October 9th, 2008
Fog below Purchase Knob on the morning of October 9, 2008
As the heat radiates way from the mountains overnight, the resulting cool air spills into the valleys and condenses water vapor close to the ground. Note the flat top to the fog, which indicates a temperature inversion above the fog. This valley fog or radiation fog, which is common this time of year through winter, will eventually “burn off” from the bottom up as the sun heats the ground in the valley. That’s if the sun makes an appearance or perhaps it will warm up sufficiently today to evaporate the fog.
Posted in Great Smoky Mountains, Weather | No Comments »
October 3rd, 2008
October 3, 2008
Hike Pine Mountain, Channel Daniel Boone
By DAN WHITE, New York Times
Excerpt: “THIS is all virgin trail,” said Shad Baker, a connoisseur of hiking in the steeply slanted backwoods of eastern Kentucky, as he dropped me off at the start of my adventure there on the new Pine Mountain Trail. “This is probably the most remote place you can get that exists out here. You are five miles even from the nearest house.”
We said goodbye. He drove off. And then I slipped into woods so thick they looked like an American jungle.
It was only a year or two ago that the high-ridge forests of Pine Mountain, at the western edge of the Appalachians, were for all practical purposes sealed off by their own forbidding density and ruggedness — impenetrable to everyone but ginseng harvesters and squirrel hunters. This is Daniel Boone country, and as I set out that morning it was easy to imagine Boone hacking his way through it with a homemade hatchet and a long flintlock firearm. But I had markers to follow — squares of pale-yellow painted on trees at eye level…”
Read full article at New York Times:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/travel/escapes/03pine.html
Pine Mountain Trail Map
Difficulty: ++++
Scenic Views: +++
Elevation Relief: 2,100ft ^^^
Ownership: Private, Kentucky SP, Jefferson NF
Google to Elkhorn City trailhead
photos by Boyd Shearer
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September 20th, 2008
Awesome. That’s the a good word to describe the current trail conditions at Cave Run. Often plagued with muddy trail conditions from numerous seeps, the trails now are fast, firm, and fantastic. Trails around sandstone outcroppings are sandy as usually and the soil elsewhere is dusty.
Water is an issue for backcountry ridge campers. Clear Creek is not flowing at the Iron Furnace. Occasional pools are found with plenty of crawdads and water spiders, but above that nothing. Of course the lake has plenty of water, but one will have to climb off the ridge to refill their nalgenes.
For more info about the drought conditions the forest is experiencing, visit our post on this topic here.
Posted in Cave Run Lake, DBNF | No Comments »
September 20th, 2008
Precipitation, or lack thereof.
The Daniel Boone National Forest averages between 43 inches a year in the northeastern section to 53 inches in the southwestern section around the Big South Fork. Currently, the forest is in a precipitation deficit of around 4-8 inches. With the approaching fall and the driest period of the year, the forecast is for a seriously dry time in the woods. This is especially true to south and east, but the high ridges are dust dry now.
The most problematic aspect of a drought this time of year is forest fire hazards. After trees drop their leaves under cloudless skies, the forest floor experiences direct sunlight and high evaporation rates. This produces abundant fuel for forest fires.
So if you’re planning a trip this autumn, be careful with camp fires and consider using stoves for cooking and battery candles for illumination. The following discussion looks at national maps of drought severity and outlook.
Read the rest of this entry »
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September 20th, 2008
Red River Gorge trails are fantastic right now. This late September season has given us clear, warm days and dry, cool nights. The waning moon is glowing through high cirrostratus that are hinting rain, but none is in the forecast.
The high pressure that has cleared our skies and dried out our humidity, is an extensive mass of subsiding air that is evaporating any encroaching low level moisture. In the late afternoon, you’ll see some isolated cumulus clouds develop, but are stunted from any vertical growth. No rain to parch your throat.
Drought is a serious concern in the following weeks. Martin’s Fork at the head of D Boone hut is following about a gallon/minute. This groundwater will eventually drain out leaving vacant streams beds in the mid and upper reaches of hollows.The advice is get on the trail now or pray for rain in October. For more info and maps on the current drought, look at our post on this topic.
Posted in Red River Gorge, NGA | No Comments »
