Drought Conditions in the Daniel Boone

September 20, 2008 by

Average Rain in KyPrecipitation, or lack thereof.
The Daniel Boone National Forest averages between 43 inches a year in the northeastern section to 53 inches in the southwestern section around the Big South Fork. Currently, the forest is in a precipitation deficit of around 4-8 inches. With the approaching fall and the driest period of the year, the forecast is for a seriously dry time in the woods. This is especially true to south and east, but the high ridges are dust dry now.

The most problematic aspect of a drought this time of year is forest fire hazards. After trees drop their leaves under cloudless skies, the forest floor experiences direct sunlight and high evaporation rates. This produces abundant fuel for forest fires.

So if you’re planning a trip this autumn, be careful with camp fires and consider using stoves for cooking and battery candles for illumination. The following discussion looks at national maps of drought severity and outlook.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Weather

Red River Gorge Trail Conditions

September 20, 2008 by

Dogs in CreekRed River Gorge trails are fantastic right now. This late September season has given us clear, warm days and dry, cool nights. The waning moon is glowing through high cirrostratus that are hinting rain, but none is in the forecast.

The high pressure that has cleared our skies and dried out our humidity, is an extensive mass of subsiding air that is evaporating any encroaching low level moisture. In the late afternoon, you’ll see some isolated cumulus clouds develop, but are stunted from any vertical growth. No rain to parch your throat.

Drought is a serious concern in the following weeks. Martin’s Fork at the head of D Boone hut is following about a gallon/minute. This groundwater will eventually drain out leaving vacant streams beds in the mid and upper reaches of hollows.The advice is get on the trail now or pray for rain in October. For more info and maps on the current drought, look at our post on this topic.

Filed Under: Red River Gorge

Hurricane Ike

September 11, 2008 by

Hurricane Ike

Postscript
Ike’s precipitation never made it to the Daniel Boone. The winds did however. Hurricane force winds were recorded in Louisville, Kentucky and a strong wind advisory was posted for Lexington and the Daniel Boone. We’ll have to wait and hope for another storm to bring much needed rain to the state, though we wish for no dangerous hurricane.

Current Track for September 11
It was 47 years ago today that Hurricane Carla made landfall and battered the central Texas coast with wind gusts to 175 mph, and up to 16 inches of rain. Carla also spawned a tornado which swept across Galveston Island killing eight people. The Category 4 hurricane claimed 45 lives and caused $2.22 billion dollars in damage.

Forecasters haven’t directly compared Ike to Carla yet, but this hurricane will most likely impact Kentucky. After making landfall Friday, Ike should swing northest north and aim for Kentucky and the Daniel Boone National Forest. The final track however has yet to play out, but if the bluegrass gets under this tropical depression, the state undoubtedly will do some catching up on the meager precipitation it has received this summer.

On average, the central part of the state receives about 11 inches of rain in the summer, however only 8 inches has fallen from June-August and none so far in September. In September, one of the bluegrass’s driest months, rainfall totals average about 3 inches. Last September, less than one inch of rain fell that month. Bone dry.

Hurricane IkeEnter Ike
A storm of this magnitude could definitely bring 3 inches of rain to the bluegrass. It could bring 6 inches. If it strengthens to a category 4 storm above the warmest section of the Gulf of Mexico as predicted, it will contain an enormous amount of energy and water vapor. Hurricanes this strong produce more energy in a day than the U.S. produces at all power plants in a year. That’s a lot of juice and Ike has to go somewhere.

Hurricanes need over 80-degree F surface water temperatures to exist. Every degree above that is like adding gasoline to a fire.
Below is a map of current surface water temperatures

Filed Under: News, Weather

Bike Prom 2008

September 1, 2008 by

The Boone's TraceLexington’s First-ever 2008 Bike Prom!
September 6, 6:00 PM
Fundraiser for The Living Arts and Science Center.

Postscript: The prom was tremendous with 96 gorgeous riders and tons of fun at the afterparty. Photographs can be found at the Forum discussion on Lexrides.com.

The Event. Dress up and Dance your bike around downtown Lexington during the 2008 Bike Prom. Ride stag or bring a date. No prior prom experience required, just bring your bike, share your fun-loving attitude, and promenade your style in the city.

What will you do on your special night? You will ride to selected destinations with a provided map and stamp your dance card at each location. You will asked to perform prom activities at each dance stop, such as be fitted with a supplied corsage, primp at the glitter station, partake and properly toast from the magic punch bowl (adult and child versions provided), select just the right tune, take a whirl on the dance floor, and have your photograph made with a backdrop of stardust and rocket ships.

While prom activities will be easy and fun to complete, you might find a few bike-related challenges that will spice up your night. All destinations and activities will be provided on the map and dance card.

Prizes and Afterparty. In the euphoria of the evening, maybe you’ll get lucky and the win the coveted crown of the Prom King or Queen. As you grace us with your cosmic moves on the dance floor, remember style is more significant than speed. Prizes for best-dressed couple and best-dressed male and female. We reserve the right to offer mystery prizes too. Prizes will be awarded during the after party at Molly Brooke’s Irish Bar with drink specials and DJ music by local mix-meister Mick Jeffries.

Start Time and Place. The prom starts at the Living Arts & Science Center, 362 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., Lexington, Ky. Registration begins at 6:00 PM and the dance starts at 6:30 PM. Rain date is the following Saturday, September 13. The event is $5.00 and all proceeds benefit the Living Arts & Science Center. The event is open to the public.

Sponsors. Proudly sponsored by following local businesses: outrageGIS mapping, Isle of You, Pedal the Planet, The Morris Book Shop, Molly Brooke’s Irish Bar, The Hive, and CD Central.

Hope to see you there!

Filed Under: News

Woodland Arts Fair, Aug 16-17

August 14, 2008 by

The Boone's TraceA postscript on the event: Thanks for all those trail lovers who showed up and visited our booth. We met many outdoor enthusiasts with great trip stories. For folks who walked away with great coupons and discounts, the store is open. If you couldn’t make it out and still want those deep discounts, just register for our newsletter and you’ll get a new round of superb coupons and map specials the first of September.

Once again we are participating in the Woodland Arts Fair in Lexington, Kentucky. The event runs typically from 10am-6pm on Saturday and 12pm-5pm on Sunday. We’ll back in the shady section, the bottom of the U, in the Woodland Christian Church Annex.

We’ll have all of our maps, which will include special, one-time free downloads of the GPS data packs and discount coupons only available during the fair. We’ll also have a cotton candy machine and free lama rides, no we won’t!, but other booths will have said treats and activities. Nearby our booth is Cricket Press, who makes some of the most attractive screen printing ephemera and t-shirts you’re gonna find in the Bluegrass.

Hope to see you there!

Filed Under: News

Chimney Tops and Road Prong Trail

July 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Appalachian TrailHiker Great Smokies Trail Atlas
Distance: 9 Miles round-trip from trailhead
Difficulty: +++
Scenic Views: +++
Elevation Relief: 1,800ft ^^
Ownership: Great Smoky Mountains, NPS

Great Smokies Trail Atlas: $14

As you drive from the Sugarlands Visitor Center on Newfound Gap Road, you’ll catch glimpses of the Chimney Tops, a summit outcropping of tough, erosion resistant metamorphic rock. Originally deposited as sedimentary rock, such as shale, sandstone, and siltstone over 500 million years ago, the rocks that make the mountains here first experienced metamorphosis becoming a hard, slate-type rock, and then mountain building forces to form the folded and faulted Appalachians, with peaks as high as the Rocky Mountains. Today, after 200 million years of erosion, Chimney Tops stands at 4,800 feet and roughly a 1,400 vertical foot climb from the trailhead below. As you walk and climb along the last quarter-mile of the ridge, you’ll clearly see the bedrock tilting down to the right, evidence of the great tectonic forces that thrust up the mountains that you’ll admire around you from this inspiring prominence.

The name the Cherokee Indians gave Chimney Tops, was Forked Antler. As you scan the ridge from valley overlooks, you can easily imagine the shape of a deer’s antler. The first 3/4 mile of this hike follows Road Prong, a stream that reaches the crest line of the Smokies. If you continue up Road Prong trail, you’ll hike one of the oldest trails in the area. Long used as an Indian path through the mountains, the path was expanded during the Civil War to move troops through the Smokies connecting Smokemont, North Carolina with Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The road was called the Oconaluftee Turnpike and it passed through Indian Gap at the summit. Today the summit is marked with the Appalachian Trail and Indian Gap is called Luftee Gap.

A note about climate and slope in the mountains. The high mountains in the area form steep, thinly soiled slopes, which are historically prone to landslides after extended periods of heavy rain. You’ll see many scars and debris fields from previous landslides as you hike to the summit. And the Smokies know plenty about rain: the summit line receives on average more precipitation anywhere east of the U.S. mountain west coast.

Because of the elevation, the temperature is similar to Canada, but because of the relief (over a mile above surrounding foothills), the precipitation pattern is more typical marine, creating colder and wetter conditions. Because of the proximity to Gulf and Atlantic tropical air masses, summer storms, especially remnants of hurricanes, can produce torrential rain events. These storms increase flash flooding and landslide hazards. In the late winter, polar air masses from the north can create an upslope flow forcing up moisture rich air and produce heavy snowfall. With an average of 5-8 inches of rain per month, streams can be difficult to cross anytime of the year. Please contact the park service before any backcountry trip.

Filed Under: All Hikes, Hikes: Great Smoky Mountain Tagged With:

Release of the Great Smoky Mountains Trail Atlas

July 4, 2008 by

On July 4th we released a trail lover’s and backpacker’s atlas for a wild & historic national treasure, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our trail atlas was designed for the modern trail user equipped with a GPS, but we focus our cartography on showing the rugged, historical, and ecological character of the park. These maps are beautiful, easy to read, and provide a pleasure as you wander over the pages and discover a new Smokies.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Great Smoky Mountains, News

White Rocks and the Ridge Trail

June 23, 2008 by Leave a Comment

White RocksHiker Hiker Cumberland Gap Map
Distance: 16 Miles round-trip from trailhead
Difficulty: +++
Scenic Views: ++++
Elevation Relief: 1,800ft ^^
Ownership: Cumberland Gap, NPS
Google to trailheads

Cumberland Gap Trail Map: $12

White Rocks Overlook

The White Rocks overlook to Martin’s Fork on the Ridge Trail is the “power-date” of overnight trips in Cumberland Gap. You have a massive ascent, a capital view, and great camp at Martin’s Fork rustic cabin. The stadium rockhouse Sand Cave helps cool your engines and spirit. Trees bent dog-legged by mountain top winds great you like old friends. You are on the Ridge Trail.whiterocks-hike-rgb-web-lar.gif

[Read more…]

Filed Under: All Hikes, Hikes: Cumberland Gap Tagged With:

The Boone Trace Magazine

June 16, 2008 by

The Boone's TraceWe are proud to have contributed to the recent Daniel Boone National Forest magazine, The Boone Trace. This comely tabloid-sized full-color magazine is the U.S. Forest Service’s official visitors’ guide and welcome publication with maps, photographs, and timely information. With over 700,000 acres, 100+ developed recreation sites, and 600+ miles of trail, this national forest provides ample opportunities to refresh, reconnect and challenge yourself in the great outdoors. The Boone’s Trace magazine is free and should be the first document you read before your adventure in the forest.

The opening paragraph reads, “Dense woodlands, towering cliffs and plunging waterfalls are just a few of the natural wonders found within the boundaries of this most unique forest. Extending across mostly rugged terrain, the forest provides breathtaking scenery, clean water, and an abundance of wood and wildlife.”

The national forest is now divided into four ranger districts; Cumberland, London, Redbird, and Stearns Ranger Districts. The Cumberland Ranger Districts has two of the most popular destinations in the forest, Cave Run Lake and the Red River Gorge. This knobby and cliff-rimmed country is home to historic iron furnaces, rare and endangered plant communities, great arches and sandstone formations, and the rugged Cliffty Wilderness Area.

The London Ranger District is defined by the Rockcastle and Laurel Rivers. Great recreation destinations include Bee Rock, Rockcastle Recreation Area,Waterfall Turkeyfoot, S-Tree, and the Laurel River Lake. While forest ownership less continuous in this district, many trails (official and unofficial) spline the ridges and creeks for hikers, mountain bikers, and motorized vehicles.

The Stearns Ranger District is home to the Beaver Creek Wilderness Area, Natural Arch Scenic Area, and numerous horse camps, shooting ranges and picnic areas. The area outlines the northern portion of the Big South Fork Recreation Area, which competes with the Red River Gorge for the title, “The Land of Many Arches.” The Redbird Ranger District is not contiguous with the other ranger districts, but off-road vehicle and mountain biking enthusiasts will find the Redbird Crest Trail a fine loop trail.

The Sheltowee Trace is forest’s unifying, long-distance trail, which connects the northern tip of forest with Tennessee’s Pickett State Park. This is the forest’s only National Recreation Trail and is the longest trail in Kentucky. Trail users can find more information at http://www.sheltoweetrace.com.

Magazine designed by Gwen Hensley of the forest service.

Filed Under: News

Trout Fishing in The Great Smokies

May 5, 2008 by

TroutOne cannot fully appreciate the Smokies without fly fishing its abundant streams. From high mountains reaches to larger rivers at lower elevations, the park has nearly a thousand miles of fishable waters. The best experiences require hiking into remote portions of the park and finding clean, cold pools near fast moving rapids.

The brook trout are the only native species of game fish found here and are also known as “spec” or “speckled trout” by older locals. These native trout depend on clear and cold water to thrive and, where found, indicate a healthy, unmolested mountain stream. Although the history of logging and air pollution in the park have threatened brook trout populations, the park’s conservation effort has made the Great Smokies one of last great wild habitats for native fish in the eastern U.S.

Rainbow trout are the prized game fish in the park and are generally 6-10 inches in length. These fish were introduced here by logging camps in the early 1900s. Brown trout were imported from Europe and can reach over 2 feet in length, weigh 10 pounds, and live a dozen years. Brook trout live fewer than 3 years and rarely exceed 9 inches. Smallmouth and rock bass, both non-native, inhabit the lower rivers and streams along the park’s boundary.

Fishing“The Park’s Aquatic World

Most of the park’s larger streams begin as springs along the Appalachian Trail high on the crest of the Smokies. As these small streams travel down the mountainside, they are joined by others to form progressively larger waterways. As this happens, the streams change from steep, shady, rushing cascades, dotted with beautiful waterfalls at high elevations, to wider, slower-moving waterways with gentle gradients at lower elevations. The forest canopy no longer completely covers lower elevation streams.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Great Smoky Mountains

At Leisures Edge: Maps in Video

April 29, 2008 by

During the early days of outrageGIS mapping, Boyd finished a one-hour video that explored once-segregated black parks in Kentucky. The historic parks found in the movie are Douglass Park in Lexington, Iroquois & Chickasaw Parks in Louisville, Stuart Nelson and Noble Parks in Paducah, and Cherokee State Resort Park in Aurora.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News

First Frontier Audio Driving Tour

April 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Download and print the two-hour audio driving tour.

What trails will you blaze through this new frontier?

You will travel over ancient buffalo traces and Native American trails that frontier settlers cut into roads seeking the fertile lands of Kentucky. You will walk through Cumberland Gap where the Wilderness Road and the Warrior’s Path meet and look out upon America’s First Frontier. Along the Kingdom Come Scenic Parkway, you will hear the rushing headwaters of the mighty Cumberland River.

Download Hi quality (220 meg)

For adventuresome spirits, the unexplored road lures you to rugged mountain settlements and luxuriant coves of rhododendron blooms. Autumn hues of amber and scarlet sweeten your memories of fall vacations. Springtime stirs enchanting old-time songs and the colors of redbuds and dogwoods in our mountain festivals.

Website

Filed Under: Cumberland Gap, NHP, Free Maps, Maps, Pine Mountain Tagged With:

Scales, grids, and graticules

March 12, 2008 by

ScalesMeasurement scales, grids, and graticules for our printed map titles. Print them at home and use them in the woods to more precisely locate yourself with a GPS unit set to DD MM.MMM, on a UTM grid, or just measure linear distance.

These handy print outs have other information about the map they cover and fit in the polyzip carry bag.

Remember, don’t rescale these pdfs when you print them.

To download scales, visit: outrageGIS.com/scales

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

Kentucky Boating Access Sites

March 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Kentucky Boating Access Sites: one Texas-rigged publication!

This publicaiton was commissioned by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and was offered freely at places throughout Kentucky where one could buy a fishing license. The 11′ x 17′ booklet is no longer printed, but you can download full resolution PDFs from this site. The publication primarily shows public boat ramps and access sites on Kentucky’s lakes and rivers. It also shows stocked trout streams and favorable waters for other species. If you’ve ever fished with a texas-rigged worm, this is your book.

Filed Under: Free Maps, Maps Tagged With:

Historical & 3D Maps of the Great Smokies

January 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Historical MapWe’re continually updating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Atlas and hope to have a pre-release sample here by early March. The emphasis now is cleaning the labels on the 1:90k map series. These two maps here are sections in the atlas and we appreciate any feedback or comments. Each link takes you to a zoomable and pannable image of the map.

The map on the left is the Pioneer Places of the Great Smoky Mountains, a 1926 U.S Geological Survey map overlaid with modern-day park destinations. The map shows the park on the eve of its creation. The cartography is exceptional and has been preserved where possible. Many of the park place names have changed over the century with the addition of many dedicated names after the park’s creation. In some cases names were moved to accommodate significant persons deemed more worthy of a place name than the existing title.

3D Map of the Great Smokies
The map on the right is a Bird’s Eye View of the Great Smoky Mountains. This 3rd draft 3D map shows the major landforms in Smokies and helps the hiker understand the topography and major drainages in the park. Each feature has an elevation (in feet above sea level) tagged in its label. The Appalachian Trail is signified by the yellow line. This major revision pushes the colors to purer CMYK mixes that make it less muddy in process-color printing.

Filed Under: Great Smoky Mountains Tagged With:
« Previous Page
Next Page »
You are here: Front Page / Posts from outrageGIS mapping
0

Your Cart