Today, August 29, 2019, my wife Candice and I took a long drive in the country and I took two side trips to hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest and/or Cave Run Lake. First I spent a half hour or so at the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp which is located just off Kentucky 772 about a mile or less from Kentucky 519 just about a mile from the Morgan/Rowan County Line in Morgan County. Even though I have lived in the area for more than twenty-five years, I had never been to the boat ramp area in question. I had actually arrived there by the long way around through the Kentucky State Tree Nursery and Woodsbend Youth Development Center in the Woodsbend area on Lower Grassy Creek. It is a beautiful drive along that route through some of the best farm land in all of Morgan County. There are numerous well maintained farms, the Tree Nursery and the Youth Development Center as well as three major, well maintained and photogenic cemeteries along the way. The most interesting of those cemeteries is the Bear Wallow Cemetery. With a name like that, how could you avoid taking a drive along this wonderful scenic route?
But once you arrive at the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp, a great deal of the beauty is lost due to abuses of the site by what seems to be a group of partiers from time to time combined with an overloaded Corps of Engineers who probably do not have the time or staff to adequately maintain all the public use facilities in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The drive off Kentucky 772 to the boat ramp is tree shaded, scenic, and inviting. It has a large gravel parking area, a concrete boat ramp, and lies on a tributary of Cave Run Lake. All of this should have combined to make a wonderful location to hike, fish, kayak, launch boats, and simply eat a leisurely lunch on a work day. But the ramp was poorly situated and is pointed upstream which means that a lot of debris ends up in the ramp launching area and at least one large log was visible in the water on one side of the ramp directly in front of the incoming boats which I suspect are few and far between since a far better situated and maintained ramp is located only a couple of miles away just across the line in Rowan County. Between the parking lot and the water, there is an area which is about four feet lower than the parking lot and probably two feet above the normal water line. But it is subject to periodic flooding when the Corps of Engineers is holding large amounts of water in the lake. The normal amount of debris which would end up in area like that would be expected and workable. But the people who have been using and abusing the boat ramp area have made a workable situation both disgusting and infuriating. I hiked this area for quite some distance downstream along the waterside and found it littered from one end to the other with all sorts of garbage. I usually carry a plastic grocery bag with me when I hike and pick up whatever litter I find in the locations I utilize no matter where they are, whether I have ever been there or not, and whether or not I ever likely to return. But if I had the assistance and time today, I and a couple of friends could have easily filled the bed of my Ford Ranger with garbage which had been thrown about by the users of the area. I actually found the remains of several camp fires and two them had the remnants of automobile tires in the ashes. One had the steel belt wires from a large tire combined with beer and soft drink bottles, Styrofoam live bait containers, and general garbage. And this particular camp fire was not the worst of the lot. Another had not only the steel belt wires from a tire combined with its bushel of garbage. It also had the steel rim from a large automobile tire. In addition to these camp fires, the entire area was randomly littered with what were obviously fresh bottles and cans which showed no evidence of ever having floated in on the waters. This entire area is a disgrace to every human who has ever helped to damage it.
This area is tree shaded, quiet, inviting, and on the edge of the water. It could be a wonderful site to use in a variety of ways. But in its current condition, I am certain that it drives potential users away on a regular basis. It is in dire need of a major clean up and regular policing from the Corps of Engineers and local law enforcement and yet I know that all these agencies are understaffed and overloaded. The bottom line is that it is a damn shame and in desperate need of change on a major level.
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After I left the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp area, I crossed the county line into Rowan County and turned right up the first paved road into an area which is part of the upstream lake and is used as a camping and hiking site. I do not recall the particular name or number which is assigned to this road but it is the last left turn off Kentucky 519 in Rowan County before the bridge at the Morgan County line. At about a half mile, you find several camp sites with rudimentary launching for small boats. Then there is a locked gate across the road which is obviously the old state highway along the Licking River before it became a part of the lake. The road is only a couple of feet above the water line and still in acceptable condition. There area a plethora of spots along this road which could be used as lake shore fishing spots. It is quiet, tree shaded, flat at least on the area I hiked, and a wonderful place to hike, fish, ride a bike, etc. It is closed to vehicular traffic beyond the aforementioned gate. During my hike, I encountered a nice lady who was riding a vintage bicycle along the road and camping with her family at one of the camp sites. She advised me that the road extends for roughly five miles or more along the lake shore and connects with another old road which climbs the mountain side to cross out of the Daniel Boone National Forest. She also told me of a rumor that is rampant among users of the area that the Corps of Engineers is planning to lease that area to a vendor who is already renting kayaks on the lake for use as a paid camping, hiking, and multi-use area. I tend to doubt the rumor but I will admit that it could be possible. I hope to return to this area and spend more time and distance hiking it to see as much of it as I can. When I do, of course, I will post about it on this blog.
These two areas which I hiked today are well worth the time to utilize if you are in the general area. I would also encourage all of you to contact the Army Corps of Engineers Office in Morehead and discuss the need to clean up and enforce civilized practises on the users of the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp. If you utilize it, please take a camera along, which I did not do today, and shoot some photos of the egregious garbage, campfires with evidence of burnt tires, and pass them along to the Corps of Engineers.
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