I spent a hot, 90F (32C) weekend hiking and camping in Red River Gorge, KY – a famous destination for hikers and rock climbers. I live about an hour West of the Gorge, which sits in Daniel Boone National Forest.

The hike to Auxier Ridge is only 3 miles, but with a rucksack stuffed with 2 gallons of water, food, cooking goodies, and tent – it felt more like 30!

There has been no rain here for a while, so very few mozzies and it was so dry that I could have probably started a fire man-vs-wild style with the reflection from my compass glass. Surprisingly, being a holiday weekend, we almost had the place to ourselves – not even a single raccoon or redneck attempted a raid on our camp. Weird.

We camped right on the cliff which provided a gorgeous view (including sunset) and a nice place to chill under the stars around a carefully controlled fire. This was my first camping trip this year….camping is slowly gaining its appeal to me again after being forced to do it for years in the Army! Call me soft, but I have nothing left to prove – I’ll take a soft bed and HBO over rocks and watching bugs any day.

Other than loosing a few pounds of liquid released through my pores, it was a great trip and very enjoyable. Life is good!