Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap is a mountain pass between Virginia and Kentucky, a small town in Tennessee, and a national historical park with land in all three states.  The triple point among these states is on a mountain west of the town.  Earlier today, I made a side trip to the area.  From a parking lot, which according to GoogleMaps is in both Tennessee and Virginia, I hiked the short distance to a nearby iron furnace, which is in Virginia.

In this shot from another angle, the wooden walkway is toward the right, and leads into the furnace's front opening.

After hiking, mostly uphill, for 6/10 of a mile, I arrived at the actual Cumberland Gap, indicated by this sign.  I believe that it is a little bit on the Kentucky side of the state line.  As the sign indicates, I'm merely one of the latest people to pass this way.  Before we people came through, the buffalo had already been here.

Had I continued further into Kentucky, I would have kept going westward on the Wilderness Road Trail.

Near the sign, the Tri-State Trail branches off from the Wilderness Road Trail.  It leads to the aforementioned triple point.  I continued on the Tri-State Trail only as far as this marker for the Daniel Boone Trail, about 30 feet from the Cumberland Gap sign.

I don't know if the Daniel Boone and Tri-State Trails coincide or further branch from each other.  After taking this last picture, I retreated down to the parking lot.  Before I started the drive back to Gatlinburg, I noticed that just west of the parking lot is a railroad track, which goes into this tunnel.

The end of the tunnel seen here is in Virginia, with the far end being in Kentucky.