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Kentucky's Land of the Arches
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September 18, 2021
I'll get this out of the way: the majority of this book is a pretty dry, tedious, and detailed description of the trails. Every bend in the road, each crossing of the creek, the exact number of steps in the rise to the ridge, every little landmark you might encounter in your hike is mentioned and mentioned twice (after all, the guidebook has to account for you hiking both directions of the trails). In this, the book does exactly what a guidebook should do, so there it succeeds. But since the trail descriptions are not very exciting to read, they can be skimmed or skipped if you aren't planning to walk them. There are a few sections in the beginning of the book that cover the geologic and human history of the area, and those sections are worth reading.
But let's be honest - most people are going to want a more up-to-date guide of the Gorge and Natural Bridge. This edition is from the '70s, and many of the landmarks mentioned have likely changed or are no longer there at all. I know many of the signs and markers mentioned within have gone the way of the dodo. Since the bulk of this guide is a step-by-step description of the trails, that's going to be a problem. Additionally, there are new trails that have since been developed, and people are going to want to know about those - which, of course, are not included in this guide.
And then there's me. I grabbed this guide mainly to find out about features, sites, and landmarks that have been lost, obscured (sometimes purposefully), or forgotten over time. That's where having an outdated guidebook comes in handy. The newer guidebooks don't mention nor do they map-out the old railroad tunnel that gave passengers access to the Natural Bridge area; the newer books are less likely to mention how to get to the old moonshine still rock shelter; the updated guides will steer clear of suggesting it's safe to go down into an old limestone sinkhole along a trail that connects to a rock shelter; these are hidden gems that I find fascinating and enhance the experience overall.
But let's be honest - most people are going to want a more up-to-date guide of the Gorge and Natural Bridge. This edition is from the '70s, and many of the landmarks mentioned have likely changed or are no longer there at all. I know many of the signs and markers mentioned within have gone the way of the dodo. Since the bulk of this guide is a step-by-step description of the trails, that's going to be a problem. Additionally, there are new trails that have since been developed, and people are going to want to know about those - which, of course, are not included in this guide.
And then there's me. I grabbed this guide mainly to find out about features, sites, and landmarks that have been lost, obscured (sometimes purposefully), or forgotten over time. That's where having an outdated guidebook comes in handy. The newer guidebooks don't mention nor do they map-out the old railroad tunnel that gave passengers access to the Natural Bridge area; the newer books are less likely to mention how to get to the old moonshine still rock shelter; the updated guides will steer clear of suggesting it's safe to go down into an old limestone sinkhole along a trail that connects to a rock shelter; these are hidden gems that I find fascinating and enhance the experience overall.
Displaying 1 of 1 review