BJett
Member
- Joined
- May 3, 2013
- Messages
- 551
The Red River Gorge in Kentucky has the second highest concentration of arches outside of Arches NP, and many of them are off trail and hard to access. Red Byrd arch is elusive, but there are a few options. I've been mapping out packraft adventures around the state, most are not obvious but if you get creative there are good routes out there.
For this day trip I hiked up the Red River about 3 miles (lower end of the National Wild & Scenic section), inflated the packraft and ferried across the river. I bushwacked up thru the rhododendron tunnels to a cliff wall which I followed to the arch. Snapped some pics, found a better route back to the boat and paddled the 3 miles back to the car. Water level was just high enough (100 cfs) to get down, could have used more lube though. Regardless, it was a perfect day and a route that probably hasn't been done before.
Hiking up the Red River
Inflate and ferry across...
Red Byrd Arch
My ride back to the car
caught some invasive Swedish Fish
The beautiful paddle back to the car.
For this day trip I hiked up the Red River about 3 miles (lower end of the National Wild & Scenic section), inflated the packraft and ferried across the river. I bushwacked up thru the rhododendron tunnels to a cliff wall which I followed to the arch. Snapped some pics, found a better route back to the boat and paddled the 3 miles back to the car. Water level was just high enough (100 cfs) to get down, could have used more lube though. Regardless, it was a perfect day and a route that probably hasn't been done before.
Hiking up the Red River
Inflate and ferry across...
Red Byrd Arch
My ride back to the car
caught some invasive Swedish Fish
The beautiful paddle back to the car.