Myron, Dorcas, Christy, and I arrived at the trailhead Saturday in a cloud. Visibility was only a few feet, and the wind blasted us when we got out of the car. Where were the spectacular views and fall colors? We debated what to do. Hiking across open balds to camp at almost 6000' wasn't too appealing. I had hike across Black Balsam in the fog before, and it was very disorienting.
We checked the weather radio. It indicated an 80% chance of rain, heavy at times, with high winds likely. This was quite a change from Friday night's forecast, which called for cloudy skies Saturday and a 40% chance of showers on Sunday. Foiled by the weather demons again.
What to do? We discussed the Biltmore House and the Grove Park Inn, but then we remembered what we came for. We decided to change our route. Instead of Cold Mountain, we headed for Pilot Mountain and the Deep Gap shelter. That hike is only 4 miles though, so we decided to drive to Graveyard Fields and start the hike there. That added 3 1/2 miles to the trip. Nobody wanted to hang around the shelter all day watching the rain. That change seemed like a good idea at the time, but was less appealing on Sunday's return.
We hiked from the surprisingly full parking lot into the clouds. We stopped briefly at Second Falls, which was barely visible. We then hiked the Mountains to Sea trail around Graveyard Ridge and across the shoulder of Black Balsam. We stopped for a quick lunch, which lasted all of ten minutes. The temperature was in the 40's, and it didn't take long to catch a chill.
Early that afternoon we passed the original trailhead. Is everyone warmed up yet? We hiked through an outstanding forest of Spruce and Fir. Even in such nasty conditions, it was beautiful. We then hiked down the Art Loeb trail from Silvermine Bald. We dropped out of the clouds, but rain began to fall. After a long downhill hike, we reached the A frame shelter in Deep Gap. It was a welcome sight to see the dry shelter empty. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading, relaxing, and watching the dogs play.
Saturday night was pleasant, listening to the rain fall on the roof of the shelter. After 12 hours of sleep, we finally rolled out of our sleeping bags. It wasn't easy leaving the cozy confines of the shelter, but we couldn't stay forever. The rain continued to fall, and Sunday began to look a lot like Saturday as we climbed into the clouds.
A pretty fair climb had us sweating in our gore tex by the time we reached the parkway. Here we had a decision. Do we finish the hike (another 5 miles) or bail out early? The rain was falling harder than ever, so I decided to hike down the parkway back to Graveyard Fields. Everyone else continued on the trail. We agreed to meet back at Black Balsam Road. My 3 miles of hiking on the Parkway weren't much fun, but they went fast. I retrieved the car and picked everyone else up.
As we left the parking area, the clouds began to lift. Finally, some fall color! The season appears to be at its peak above 5000'. We enjoyed the drive down 215 to Canton, as we viewed the fall colors and numerous waterfalls.
A friend of mine once said that a bad weekend hiking still beats a good weekend at home. I'm not sure if I agree with him, but then, this wasn't really a bad weekend of hiking. We didn't reach our original destination, but we were able to salvage our trip. The rain masked the views, but it was still good to be out in the woods. And boy, I really needed that 12 hours of sleep.
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