Back on the road! After a great holiday season home with our families we headed south to try to find some warm rock to climb in the southeast. Leaving from New Jersey we took a few stops on our way to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.
First up was Vanessa’s place in central PA, Jack was out hunting so Steve made friends Rylee. We also stocked up on groceries from the local Mennonite farmers market and checked out a brewery.

Steve makes a new friend, Rylee, in Pennsylvania.

The ladies check out a PA brewery.
From Pennsylvania, we drove through Virginia to the Wolf Gap Recreation area which is on the border with West Virginia. We were pleasantly surprised by a nice free campground with trailheads coming from the same parking area. We decided to just hike there instead of driving to hike in Shenandoah National Park.

West Virginia to the right and Virginia to the left, fun hike along the ridgeline from Wolf Gap recreation area.

Steve takes in the view of Virginia on a chilly January day.
Then it was on to Kentucky! We were both impressed by the cool rock formations in the corbin sandstone. We enjoyed hiking on cold days, climbing on the warm ones, and sampling bourbon when the weather turned stormy.

Patterns in the corbin sandstone of the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

More features in the sandstone.

Cliffs, cliffs, everywhere.

So many features on these walls!

Steve packs up after a fun day of sport climbing in the Red.

Enjoying Bourbon County in Kentucky.

Checking out the fermenters at the Wild Turkey distillery.