Lockegee

This Monday, I had one of the coolest experiences of my life.

First off, the NCAA requires that each sport takes one day off per week, and every week Monday's are the one day that we don't have soccer practice or games. So, they're also the perfect day to go on adventures.

Seeing as this Monday was also Labor Day and we didn't have classes, an adventure was practically required. Plus, after a bit of rain in the morning, around 1:30 or so, the sky cleared up and the weather was gorgeous.

So, my roommate Ashley and I decided to get ready and go to the best place for a quick but cool hike in Morehead, Kentucky: Lockegee Rock. Unfortunately, just as we were leaving the dorms, the sky darkened and it looked like it was going to storm.

Lockegee is about a 20 minute drive from MSU's campus though, so I decided that we should still try to go, so we got in my little Rav and started driving... Then the rain hit, and it hit hard.

Suddenly, we were getting pounded. I could barely, and my car felt like it was about to blow away in the wind... I was going maybe 20mph where the speed limit was 45. Most people would probably have been smart and turned around at this point, but I was convinced we were going to get there and the rain would stop.

So we kept driving and eventually reached the one lane gravel road that leads to the start of the trail. At this point it actually did stop raining, and when we reached the trailhead I parked the car, and we got out and started hiking.

Then we heard thunder, and then the thunder got closer... so we finally gave up and turned around.

As you can see, we weren't particularly happy about this fact, but we also didn't want to die. But then we got halfway back to campus when the clouds started parting and the sky started looking blue and totally non-menacing.... so we turned back around and drove back up Lockegee and FINALLY started hiking for real.

Since the trail is so close to campus, the path is fairly easy to follow as you hike through the Daniel Boone National Forest. The hike to Lockegee isn't too challenging for the most part, although you do have to climb up this semi-large rock formation to see the view.

Luckily, thanks to some conveniently shaped rocks and tree roots in the perfect places, as long as you're not too afraid of heights, the climb is easy. I wouldn't recommend it for young children, but I've made this climb in the dark before and promise it's not as hard as it looks.

Plus, once you get to the top, the view is totally worth it... 

Lockegee is almost always gorgeous, but this Monday just after the rain stopped was especially amazing because of all of the steam rising off of the mountains/hills (I never know exactly what to call them). I'm extremely glad we didn't give up on our adventure and made it in time to see the steam.

So... If you're in the mood to enjoy the outdoors and you're near Morehead, KY, I fully recommend climbing Lockegee at least once.

Directions to Lockegee Rock available on google maps. Link here.