Hiking to the River Styx

The Road to Hell was Closed! ALL AT MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK.

There is a river that is the boundary between heaven and hell. (This is according to Greek mythology.) The Styx River is one of five, but it is the main one. Charon, the ferryman, controls who can cross over. The passage requires a payment … a coin in the mouth, or on the eyes. Otherwise, Charon would leave your soul would stay on the shore and drift for a century.

Now, to drift on the shores of a riverbank for 100 years doesn’t seem too bad. But I’m not Greek, who knows what ghoulishness takes place.

A little setting …

On my return from Texas back to the east coast, I took a little side adventure to the National Park in Kentucky – Mammoth Cave – the world’s longest known cave system. A couple hours north of Nashville, nestled in foothills in Kentucky, this National Park dates back to the 1940s as a NP. It has drawings and artifacts that date it back much further – much much further into the past.

The park is more than caverns, it also has a series of trails throughout the woods surrounding it. And is a home to one of the largest caves of bats in North America.

Upon arrival at 11pm, the place was dark. The lobby was closed, nobody was in sight, and I had get my cabin key from the drop box. To get to the key-box, I got caught in a traffic jam. Not a normal jam, but the car was surrounded by about eight deer. Peaceful, calm, curious mammals just barely getting out of the way of my Subaru.

BEST TRAFFIC JAM EVER!

I arrived at the historic cabins – dating back to early days of the park. Updated for air-conditioning (thankfully) and still quite quaint.

The only negative was a critter that I kept hearing under the cabin. Scratch, pawing, clawing. I am only happy the noise never came into the cabin.

The next morning, I had breakfast at the Lodge, walked some of the trails, shopped the park store, and just appreciated the setting.

LESSON – we not only find our way to the mess up,
we also help others mess up!

So back to the Styx. I took the main heritage trail, saw a century old cemetery, more docile dear, and the entrance to the Styx River trail. However, the Styx River was closed. As a pastor, I snickered. I mean, if the way to the underworld was closed to all – my job would be over.

I mean, what would Hades do if he couldn’t get people passed the Styx. But he is sly. To the left of the “Closed” sign was a side trail leading to the Styx. The trail is called the Styx River trial for the river flows into a cave entrance feeding the underworld river.

The first lesson – we may appear to be blocked from messing up and it may seem our roads to the underworld may be closed off – but way too often we find a way to blow it. This metaphorical example shows we are broken.

And a secondary lesson – as I left the Styx River trail and got back to the main trail, I saw a hiker reading the “closed’ sign. So I pointed out to the hiker the side trail and how they too could get to the Styx. Lesson – we not only find our way to the mess up, we also help others mess up.

((NOTE – getting to the Styx River here at the Mammoth Cave Park wasn’t a messup but I am using this as a metaphor of messing up in life and headed down, not on glorifying the One above – – that we find a way to get around roadblocks that are there for our safety))

Overall, the trails in the NP were easy. More rolling hills and less mountains. The paths were well marked and maintained. The trail map was easy to read, and there was plenty of space to pass by those going the opposite direction.

I enjoyed the time spent outside but it was far from deep woods. The cave itself was impressive. Unfortunately you had to get a guided tour to see the more interesting sections, and they cost and were limited in availability. Taking the Discovery tour was free (for NP Week) so I did get to see the Mammoth cavern.

Personal note: I liked Carlsbad better. More trails to hike, larger variety of sites to see, and a more impressive entry area to traverse.

Overall – a B+. Great for family, easy hikes, and historic. Lots of deers (and squirrels), good visitor facilities, decent food, wonderful Park employees and volunteers.

And a great place for a sunset view … with benches and all.