Hi and welcome to the chaotic space of Tread the Red.
This is kind of a unique episode because the first half covers the Red River Gorge (per usual) and THEN we do something SCANDALOUS and cover somewhere else during the second half. Don’t worry, we are still a Red River Gorge Podcast, but we thought some of our listeners might like to hear what hikes we did while visiting North Carolina (+ an extra in KY that isn’t RRG)!
During this episode we cover:
RED RIVER GORGE:
* The Hive – (Your Friendly Neighborhood Cult) + Smirk
* QA Trivia at Skybridge Station
* Some cool spots at The Hive (a rock shelter and nifty arch)
* Rocky Branch Overlook Trails
* Privy Trail

NORTH CAROLINA:
*Black Mountain/Montreat: Lookout Trail
*Gorges State Park/Pisgah National Forest: Rainbow Falls/Turtleback Falls Trail
*DuPont State Recreational Forest: High Falls, Triple Falls, & Hooker Falls + covered bridge Trail

A Kentucky EXTRA (Not RRG):
* Pine Mountain State Resort Park: Chain Rock Trail

Welcome to Tread the Red – the Red River Gorge Podcast! This week’s episode features our good friend, LeighAnne (also known as @wandernotlost on Instagram)!
During this episode (sans Darren, sorryyyy), Rachel and LeighAnne recount their *expedition* to find Cherokee Arch. Spoiler alert: It eluded us, but what we DID find was Rat Window 2, a cool perspective of Jewel Pinnacle and the Gladie Visitor Center in the valley below, and a total rhododendron forest where (probably) few have tread before (or at least that is what it felt like….) Oh, and also some luge riding through the woods for good measure.
Join us as we talk about the Cherokee Arch area (don’t worry, we’ll be back with Part 2 soon because we now know the way), Half Moon ARCH, and a short special about The Number 2.
As always, thanks for listening and hope to see you out on the trails someday! You can follow Tread the Red on Instagram and TikTok @tread_the_red and check out our website and trail videos at TreadTheRed.com.

Happy hiking!

If you didn’t catch it from the title of this episode…Rachel & Darren are engaged! To everyone who also follows Tread the Red on social media, this is slightly old news…but we JUST got around to recording a podcast episode about it (because of course it happened at the Gorge). Anyway, this episode covers the weekend that it happened (12/10/22), the hike it occurred on, and the hike we took the next day with an unexpected trail guide.

In this episode we cover:
*Our stay at The Wilds (in The Willow)
*Sunset Point Trail at The Wilds with *trail guide*, Buddy!
*Rock Bridge Trail (and a proposal on top of Creation Falls!)

It was a great weekend and THANK YOU to everyone who had a part in making it super special. We love our RRG community, and we hope you have fun listening to this episode! More to come.

Meanwhile, you can give Tread the Red a follow on Instagram/TikTok @tread_the_red or checkout the website, TreadTheRed.com to look up trail information/videos and more!

Also, if you have your own RRG story you would like to share, email it to [email protected]. We would LOVE to be able to start doing some Tread the Red #TrailTalk listener stories!

Welcome to a very special episode of Tread the Red! Darren and Rachel got to sit down and chat with Josh, who runs “Your Friendly Neighborhood Cult” at The Hive, and Drew, who runs Questionable Activities Trivia!!
Darren and Rachel have talked about their stays at The Hive with Josh before on the podcast, but this is the first time of actually having Josh on to talk on the podcast. It was also super cool to also chat with Drew (after our first ever Skybridge Station Trivia experience!) – he has a lot of history within the RRG region, and has a lot to share (i.e. The Turtle Question). Anyway, y’all will just have to listen to this episode to hear about all the cool things Josh has been up to with The Hive (we swear, there is something cool and new every time we visit!!) and to hear some RRG story time from Drew.

Oh, and Darren and Rachel got engaged!! We’re covering that in the next episode though.

We hope everyone has a great holiday season and stays warm with this cold front moving in! Happy hiking & exploring.

Hi and welcome back to another episode of Tread the Red! Rachel has finally got her storage issues under control (not really) and we were able to record a new episode for y’all! It is a classic Rachel & Darren Gorge-Adventure-Time-Fun-Time.

In this episode we cover:
*Echo Cove – A cool random rock shelter right off the Sheltowee Trace. We don’t know if it has an official name, so this is what we’re calling it because the sounds were pretty neat there (also some good moss).
*Cave Creek overnight stay – we finally stayed overnight at Cave Creek in the RRG! This is a property of glamping cabins – you can rent one or all three! It was conveniently located to the Gorge proper and we had a great stay.
*Auxier Ridge Courthouse Rock Loop Trail – I know we’ve covered Auxier Ridge multiple times on the podcast, but like…it is an amazing trail (and you should totally do it if you haven’t yet! How many times are we going to have to tell you to hike this one…Haha!) BUT – adding a little VaRiETYyy – we hiked the Courthouse Rock Trail to make this entire hike a balloon loop (measuring out at about 5.7 miles). Definitely a good one to check out – especially in the winter, because the surrounding rock formations were really neat and surreal!

Things happening!!!:
*Tread the Red GIVEAWAY that is being hosted on Instagram! If you aren’t following, you can @tread_the_red and enter the giveaway! There will be 3 winners total and some neat stuff for each one
*Skybridge Station/QA Trivia Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and Trivia Night Tuesday Dec.13th at 7 PM! Rachel and Darren are planning to be there, so come say hey and be on a team with us or compete against us….

Anywayyyyy – hope everyone is staying sane during the holidays and making sure to take time for yourself and go take a hike! Winter hiking is some of the best!

Hi and welcome to Tread the Red Podcast where we talk about butt wedge rock scrambles on unofficial trails of the Red!
Welcome.

In this episode, Rachel & Darren chat with Rachel’s mom, Denise, about a handful of hikes throughout the RRG.
There are what Rachel calls “rock scrambles”, copperhead run-ins, some trail *magic*, and unmarked trail adventures!

Hikes featured in this episode:
*Indian Staircase Bypass Trail/Indian Staircase loop/Adena Arch Trail
*Eagle Point Buttress Trail
*Daniel Boone Hut > Rough Trail > Grays Arch Trail
*Sky Bridge Trail
*Buzzards Roost South Trail
*Half Moon Arch

Thanks for listening! You can keep up with Tread the Red on Instagram & TikTok @tread_the_red or check out the website at TreadTheRed.com !

This episode features a special guest – Darren’s brother, Dustin! Darren was hopeful that Dustin would be just as bad at remembering things as he is, but no such luck. Sorry, Darren.

Anyway, if you listen to this episode, you will find out that Dustin went to the Gorge for the FIRST TIME EVER, which also happened to be his first ever hiking experience! What better way to be introduced to it than with the RRG?!

We visited on a *very* busy October weekend (peak Fall leaves season) and this is a rundown on what we explored:
*Tried to start with Auxier Ridge Trail – this is a trail I recommend to anyone visiting the Gorge for the first time! But, Tunnel Ridge Road was at max capacity and the Forest Service had it shut down. So, onto Plan B!
*We took a drive through the Nada Tunnel (pronounced, NAY-da) – this is also known as “The Gateway to the Gorge”, and rightly so!
*We stopped and took a quick hike out to the Sheltowee Trace Suspension Bridge across the Red River and proceeded down to Jump Rock!
*We drove along Route 715 and pulled off next to Bell Falls! We explored both Lower and Upper Bell Falls (and the area around Upper Bell Falls).
*We stopped on Sky Bridge Rd and visited Castle Arch Overlook and Buzzards Roost South (and had a run-in with a Carolina Wolf Spider)!
*Dustin was feelin’ fries, so we had to hit up Red River Rockhouse for dinner! We then stopped by Daniel Boone Coffee Shop to try their new “Dragon Punch” cocktail (super pretty color and tasty!)
*We did the Haunted Gorge Underground Kayak Tour! The Gorge Underground is an abandoned mine where you can rent kayaks to kayak underground! Every year they put on a “haunted” tour where there are “ghouls” and other frightening props and sounds to give you a truly sPOOooOky kayak tour!
*The next day we started with Rock Bridge Trail, where we saw Creation Falls and Rock Bridge!
*We then went back to Sky Bridge Rd and completed Sky Bridge Trail!
*We drove over to Chimney Top Road and hiked Chimney Top Overlook Trail and Princess Arch Trail (+Princess Arch Overlook bonus side trail!)
*We stopped at Sky Bridge Station for lunch (a great spot if you are already in the Chimney Top/Rock Bridge area of the Gorge)
*We then wrapped up our trip by taking the Sky Lift up to Natural Bridge (a great option if you are looking for a new experience, or if you are hiking with someone who may have difficulty making it to the top of the arch from the trails)!

Overall, I think we did a pretty good job of giving Dustin a “first time” Gorge experience.
Until next time!

You can follow Tread the Red on Instagram and TikTok @tread_the_red and check out the website at TreadTheRed.com where you can find more hiking information! I forgot to mention it in the episode, but we (Rachel and Darren) will also be set up at the Flea Off Market at the Germantown Gables (986 Swan Street, Louisville, KY 40204) on Friday 11/25 in Louisville!! Come by and say hi if you are in the area.

Who’s ready for part 2 of CREEPY STUFF in the Gorge?! Well, it’s here – just in time for Halloween weekend!! Rachel’s computer was so full on space that she almost lost the episode after recording too – BUT THANKFULLY DID NOT.

Anyway, what you can look forward to in this episode:
*Some creepy W-word thing on the Original Trail in Natural Bridge State Park (did you like hiking this for sunset and hiking back down in the dark? Me too, but I don’t think I’m gonna for awhile now – lol)
*Daniel Boone Hut Trail. NEED I SAY MORE?
*Another random bigfoot encounter – question mark – ?
*A bonus true crime-y creepy thing in Daniel Boone National Forest

WOOF. Things are for sure messed up.

Anyway, HAPPY HIKING

Follow Tread the Red on Instagram and TikTok @tread_the_red and on Twitter @treadthered. Also, check out the website for shop and trail details – treadthered.com

Thanks for listening and leave a *GrOOVy* review if you want!

We finally did it! Rachel and her friend, Sam Ludwig, take you through several creepy RRG stories. It wasn’t planned, but this ended up being a 2-parter! Apparently, there are a lot of weird crazy things that happens during the night (and the DAY?!) at the Gorge….
This episode MAY not be the best to listen to if you are planning a camping trip at the Gorge anytime soon and/or you have an active imagination.

Listen to this episode to hear:
*Creepy or true crime?
*Bigfoot encounter near Indian Creek
*A “Terror in the Woods”

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Part 2!

We’re back with another Tread the Red episode! How are you all? We doin good? It is finally Fall and the leaves are beginning to change in the Gorge and everything is amazing because it is SpOooKY SeASONNN. Hello. We are a hiking podcast. Thank you for being here.

PSA to watch out for danger noodles camouflaging in the fall leaves! We had a near-miss with Pippin this past weekend. Always always always look over downed trees before stepping over them! I caught Pippin as he tried to scale one on Douglas Trail this weekend and as I did, I heard rustling in the leaves on the other side. Sure enough, there was a copperhead staring us down! Everyone was fine (including the snake), but it is just something to keep in mind when hiking.

We talk about a Red River Gorge backpacking loop in this episode! You can check out the map and trail breakdown here:
*Tread the Red 14 mile Backpacking Route

We’ve hiked all sections included in the loop before, just not all at once. It would be an awesome 2 day backpacking route, or a very challenging day hike! Proceed at your own risk

Be sure to check us out on Instagram @tread_the_red and our website at TreadTheRed.com
If you have any sPOoOOKy Gorge stories to share, send them to [email protected]. We would love to hear them!
You can also keep an eye out for a link to buy Darren’s “Vampires and Campfires” shirts! It will be posted on Instagram and the website.

Thank you so much for listening and we are hoping that you all are having a Happy Time Living (TM).