The Day the Gorge Took 13 Hours

I woke up around 4:45 in the morning because I knew the rain was coming. The goal was simple: get everything packed while it was still dry. I was in Frenchburg during my solo Sheltowee Trace thru-hike, and this was going to be a big day. I packed up, started moving and eventually made my way to Dave's Minute Mart. I needed calories. At that point on the Sheltowee, food had become less about meals and more about getting enough energy into my body to keep it moving. So I was sitting inside Dave's eating a honey bun and trying to load up before leaving.

Then the woman near the register looked down. “Snake! Snake!” There was a rattlesnake under the counter. I had never seen one before. Apparently this wasn't going to be treated as much of an emergency, because an old-timer basically kicked the thing out the door. First rattlesnake of my life. I finished eating. And when I headed outside, the rain started.

That was the beginning. The destination was Hemlock Lodge. Between Frenchburg and Hemlock Lodge lay the Red River Gorge—and 31.87 miles of walking. The rain didn't politely pass through. I walked through it. Hour after hour.

By then the Sheltowee had already been taking its toll. Over the entire trip there would be wet boots for days, blisters, lost toenails, cold, deep water crossings and four days spent walking in pouring rain. My post-hike tally eventually included nine blisters, three lost toenails and six days in wet boots. But this was the day. The Gorge was familiar country to me. I had spent years coming here, exploring its arches, drainages, waterfalls and cliff lines. That familiarity didn't make 31 miles disappear. It almost made the experience stranger.

Normally I came into the Gorge looking for something. An arch. A waterfall. A tributary that interested me. That day I didn't need the Gorge to reveal anything. I just needed to get through it.

I kept walking. Thirty-one point eight seven miles. Approximately thirteen hours. In the rain. From Frenchburg all the way to Hemlock Lodge.

When I later summarized the entire 340.77-mile thru-hike, I called it my one “EPIC day”: 31.87 miles over 13 hours through the Gorge in the rain. Dave's Minute Mart made the food list. The rattlesnake made the animal list. But lists don't really capture that day. What I remember is waking before five because I wanted to beat the rain. Sitting in a little Kentucky store eating a honey bun. Someone yelling about a snake.

An old man kicking my first rattlesnake out the door. Then stepping outside. And realizing I hadn't beaten the rain at all. The Gorge took thirteen hours.