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Alumni Hands On e-Newsletter The Last Frontier
Alumni Hands On e-Newsletter The Last Frontier
The Last Frontier |
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by Laura Kuczera, ’05 I have entered this world many times. One morning I ventured in with two members of the Cave Research Foundation (CRF). We climbed deep into Gap Cave, until we came to the end of the map. I took a step, knowing that only one or two others have ever before stood exactly where I stood. That day, maps were being written, and they still are. The rangers of Cumberland Gap NHP will take you and a very small group on a hike up Wilderness Road, and paint for you a picture of what the pioneers faced as they crossed the Gap to the west. These rangers are some of the most knowledgeable and passionate that you will ever meet, perhaps in part because so many of them are descendants of the original settlers. Soon you’ll arrive at the entrance to Gap Cave, and if it’s summer, the cool air that drifts out of the cave will be a pleasant surprise. And more surprises wait within the cave. Keep your eyes up and perhaps spot an endangered Indiana bat. Keep your eyes down and avoid a close encounter with the vividly orange and black cave salamander. Keep your eyes everywhere in between and marvel at the living cave formations: bacon, cave coral, columns, stalactites and stalagmites, rimstone, shields, soda straws. In addition to the biology and geology of the cave system, learn about how the human relationship with Gap Cave has changed throughout history, and even see some proof! If you’re up to the challenge, take the 4 ½ (or so) mile hike up to Sand Cave and cool off under the mini waterfall. Warning: It is quite probable that you and your party will find this area vacant of all other human life. Or take the Lewis Hollow Trail for a self-guided exploration of Skylight Cave. And still there are so many more small wonders! While other natural destinations may bolster bigger is better, they pale in comparison to the certain intimacy, integrity, and element of adventure that characterizes Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and its caves.
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(3)
been there, loved it
written by pizzagirl , April 07, 2007
I must agree with you on how passionate the rangers are. Every word they spoke was filled with passion. The sand cave was beautiful and fun to run toes through... oh and the breeze from the cave was a very very pleasant surprise haha!
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Read again
written by Laura , March 23, 2007
Clearly, this piece’s focus was on how Cumberland Gap NHP offers more of a connection to our pasts and to our natural world than is typically available at most larger scale, commercialized and very frequented operations. It is quite obvious here that the visitor’s experience, rather than historical summary, is what’s being highlighted and described.
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well...
written by Teeny , March 23, 2007
You must consider that Native Americans inhabited the Americas anywhere from 7-20,000 years ago. Many of them used the caves for the same reasons we use caves today: secret hiding places, exploring and curing meat and fruits. Sorry to burst you bubble, but you must think more historically, not only in European discovers. I think we tend to do that too much when looking back on history.
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Exciting tales of frontiersmen and pioneers are frequently told and
retold, offering glimpses into a world that we have never seen and can
never really understand. These stories come from a world lost, where
the natural world was primitive and untamed, where maps were being
written, and where it could take an entire day to journey just 6
miles. It seems that there is no piece of our world that has not been
touched by a human hand, or seen with our eyes. Pioneering now lies
within realms we have already discovered. Or does it?
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