Traveling quickly from the top of the waterfall room, it took only 30 minutes to reach our previous stopping point. From there we walked, crawled, and scrambled another hour and a half. Stopping for photos and to examine side passages slowed our pace, but I estimate we’ve covered a mile of passage in this cave. Most amazing is that we still haven’t reached the end!

The deeper recesses of Waterfall Cave revealed fascinating cave formations. The best of which are these helictites:

delicate helictites

Helectites grow in many directions and for an explanation why, check out The Virtual Cave page on helictites. Here is a nice-sized flowstone:

Jim Bob going with the flow-stone.

And some fine soda straws:

Soda Straws

In addition to more formations, the cave began to branch into side and upper passages the further we went. Here are Jim Bob and Thomas checking out a domed room:

Hoping to find the end of the main passage, we pushed forward, but eventually stopped at our 3:00 turn around time. The cave ceiling was lower, with more break down, but just as we thought it would end, it would open back up instead. Bits of broken glass and the presence of bats indicated sinkholes above us. Who knows how much further Waterfall Cave goes…?

The road goes ever on....

On the way out, Jim Bob decided to explore the pit in the waterfall room. It was too small to travel, but made a neat photo:

The pit in the entrance room

We’re certainly not finished with this cave. We left Louisville at 9:15 AM and didn’t return till 7:30 PM, so the return trip will require an earlier start to the day.

The American Whitewater website lists this section as 7.8 miles. At 195 CFS, we were paddling the minimum recommended level which is why we took kayaks rather than the canoe. Happy to report that all riffles were passable at this level and a couple even had enough flow to practice catching small eddies.

Mainly, we spent the afternoon alternating between paddling and lazily drifting in circles watching the sky. I think we spent nearly four and a half hours paddling what we probably could have done in half that time. Highlights included a tiny fawn seemingly stranded by the bank (we left it alone, hoping mom would return), a hawk who lingered far longer than we expected in a tree directly above us, and a steep climb up the riverbank to investigate a small rock shelter. Oddly, we didn’t see any turtles.

Though my companion thought there was a lot of trash, Beech Fork continues to impress me relative to Floyds Fork. The water flow seems more sustained, it’s more isolated, and there are fewer strainers. Access at the 31E (Bardstown Road) bridge is easy. There is access on the north and south sides of the bridge, though I don’t know which is easier. At the 49/Loretto Road bridge, there is sufficient by-the-road parking for five or six vehicles.

The rubble dam is listed as a Class III+ rapid and varies considerably according to water flow. Today, it was an impassable rock garden, so we portaged on river left. I haven’t seen it with larger flows, but I’m sure it’s impressive and worthy of its rating. Scout it, and don’t paddle it without planning your moves.

For another Beech Fork trip, check out the 605 to 49 section.

Yost Ridge Trail head

Relative to the steep grades of many other trails in the Forest, the Yost Ridge Trail is a baby. Thanks to good trail design, five minutes or so of climbing is followed by a fairly level and wide path.

A level section of the Yost Ridge Trail

You can easily walk two abreast on most if not all of the trail, and thanks to a good tree canopy the underbrush is minimal. Meandering around some beautiful beeches and, as you gain in elevation, gnarly chestnut oaks, a view of downtown Louisville offers a nice stopping point.

A hazy view of downtown Louisville

The Yost Ridge Trail ties into the Mitchell Hill Trail: leaving from the Welcome Center, it is 1.5 miles to reach Mitchell Hill Lake, or 1.7 miles to the Horine Reservation proper, where you could tie in with the Red Trail or Orange Trail. With a new parking area, the Welcome Center is now set to be the trail head destination from which hikers will be able to access all areas of the Forest. All that’s lacking is the connection to the Paul Yost section which should be complete later this year.

Some of the extensive trail work

The Beech Fork is wider than Floyds Fork and far more isolated. We saw a single house the entire trip, lots of red-tailed hawks, vultures, and a great horned owl. The wider channel is more forgiving of steering mistakes than Floyds Fork yet still had a half-dozen or so spots with bouncy class I rapids. There were also far fewer strainers than on Floyds Fork.

A typical section of the Beech Fork

With a nice current and no portages, we reached the take-out in a mere hour and a half. Tacking on the next section (7.8 miles to state highway 31E) would have made a nice day of paddling.

To get there, go to Bardstown. I just took 31E (Bardstown Road), then state road 150 in downtown Bardstown. Both 49 and 605 are off of 150.

Access is reasonable. As soon as you cross the 605 bridge turn left and a gravel road leads you to private property whose owner is kind enough to allow public access. Be sure to help keep it clean. The bank is muddy and steep; we found it easiest to launch right by the bridge supports.

The put-in at the 605 bridge

The take-out at the 49 bridge isn’t quite as nice. Turn right immediately after crossing the bridge. There is not much room here, so I think pulling off the road is better than blocking the dirt road that leads to the base of the bridge.

Here’s a link to the American Whitewater page on this section of Beech Fork. You might want to also check the Beech Fork streamflow gauge provided by the USGS.

I broke down and bought a proper camera pack late last year. The Lowepro Inverse is a well-constructed lumbar pack. The camera compartment is well-padded and has adjustable dividers. The hipbelt is well-padded and fits snugly. An additional padded shoulder strap is great. With the shoulder strap in place, I can unclip the hipbelt and slide the bag in front to quickly access my gear. There are two external mesh pouches for water bottles, and a small external pocket holds my camera manual, a notepad and lens cloth. Lastly, the bag features a hidden raincover (the AW in the name stands for all-weather).

The Lowepro Inverse 100

I really like this bag, however, with a camera, one extra lens, and an extension tube, the main compartment is full. I have to leave my peanut butter and jelly sandwich at home and carry granola bars instead.

I purchased mine used through a company called Warehouse Deals on Amazon.com. I wasn’t sure if buying a used pack was a good idea, but it looked brand new when it arrived so I was satisfied.

The Ohio River was as still as glass when we began paddling at 11 am. It took about thirty minutes to reach Fourteenmile Creek. The creek is presently blocked with fallen timbers from the work on the bridge which will eventually span from Trail #3 to Rose Island. The state is reassembling a 1912 iron bridge which will allow foot traffic. Sounds like this will be a unique addition to an already excellent destination.

Despite the map above, we found nothing indicative of stone fortifications. We found the pit shown on the map and apparently walked right over what the surveyor indicated as an artificial wall. We did find a wonderful display of wildflowers however.

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia)

Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne)

Maybe wild garlic?

Here is Thomas standing on what we surmise must be remnants of the “artificial wall”:

Have to use your imagination to see a stone wall here

While the fort ruins were hard to spot, the ruins of Rose Island Amusement Park were abundant. An old swimming pool and several foundations dot the flat areas of Rose Island.

I can't imagine what this ruin used to be....

Read more about Rose Island at Our Fun Adventures.

With the creek blocked, we paddled down river to check out some interesting points along the river bank. An old stone structure and the sound of a waterfall caught our attention. We shortly discovered that Trail #6 of the Charlestown State Park parallels the shore between the boat ramp and the creek. I’m not sure how far it goes, nor do I know what purpose this structure served:

A mysterious ruin along Trail #6

Clearly, there is plenty of stone along the river for building walls, so someone could have built a wall on Devil’s Backbone, but there is nothing like this up there.

Saving the best for last, we explored this impressive waterfall also along trail #6.

Waterfall along trail #6

It was a fine day and we returned to the boat ramp around 3:30 pm. Despite river traffic sending frequent waves, this is an easy paddle and will be worth a return trip to check out the creek when it is reopened.

Brown Park is owned by the City of St. Matthews. The property was donated by the well-heeled James Graham Brown family in 1977 and their old family cemetery is one of the highlights.

Brown Cemetery photo by Beelzebozo

Features include picnic areas and a pavilion, a small playground, port-a-pots, charcoal grills, and a paved walkway. I read that four laps around the walkway equals two miles. On a chilly Friday morning, I spent about 45-minutes wandering the park, including some time on a unpaved path that led to the Watterson bridges over Bluegrass Creek. The cold finished off my already weakened camera battery, so there are no pictures from this trip.

Besides the cemetery, the other highlight of Brown Park is the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek. Crossed by two lovely footbridges, its meandering path belies the fact it is heavily impacted by surrounding development.

The Beargrass in spring - photo from waymarking.com

Locust, sycamore, cherry, maple and box elder trees are in abundance. Though most visitors will be entranced by the relative green of the park compared to the surroundings, a closer look reveals an unfortunate abundance of invasive plants: bush honeysuckle, alianthus, and wintercreeper.

Wintercreeper

A welcome oasis for the many local residents, Brown Park is located at the corner of Browns Lane and Kresge Way. It’s a great place to take the kids, walk the dog, or go for a short run.