Our campground is in Virginia, but we're just a couple miles from the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, and we bought groceries a few miles away in Middlesboro, Kentucky. If you look at a map, we are in that little point where those three states come together.
This campground has 50-amp electrical sites, which is good for running both our air-conditioners since the forecast is for temperatures in the 90's while we are here. We found a nice level site that was long enough for our motor home, and then took a walk around the campground. We immediately found that this was one of the friendliest national parks in the country. We were greeted by three different camp hosts that gave us information about the park. When we asked about possible hikes, Jan brought maps to our motor home and gave us details about her favorite trails. Before the evening was over, she even agreed to let us to go with her on the hike she had planned for the next day. We haven't been hiking much in the last month, so we hope we can keep up with her!
To beat the heat, we met at 6:15 a.m. and headed east to the trail head. It had been a while since we had seen the sun rise, and it was a beautiful start to our day.
Our early morning pictures turned out blurry because it was still a little dark as we started up the Ewing Trail. This picture was taken a little later when the sun was up high enough to illuminate the trail. We were glad to have a full canopy of deciduous trees overhead as we headed up into the foothills of the Appalachians.
Jan's backpack is considerably larger than Denisa's. That is because she is training for her through-hike on the Appalachian Trail next spring. So even on day-hikes like this, she is wearing her large pack filled with twenty pounds of water bottles to mimic the weight she will be carrying for the 1100+ mile hike from Georgia to Maine in 2017.
It was great to be hiking with someone that was raised just a few miles down the road, and knows the best hikes to take in the Cumberland Mountains. We also found that some of the signage was missing on the trail, so it would have been easy for a couple of rookie hikers to get lost on our own. Jan pointed out that the resident bears have found the foam sign boards are quite tasty. This one was still intact, but they had left bear teeth marks as evidence that it had been tasted.
Our destination is the White Rocks that sit atop Cumberland Mountain, but our first stop will be the Sand Cave. We've been on the trail for two hours, when we found a trickle of a waterfall guarding the entrance of the cave.
True to its name, the cave is filled with a mound of multi-colored sand. You can barely see Mark's silhouette as he made the exhausting hike to the top of that mound of sand.
We tried to get a picture that would convey the size of the cave opening, and the massive rock overhang that protected it from above. Denisa took this picture in front of Sand Cave, with Mark only a tiny dot under the rock overhang above him.
From a different angle, Mark took this picture standing on top of the sand down to the cave's entrance. You can barely see Denisa's bright pink blouse as she is standing in the entrance on the far right side of the picture. We have wandered into another of His wonders today!
We continued upwards on the trail until we finally came out to the White Rocks Overlook. We were three hours into our hike, but the view was worth the effort. From the highway we had seen the white rocks peeking out from atop the tree-covered Cumberland Mountain. Now it was fun to see the highway down below us from this level.
We so enjoyed spending the day with Jan, as she taught us about this mountain that she loves. She actually lives in Asheville, North Carolina. But she is now retired and spending some time volunteering at the national park as she trains for her long hike next year.
From our viewpoint, she pointed out the farm where she was raised. Her parents still live there, and she was going there this afternoon. After our long and tiring hike, she was going to be mowing at their place this afternoon.
We enjoyed seeing the Appalachian wildflowers as we headed back down the mountain. A resident butterfly was also enjoying them.
Denisa even got a close-up of the butterfly enjoying the nectar of the purple thistle flower.
We are four hours into our hike now, and close to the bottom of the mountain. We were glad that we got an early start to the day, as it's going to be a hot one. But under the shade of the forest, we've had a great hike. Denisa's Garmin Vivo says we have hiked 11 miles. Considering the mountainous terrain, it felt like it was at least that far.
After walking and talking with Jan for 4 hours, she seems like an old friend. We were blessed when she invited us to dinner that evening. Several of the campground hosts have known each other for years, and they often fix meals together. For the last two weeks, they have been joined by more friends--Penny and Jonny who are sisters and just retired from running a restaurant in Florida. Jan knew this would be a special meal, and we so appreciate her invitation. We wished we would have taken pictures of the lamb sliders and lamb chops that Jan's sheep-raising family provided. It was paired with a fresh corn and edamame salad and the best pasta salad we have ever experienced--called Deli Crack--because it is addicting. The sisters have been busy these two weeks, finding creative ways to use fresh produce from the Appalachians. We had tomato jelly on our sliders, with a side of pickled green beans and cucumbers. We really walked into a culinary treat, and it felt like we were in Penny and Jonny's restaurant. We also got to meet other dinner guests--Victoria (a student intern), Sula, the national park superintendent, Tullo and Karen (campground hosts) and Tullo's Mother who is visiting from Florida. What a delightful group to spend the evening with!
With our private hiking guide and a splendid meal, we have certainly been spoiled with our stay in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park! We feel like we have certainly wandered into another of His wonders, as we have been blessed with natural beauty and new friends!
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