Trip North - Cumberland Gap - Gap Cave

April 21, 2019

Happy Easter!
We will be spending Easter Morning in Gap Cave!

Check in at 8:45

There are cool sculptures representing the natives and
settlers who traveled the Gap

The original wilderness trail was created by herds of Buffalo crossing the Mountain for the Salt Licks in Kentucky

 The paving is imprinted with footprints, animal tracks and horseshoes

We start up the trail

 and shortly we come across some deer

 Our Ranger/Guide Brittany stops to tell us about the history of the Cumberland Gap.  The actual old road was torn out and re-routed.  The Tunnel and new road replaced a dangerous, 2.3-mile stretch of U.S. 25E.  The highway picked up the nickname -- Massacre Mountain -- because of the number of motorists killed along it.   The Wilderness and Boone trails were created where the old road stood so people could envision the path their ancestors followed. 

There is the famous Cumberland Gap

We get to the Cave

 A short but snug entry

 And we get to see our first bat

 and "cave diamonds"

 The formations are beautiful and varied

a frozen waterfall

 Alook back gives some perspective.  Sometimes pictures were hard to get because everyone had lanterns and were shining them all about.

Another Bat

 This railing is starting to get coated with the dissolving limestone

 Some places look like mud puddles

 An underground pool

Yet another Bat
  This one was in a section where we had to duck to get through - I  was surprised no one knocked the little guy from his perch

More icicles

 The ranger pointed out this little pool in a hole in the rocks - she called if a fairy ice skating rink

 It is magical in spots

 It was a great tour.   As we exited, the Ranger found a small Salamander

 Back to the light of day and it's not raining!
We take a switchback trail back down.

 Britanny finds this and asks anyone if they know what it is.  Many guessed some kind of fruit - but it is a Wasp Gall.  The wasps lay their eggs on Oak Trees and somehow the Gall forms which both protects the larvae and gives them nutrition.  Since this one was off the tree the wasp would not develop

We also got a view of the Tri State Point across the way.

 
Brittany did a great job, she was very informative.  I let the Ranger at the Visitor's Center know how good she was and she already knew - Brittany had volunteered here in High School and then won and Internship and then they hired her on after college full-time as a Ranger.   Even Gary who is not a fan of caves was impressed and enjoyed it.