Change of Plans! Hiking & Camping in the Cumberland Gap (Tri-State Peak, Sand Cave, & White Rocks)

I'm not gonna lie. This was an awesome plan B so We've had a change of plans We were supposed to be in Great Smoky Mountains National Park right now Had an awesome plan do some awesome hikes go check out all the beautiful overlooks sunsets the works and we got there And it was crazy. It was like a Black Friday Madhouse being the most visited National Park in the US by a landslide and fall being the peak time to visit the park We weren't expecting solitude, but even on a Monday, it was absolutely crazy There were cars lined up for miles to get into the park. There were tons of crowds everywhere There are people parking on all over the sides of the road just to go do hikes and after spending the last few months in Less busy places and not experiencing crowds at all. We just were in complete shock seeing that many people So we made the tough decision to skip the park this time We just didn't feel comfortable being around that many people right now And honestly, we just don't find crowds enjoyable. So we're gonna save it for another time Maybe like the dead of the winter when no one's there We spent all day yesterday scrambling trying to figure out where to go what to do next They're googling looking at maps reading about trails just trying to figure out what to do So we decided to drive north to the Cumberland Group To hike and camp for the next couple days Embarrassing confession until about one or two days ago The only thing that I knew about the Cumberland Gap is that they mentioned it in the song Wagon Wheel I only knew a smidge about it because I have an interest in history So if you're a tad clueless like we were basically it's the area right on the border of Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee It is one of the few natural corridors through the Appalachian Mountains for years It was used by bison and they trampled down a path then used by Native Americans And then finally by European American settlers including Daniel Boone who was instructed to widen the path So the settlers could get to the west One of the really cool things about the Cumberland Gap is they have a trail called the tri-state peak trail where you can hike to Where Kentucky Virginia and Tennessee all meet at one point and stand in all the states at the same time So that's what we're doing first. Also, there are only five other cars in the parking lot here So it's already way less busy than Great Smoky Mountains National Park So this building behind me along with a few other buildings that were here They had big business here of creating and making iron. So they had everything they needed they had wood to fuel the furnace They used though the river that would flow here to power the big Water wheel to power other things and they would create a bunch of iron so they could sell it in the surrounding areas This is all that's left As I always like to say we're walking in the footsteps of history this time in the famous frontiersman hunter rifleman Daniel Boone We made it! Okay, that was pretty cool to stand in three states at one time and bonus There was actually a pretty nice view at the top too. We weren't expecting that This reminds us although we haven't been to it the four corners, which is Arizona, Utah New Mexico, Colorado You have to pay for that one though. So this one's free Check out our sick home for the next two nights. We are staying at the Wilderness Road campground It's a first-come first-served campground and to be honest We haven't had much success with those in the past But I called yesterday and the lady on the phone said that we would have no problem getting a spot and she was right It's a great spot. Nice wide open secluded, which is what we're looking for Firing, of course, and there's also cell service, which normally we like to unplug but we have some work to do while we're here a Little bit of road noise, but hey, you can't beat this spot for 14 bucks a night. So we are very happy We are very happy campers For dinner, we're having cast-iron Rib-eye and some grilled asparagus with ranch seasoning on it. Not gonna lie this is probably our third day and third time in four days that we're having cast-iron steak over a campfire and I'm not mad about it. It looks so dang good, but don't you worry We've also got dessert if you remember from our South Dakota vlogs We made this little dessert called a hobo pie Would you make it a pie iron that you just shove into the fire and tonight? We're gonna try a different variation of it Tonight's hobo pie is our take on a bear claw that we had in pole bridge, Montana in Glacier National Park it was just this croissant II thing look like a bear claw and Inside it had like huckleberry jam and some kind of cream cheese or some kind of cheese and powdered sugar on it and it was just warm and Tasty and delicious. So we're gonna give our best shot at replicating So in our kind of attempt to make a bear claw We are putting blueberry pie filling because we're not really in a part of the US that has huckleberry So this is the best we could do and cream cheese and you'll notice a good chunk is missing And that's because we made this last night To be honest, we were like, let's let's try it out first and make sure it's vlog ready Really? We just really wanted to eat it before and we couldn't wait another day So we've buttered the one side of the bread that way it gets all nice and crispy and then we're gonna put cream cheese on This side and one thing we learned last night is we did not put enough cream cheese So it's good that we tested it out because we've learned from our mistakes So we're gonna try to put more cream cheese on each actually on each side this time. So it's nice and cheesy All right, and then you load it up With the pie filling another mistake. We made last night is we didn't put enough pie filling And some recipes call for adding we saw some recipes that were kind of like this they call for adding sugar as well We thought it doesn't need more sugar We kind of thought maybe it did but then we didn't go buy any sugar. So it is what it is Adam does this look better than last night? Yeah, that's good more Yeah, this might be an Now we wait Usually give it about four minutes Highly recommend you wait another four minutes for these to cool down or the roof of your mouth will be gone All right. I can already tell this one's gonna be a messy problem a Good problem They got a little burnt but the burnt sometimes is pretty good this pie iron like gives it a real nice like Crispy crunchy outside, which is really good because the inside stays really gooey and soft and pillowy All right mouthwatering I Didn't get a whole lot of inside but there's definitely better with more Filling we're already having issues here, though Hmm. Oh, yeah Mine is messy before I even bite into it. So this might be a big disaster. I should have worn a bib. Oh I'm hot. Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh. Oh, no Know what we should have done put it in a bowl and then get some ice cream on top of it. Oh my gosh Next time next Allah mode. We're just all a mode next time. It'll be so good. It's so hot It may look like a hot mess right now But it is so good The cream cheese kind of gives it like a like a tart creaminess but then the pie filling is just sweet and gooey and fruity and I love cream cheese and fruit combinations and Actually, I would say I like this better than the one we did last time. I think Adam disagrees, but I just like this combo But this is definitely better than the one we made yesterday and messier and I'm a hundred percent going to make a second one All right for today's big adventure in the Cumberland Gap We are hiking the sand cave in White Rocks Trail, which is about 8.3 miles round trip 2,300 feet of gain and I don't want to give too much away, but it should be pretty cool. Oh I'm really lagging behind This hike is all uphill from the beginning. We haven't really gone on a serious hike in a long time Let's just say the workouts have not been consistent either So this is tough The trail so far has been completely in the woods not much views not much to show But it's been a really nice trail and we are about to make it to the first big attraction the sand cave Cool, I've never seen anything like this. I thought it was gonna be much more flat. I didn't realize it was gonna be like a sand dune We read on the sign that this is the size of a football field Wow You would have no clue this was here. This is nuts I just can't get over how wild this is looking at pictures online. It does not look this big. This is Massive and again, it doesn't look as steep. This is really steep speechless It's super fun to climb up and down but there are rocks That'll take you by surprise just like that almost did I fell face first into the sand a second ago There are truly no words to describe how awesome that cave was Unlike anything we've ever seen and we would have never guessed that that would have been tucked back here So crazy Now on to the white rocks overlook Wow This is a view right here. Whoa Unexpected We made it back It took us about four and a half hours and that includes at least 45 minutes hanging out at the sand cave and hanging out On top of the white rocks. So we came here on a Wednesday I took the day off from work Adam did have to teach some classes online this morning So we didn't get as early of a start as we normally like to but we still did not see that many people at all So that was amazing One thing to know though, the trail is nice and wide and it's really easy to follow there's a lot of good signage But it's very rocky and rooty and I twisted my ankle more times than I can count So just beware the ground will get you a lot We are pooped, but we've got one more spot. We want to check out while we're here in the Cumberland Gap Just kidding We were on our way up to the pinnacle Overlook for sunset and as soon as you turn on the road to where it starts to get really steep and windy There's a big sign that says no vehicles over 20 feet Our van is 22, 22 and a half something like that over by 2 feet Dang van length strikes again. First glacier, which we had to rent a car and now here But that's okay. We saw beautiful views on the hike. Oh, yeah, so we'll be okay But yeah, I guess that's the end of the vlog because we had nothing else planned today to show you But we were so bummed at first to not make it to Great Smoky Mountains National Park Partially because we wanted to experience it. It was beautiful, but also because we really wanted to share that with you guys But I'm not gonna lie. This was an awesome plan B. Yeah, I'm really happy with this way less people Still great views like you said fun hikes stuff like that We're really learning that these like more low-key and more kind of not out of the way But more just off the beaten path kind of places are kind of more our jam. So we're happy with these secondary plans Yeah, so we're gonna keep digging for some of these like maybe less popular spots kind of like our Idaho South Dakota all of that West Virginia, we love sharing places that maybe you haven't thought to go to that we can show you maybe maybe you'll want to go So our original plan was to go to Kentucky next to see my grandma, but now we have a few So the original plan was to go to Kentucky next to see my grandma, but we weren't planning on filming anything We were just gonna lay low spend time with family, but we now have a couple extra days in the state So we figure we might as well enjoy it. We've never been to Kentucky except maybe right now We might be sending it. It's the furthest in Kentucky we've been. Yeah So we figure we should do some Kentucky things while we're there and we have some really fun stuff planned Very excited so you will see you guys in the bluegrass state So we've got a conundrum on our hands that we're hoping someone out there can help us solve So I'm sure most of you have heard the song wagon wheel by old crow medicine show or hoodie and in the song He says he's heading west from Cumberland Gap to Johnson City, Tennessee The confusion is Johnson City is east of the Cumberland Gap So we don't know how he gets there anyone knows anybody who wrote the song or has any inside information, please let us know below because We're just hanging on the edge here. Just we don't know what to do