On Friday, May 9th, 2014, Tony Branam, Jason James, Justin Rueckert and I ran the Ridge Trail in the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. We started in Ewing, VA and followed the ridge trail to the pinnacle and then down to Iron Furnace in Cumberland Gap, TN. The whole trip was about 20 miles with 4,062 ft of elevation gain. We started at 7 am and finished around 11:20 am.
It was definitely one of the most beautiful trail runs that I have done. I really enjoyed it. The views make up for the challenging terrain. It follows the top of the mountain ridge the entire way. We used Hensley Settlement as our aid station to refill our packs and water bottles. At Hensley, there is a spigot with clean water.
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Once you get past the initial climb, the rest of the run is not bad. There was a lot of ups and downs, but a very run-able course. Below is the map and elevation profile.
This is actually the first 20 miles of the Cumberland Gap Ridge Trail Marathon and then it continues on into the hills behind LMU and ends in Cumberland Gap, VA. I love this trail and I recommend it for anyone wanting a beautiful, challenging and rewarding long run.
