Documenting Leap Frog Pillar Arch 2 in Kentucky
Leap Frog 2 Arch, Kentucky.
Everyone knows that Utah has a large number of arches. Many probably even know that it has the highest concentration of natural arches in the United States. What far fewer realize, however, is that Kentucky has the second-highest concentration of natural arches in the U.S.
One could spend an entire lifetime hunting the Bluegrass State's arches and still have work left to do (in fact, many have done this)! With this in mind, it's no wonder that there are plenty of arches in the state that have never been properly documented. One such arch is Leap Frog Pillar Arch 2.
The Arch
Leap Frog Pillar Arch 2, as the name suggests, is a pillar-type arch. Located near the Camp Wildcat Battlefield Site within the Daniel Boone National Forest, it was first documented by Randall Miller.
Unfortunately, the arch sits about 15 - 20 feet on the side of a vertical cliff. This made it impossible for Randall to properly document the arch. This is where my trip comes into play.
Documenting the Arch
Back in November of 2020, my friend Bill Fultz invited me on a trip to photograph some of Kentucky's amazing arches - something we've done together many times before. One of the first stops of the day was to check out Leap Frog Pillar Arch 2 (at the time referred to as either Leap Frog 2 Arch or Leap Frog Double Arch, depending who you asked).
Upon arriving at the base of the arch, we found that it was indeed somewhere around 20 feet off the ground. Initially, we assumed that we would be unable to get a proper photo of this arch.
At this time, however, I was still a volunteer rescue member for Wolfe County Search and Rescue. The reason this is relevant is that I realized I had all of my rope rescue gear in the back of my car. This sparked an idea!
I decided that I could likely throw a climbing rope through the opening of the arch, anchoring one end to a nearby tree. I could then slap on my harness and ascend into the arch. This plan ended up working out beautifully!
Ascending into the arch.
Once I made it up into the arch, I realized that there was actually an entire little arch complex in the deep rock shelter that the arch sat in. Here are some cell phone shots that I was able to get at the time:
Unfortunately, it was challenging to try to get decent photos that convey just how cool this area is. I also took this admittedly shaky video trying to show the inside of this arch.
Perhaps one of these days, I'll have to make the long drive from Colorado to Kentucky to give documenting this little arch complex another go!
