Trip North - Cumberland Gap - Iron Furnace

April 20, 2019

I had signed up to take the Gap Cave Tour on Easter Sunday but preferred to take it Saturday so they said to show up and if there were no-shows we could get in Saturday.  We got there and a Church Bus pulled in and 16 Mormons got out and there was a family of 4 waiting  and 2 other couples,  so I figured they had the 20 person limit.

We decided to hike the trail to the Iron Furnace which goes out of the same Parking lot since we were here.

 Plus Gary has been wanting to hike the Boone Trail

 Right takes you up to the Cave, Left down to the Iron Furnace

 We come to a bridge but it is blocked off and water is rushing across the path.

 We take our chances with the bridge

Gary looks pretty confident after I have crossed

 Yeah, our feet would have definitely gotten wet.

 We come to our turn and apparently there was a mudslide not too long ago

 We continue on and reach the Iron Furnace

In 1819, a blast furnace was built on the stream below the cave.

By 1870 it consisted of the blast furnace itself, a 25' x 26', 35'-high limestone chimney lined with firebrick; a casting shed, a 15' x 20' single story frame building connected to the south; a 2 1/2-story, 30' x 45' storehouse to the north, with a 30' overshot water wheel 

The water running down the stream 

was sufficient to turn a mill.

 Each day 625 bushels of charcoal (approximately 52 trees), 6 1/4 tons of iron ore, and 1,563 pounds of limestone were used to produce 

approximately 3 tons of iron

 Spotted these lovely red wildflowers on the way out - they are called Fire Pinks.

I find it interesting the Fire Pinks are Red and Redbuds are Pink.

A nice little hike

On our way home we stop in Cumberland Gap so I can check out the covered bridges we saw.  We pass by a one room school house

 and one of the covered bridges.  Tucson and I get out to walk up to it.

 It is a pedestrian walkway and bike trail

 Running alongside it is the railroad