It was freezing cold inside my camper so I huddled deeper into my sleeping bag and blanket to hide from the cold. Eventually I knew I needed to face the cold and begin my day if I wanted to do a long hike. Opening my camper door I noticed that everything was coated in a thick layer of frost from the 20 degree night. I walked to the restroom in my leggings with a pair of dark grey sweatpants I had found at home for painting. The bright purple of my woolly socks stuck out against my tan shoes. To top my attire off I wore two baggy shirts under my jacket and had on mittens. It was quite the look if I do say so myself. :) When I got back to my camper I turned my vehicle on to defrost the windows and made some black coffee and oatmeal for breakfast. I cleaned my dishes and locked up my camper before I changed into my hiking clothes. Taking down my canopy was irritating for it was covered in frost so I had to shake it off and then roll it up and put it away damp which I absolutely hate.
Once I had everything in order I called up mom to let her know my plan for the day which was to hike the Cumberland River Trail and then jaunt up to Pinnacle Knob Fire tower and continue onto the Anvil Branch Trail which would take me to the Rock House Trail for about 0.2 miles. Lastly, I would continue onto the Wildflower Loop Trail ending on the Moonbow trail making my trip 7.5 miles.
Starting out the weather was fair at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit and at some point the sun made a rare appearance! In fact, it was such a rare sighting that I texted one of my friends a picture of it and asked what strange object is that in the sky? :) In the beginning of my hike I ran into an older woman who was out with her dog, a Rhodesian Ridge-back, and it reminded me how badly I want one of those breeds. So for the rest of my hike I kept imaging I had one as a pet and what we would do. Like on so many of my hikes I became lost in my own head and it was easy to do for I did not see another person my entire hike.
The landscape here is littered with the leaves of last Fall and moss clings to everything. One is constantly accompanied by the sound of water trickling off of stone and making its way to the grand Cumberland River. The river itself is a beautiful teal color and is in quite the hurry to get to its next destination. The most pronounce thing about Kentucky to me, besides the rock cliffs, are its endless hills! By god is any part of this state flat?! The people here must have huge leg muscles for I can surely feel my gluteus maximus! I should have some fine looking legs after this.
After two hours and 36 minutes and an elevation gain of 1,375 feet I was back at my vehicle. I called and informed mom that I was off the trail and we talked for some time. Leaving Cumberland Falls State Park I drove to the Fitchburg furnace. The drive there proved to be slightly complicated for first my GPS decided to take me on some crazy road and then ditch me so I had to navigate myself back out; thankfully, I know how to use a map. Then everyone's dogs here apparently don't know how to stay off the road for I came across about 20 of them! They were right in the road so I had to almost stop to get by and three of them tried to attack my vehicle! What the hell people. Lastly, all the roads to get to the Fitchburg Furnace were so winding and up such steep inclines that the fastest I ever went was 20 mph. My poor brakes and transmission were getting quite the workout in.
When I wasn't concentrating like the dickens on the road I observed that a lot of the farmland and all the animals I encountered were covered in mud. Chickens, roosters and guinea hens ran around the yards and in between the farms and weathered down buildings there were only a handful of "nice" homes. At least every piece of land had one building being held up with boards that were rotting away and contained a rusting out steel roof. It was unique and pretty in the rustic kind of way.
Around 18:00 I finally arrived at the furnace where I snapped a few pictures and got back on the road to my camping spot. Thirty minutes to an hour later I found out the road to the campsite was closed so I made a new plan. I decided to spend the night at a rest area in Slade, Kentucky and once I was parked I called and talked with mom. I tried to eat some more of the rotisserie chicken I had bought but I just couldn't stomach it so I went into my camper and went to bed.
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