see the rain of frogs you’ll scare back into the pond.

The upper part of the trail includes some great river overlooks while the lower section of the trail will take you through steep and rocky terrain next to a creek ravine. During wet weather, the lower section of Buzzard Roost is supposedly remarkable with outstanding water cascades over boulders in the ravine. The trail ends at the banks of the mighty Ohio.

Buzzard Roost Overlook

This trail is a little tough on the knees (if you have that issue) and has steep rocky sections that are very slippery in wet weather. Watch after children as there are several rocky drop offs of over 20 feet directly adjacent to the trail. On my first trip to this trail, my only negative experience was a run in with chiggers, which are plentiful in this area. Make sure to put on some deet or other bug repellent on your lower extremities.

Part of the adventure of the Buzzard Roost Trail is the drive (see map in link above). Take your time on some of the back roads as deer are plentiful in the area.

Deer along the road near Buzzard Roost

Blackberry Lilies

Check out the photos from my recent trip to Buzzard Roost here.

Scott’s Gap Loop, Jefferson Memorial Forest

I’ve gotten caught in stormy weather on trails several times. Almost every time it has happened, I didn’t really plan for a sudden thunderstorm, but I was always prepared with a plastic poncho in my pack, so I was never worried.

On June 15^th, the weather called for rain all afternoon, so I was prepared for a wet hike from the outset. I had not hiked the 3 mile Scott’s Gap Loop trail for a couple of months and a rainy afternoon seemed like a perfect time to check it out.

I was greeted with drizzly rain at the trailhead and was surprised to find the trail lush with Summer-time plants almost overgrowing the trail in spots. Jewelweed is the predominant flower in bloom right now, including both the orange and pale varieties. Fence lizards greeted me along the first hill, scurrying across the downed tree trunks and limbs.

Pale Jewelweed

As soon as I reached the top of the first climb on the trail (counterclockwise from the trail loop fork) the sky darkened and I was greeted at the bald overlook with a rumble of thunder.

Not a good sign.

Undiscouraged, I continued on for about a mile, passing the shortcut turnoff and then hiking out along the ridge-line. Just before the trail descends into a creek valley, the canopy thins out and it was at this point that the heavens opened the flood gates. On top of the ridge, the clouds rolled in, the thunder rumbled and I was drenched to the bone within a minute.

Standing in the lee of a hickory tree, I debated my options. After a few more rumbles of thunder, I realized that standing under a tree probably wasn’t my best strategy either. Forward, I still had several steep hills, all of which would be muddy and running with water. Backward, I only had 2 small hills until I returned to the shortcut on the loop, and the tree canopy was much thicker in that direction, which would save me a bit from the heavy rain. In short order, I decided to head back to the shortcut and walk out from there.

On my return, I experienced another first for me in Jefferson Forest. The clouds in this storm were so low, that I actually got fogged in hiking the ridge back to the shortcut. Just before getting off the trail, the rain tapered off to just a drizzle, but as slippery as my exit was, I knew I had made the right decision to cut my hike short. As a general rule of thumb, don’t hike when there is lightning if you can avoid it.

Low Clouds Along the Ridge

Scott’s Gap, The Wrong Way

After my exciting little rain out last week, I returned to Scott’s Gap on a steamy Sunday afternoon and for whatever reason, I decided to hike the loop clockwise for the very first time. I’ve been hiking this trail regularly since 1995, and for whatever reason, I’ve always hiked it counterclockwise.

This hike proved to me that you should never underestimate heat (88 degrees) with humidity ( about 80%) no matter how long a trail might be. I took only 2 pint sized water bottles with me and it turned out to be not enough. Before I was finished, I was lead footed and light headed over the last half mile or so.

I had to face facts: I got cocky.

I’ve hiked several 10+ mile trails this season, but this was the first real Ohio Valley Summer-time weather I’d experienced since last year. Couple that with the fact that I didn’t think a little 3 mile trail could be dangerous and I ended up feeling like a fool.

In addition to being poorly equipped (not enough water) and poorly prepared (I drank coffee instead of water in the morning), the clockwise version of Scott’s Gap loop puts a very long and fairly steep hill going up at about the 2 mile mark. Having never hiked the trail in this direction, I’d forgotten about this hill completely, because it was always the descent into my favorite section rather than the hike out.

Much like my rain out hike, I left the trail soaked to the bone, but this time from perspiration rather than precipitation.

Lesson learned? Never underestimate the heat+humidity equation and prepare before you hike. Take more water than you need, regardless of how long your hike might be, especially in the heat.

Smooth Phlox 

You can view the other pictures from these hikes in the photo album Rain Out.