HOMEWARD BOUND

I’ve hiked all of the Art Loeb Trail in bits and pieces over the years, but I’d never hiked the whole thing in one trip. I decided to finally do that over the first weekend of June. I decided to do it in 3 ½ days so that I could spend each night at a great campsite. I planned to camp on Cold Mountain, Silvermine Bald, and Cedar Rock. Technically neither Cold Mountain nor Cedar Rock are on the Art Loeb Trail, but I wasn't passing so close to either without camping there.

I decided to start at the north end and hike south mostly because the campsites worked out better that way. Also, I live 20 minutes from the south trailhead. I’ve never finished a backpacking trip so close to where I live. It would be like walking home.

My packing strategy was a little unusual. The smart approach is to keep your pack as light as possible, as the Art Loeb is a tough trail with a lot of steep ups and downs. To be accurate, the vast majority of the trail is either a steep climb or descent, and a lot of it has bad footing due to erosion and poor trail design. However, part of my motivation for this trip was to train for a 12-13 day backpacking trip in Wyoming in July. I intentionally carried some extra weight on this hike to get used to it. I regretted that decision on occasion.

Christy and I spent the first part of the week in Charleston, visiting friends and attending Phish concerts Tuesday and Wednesday nights. My plan was to start my trip Thursday afternoon. That was a bit ambitious since we were going to a Phish concert in Charleston the night before. And then that night at the concert, I was pretty sure I’d picked up Covid from Nipples.

I know what you’re thinking – that isn’t how you get Covid. Allow me to explain. “Nipples” was an overly-friendly guy that was sitting next to me. I’m not sure if that was his real name or a nickname or a trail name. Anything is possible. All I know is that he spit a lot when he talked. And he talked a lot. So I was pretty sure that I would come down with Covid halfway through the trail.

We left early Thursday morning, arriving home early that afternoon. I finished packing and met my good friend Brenda at the southern trailhead in Pisgah Forest. She had generously offered to shuttle me over to the starting point at the boy scout camp. We arrived there around 3:45. I didn't know it at the time, but my friends Jack and Scott had just finished hiking Cold Mountain and headed out shortly before we arrived. They had hoped to run into me on their way down.

The road and parking area at the boy scout camp was washed out in the floods in the Summer of 2021. It had been partially repaired, but another flood a week earlier had damaged the parking area again. There is a new, temporary parking area just before the boy scout camp, but we didn’t have to worry about it since Brenda was dropping me off.

Starting the trail on a hot, humid afternoon after a late night at a concert and a long drive was pretty ambitious, but I felt pretty good. I made pretty good time up to Deep Gap, passing only 3 people early on. Most of the trail was in good shape, but there is a huge washout at one small stream crossing. Getting across requires a steep, slippery climb on a mud slope. Up at Deep Gap I started to see Catawba Rhododendron and mountain laurel in bloom. That would be a theme throughout the first half of the hike.

The final climb to Cold Mountain was as tough as I remembered. The pipe spring just before the top of the ridge was flowing strong thanks to recent heavy rains. In fact, there are now two separate springs with pipes. I filled up at the first and made the final climb to the top of the ridge. I headed up past several campsites, stopping at what I thought was the last one. Actually, there is one more, but it isn’t very nice. So I took the last good spot. There wasn’t anyone else on the mountain that night. In fact, I had all three campsites to myself during my trip.

I arrived at 8:15. I pitched the tarp, hung my hammock, and hurried to the summit for “sunset”. It had rained earlier in the day, and the clouds were still hanging around. There wasn’t much of a sunset, but the view was still nice. The final stretch of trail to the top is a bit overgrown, and the brush was soaking wet. I hiked up there in shorts and a t-shirt, so I too was soaking wet. That was a mistake, as it was actually pretty chilly that night up at 6,000’. I heated up a homemade dehydrated meal (goulash) for dinner, which warmed me a bit. I went to bed afterwards, but I still had trouble getting warm. I eventually warmed up enough to sleep.

THE FOG THAT SURROUNDS

I woke early the next morning. The sky was gray all around me, which didn’t bode well for sunrise. I decided to get up and take breakfast to the summit anyway. I learned from my mistake the previous day and wore my rain jacket and pants. That kept me from getting soaked by the wet vegetation again. The view from the top was nice the previous evening. This morning, it blew me away. I gazed out over a sea of fog swimming through the valleys below. I watched as waves of fog crested the cliffs of The Narrows a thousand feet below. It changed constantly – every time I looked up, the view was different. Needless to say, it was a struggle to boil water for coffee and oatmeal. I took a lot of photos – I probably took more photos in the hour I was up there than over the entire rest of the trip combined.

At one point a wall of clouds approached, and I thought the show was over. Actually, it was just getting good. The fog subsided, and some blue sky appeared. It wouldn’t last long though. In fact, I spent the rest of the day hiking in the clouds.

I eventually pulled myself away from the summit and headed back down to camp. Too soon maybe, but I had a long day ahead of me. I packed up slowly, as I was out of practice and the tarp is always a struggle. Then I made the 10 minute walk back down to the pipe spring for water. I decided that it would be better to get that first, rather than stopping on my way. Unfortunately, I have to unload most of my pack to get water back in it. I’d rather walk an extra 15 minutes and carry a couple of quarts of water uphill than go through that whole process twice.

I struggled back down to Deep Gap and then up to the Narrows. I had made good time on Thursday, but I was sore on Friday, and there was a lot of bad footing to contend with. The view from The Narrows was mostly fogged in, but the flower show was spectacular. The area around the northern cliffs had blooming Catawba Rhododendron, mountain laurel, and flame azalea. It’s pretty amazing to see all three in the same place.

Two guys passed by while I was taking a break there. They had started that morning from the boy scout camp, and they were moving faster than me. I didn’t see them again.

After The Narrows the trail improved, but it started a steady, occasionally steep climb to Stairs Mountain. The rain started during this climb, too. This was a great opportunity to test out my new Lightheart rain jacket, which is waterproof but not breathable. It did great, even though I was hiking uphill with a big pack on a humid day. The pit zips are fantastic, and opening them kept me from overheating. My old waterproof breathable rain pants didn’t do nearly as well, as they soaked through quickly. I may need to replace them before Wyoming.

It rained off and on before finally stopping shortly before I reached Shining Rock. I stopped at a spring on the north side of Shining Rock Gap before continuing on. Everything was fogged in, so I skipped the side trip up to the summit.

I hiked over Flower Knob and around the shoulder of Grassy Cove Top. The flower show continued here, with lots of blooming rhododendron and mountain laurel. The original trail over the summit of Grassy Cove Top is closed due to erosion. The replacement trail around the east side is now just as eroded as the original trail. So much for that improvement.

I seriously considered stopping at Ivestor Gap and camping there. If I did that, I would be behind schedule, but I would get to hike the grassy balds of Tennant Mountain and Black Balsam in (presumably) better weather on Saturday. On the other hand, if the weather was nice, those peaks would be swarming with people on Saturday morning. I probably wouldn’t make it to Cedar Rock to camp Saturday night, either. Plus, I’ve hiked those balds in nice weather many times. I decided to press on.

It was damp, windy, and cold up top, but several people were camping up there anyway. That didn’t look appealing to me, and it wasn’t much of an option with a hammock due to the lack of trees. I did consider camping in the woods on the south side of Black Balsam so I could hike back up for sunrise. That area is too close to a busy road for my liking though. I decided to stick with my original plan.

I enjoyed some rare easy hiking over Silvermine Bald. I found a nice, lightly used campsite in a fir forest just before reaching the junction with the Mountains to Sea Trail. The campsite is 2 minutes away from a cliff with a great view south in better weather. After setting up camp, I walked to the cliff and continued down the MST to a campsite in a minor gap. From there, I followed a faint path downhill into the headwaters of an unnamed tributary of Flat Laurel Creek. There were lots of pools of water here, which provided a great water source. These pools might not have water in drier conditions, but I’m sure it’s possible to find water farther downstream, if necessary.

I returned to camp shortly before dusk once again. It was even colder Friday night, with strong yet damp winds. Chili was the ideal meal, but once again I had trouble warming up in the hammock. Eventually I dozed off wearing a hat and most of my dry clothes.

WALK ON

I started the “boring part” of the Art Loeb Trail on Saturday morning. I say that sarcastically, because many Art Loeb Trail thru-hikers think that. My day started with breakfast on a cliff on Silvermine with a great view south to Pilot Mountain. Lunch was on the summit of Pilot Mountain, with more great views. My favorite view from Pilot Mountain though is from another cliff on the south side, far below the summit. That vista extends from the southwest to the southeast, and it includes the cliffs of Cedar Rock. Somehow, many hikers seem to miss that spot. Oh, and I finished my day camping on the summit of Cedar Rock. Various cliffs on that mountain feature views to the south, west, and north. So maybe it wasn’t that boring?

Saturday was warm and sunny, with lots of friendly clouds to enhance my photos. It’s incredible how much the weather can change up there overnight.

The actual hike wasn’t boring, either. First, there was a steep descent from Silvermine Bald to the Parkway. There is some bad footing, but this section wasn’t as bad as I remembered. There are a lot of tight little switchbacks, which help ease the grade. Once across the Parkway, I enjoyed a beautiful stretch of forested trail over Sassafras Knob and down to the second Deep Gap of the trip. There is an old shelter just before Deep Gap, and I stopped there for more water. This was a busy place, and I encountered a couple of other groups there. Almost everyone hiking the trail stops there for water because it is the only reliable source along the trail for miles in either direction.

After Deep Gap, I tackled a steep climb up to Pilot Mountain. Pilot Mountain used to have views to the east and west, but the eastern view is now overgrown. The western view is still very nice, but it is starting to get overgrown, too. I had lunch there, and incredibly had the entire place to myself.

The hike down the south side of Pilot Mountain was steep and tedious, with lots of bad footing. I was ready for a break when I reached the cliffs on the south ridge. At first it appears that the view is obscured by trees, but the view improves as you explore farther out on the cliffs. Two people passed by while I was out there enjoying the view, but neither stopped to check it out.

I made better time after that break, as the trail improved considerably. I descended to Glouchester Gap. Just beyond, I found a cooler full of water jugs that a Trail Angel had left for weary hikers. I still had plenty, so I continued on. Pleasant, quiet hiking took me over a couple of wooded peaks and down to Butter Gap. Butter Gap is another busy place with a shelter and spring. It was early evening, but I had a more exciting campsite in mind. I hiked a bit farther, but stopped at a small stream. I figured that that this was my last convenient water source, so I loaded up all of the water I’d need for the evening and the next morning. My pack was probably at its heaviest leaving that stream – just in time for the steep climb up to Cedar Rock.

I took the faint climbers trail up Cedar Rock’s south ridge. There are a few nice views along here, but the best are farther on. I was delighted to find the summit deserted, and quickly set up camp. I was getting faster at setting up and breaking camp with a little practice.

I spent the evening out on the western cliffs, and had dinner out there with sunset. During dinner I heard the horrific sound of a whippoorwill, which was alarming. Fortunately it was off in the distance, and it didn’t visit me that night. It was much warmer Saturday evening, and I got a great night’s sleep.

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER

I got up early the next morning, had breakfast on the western cliffs, and broke camp. Before I left I decided to make another attempt at reaching the cliffs on the north side of Cedar Rock. I headed straight towards them, which is the wrong approach. After some nasty bushwhacking, I stumbled upon a climber’s path. I followed it out to the cliffs, which feature a great view of Looking Glass Rock and the peaks above the Blue Ridge Parkway. I also found patch of St. Johns Wort blooming on one of the cliffs, which was a pleasant surprise.

I followed the climber’s path on my return, which led me back to the western cliffs. That is by far the best route out to the northern cliffs, as it avoids all of the bushwhacking. I returned to the campsite, where I left my pack. A couple had just arrived there, and they were delighted to find out that I was leaving. I was happy to relinquish a great campsite to them.

I resisted the temptation to take a shortcut and descend the east ridge. I returned to the Art Loeb Trail on the southern ridge. A few minutes after rejoining the trail I stopped at Kuykendall Creek and filtered water one last time. Then I cranked up the pace and headed for home. I had a lunch date planned with my wife, time and destination TBD.

I couldn’t remember how far it was from the south side of Cedar Rock. It turns out that it was farther than I thought. Despite the aggressive pace, it seemed to take forever. It was a hot, muggy day, and I was ready to wrap it up. I finally began the final descent to the Davidson River. This stretch of trail appears to have been recently rerouted. As I descended, the noises of civilization began to intrude – screaming children, bad music, a blaring car alarm. Wait, maybe the bad music was a car alarm? Who knows?

The parking lot was packed when I reached the car. I thought about selling off my parking spot, but I was ready to get out of there. I met Christy at Oskar Blues at 2pm, which was a little late for lunch, but a lot better than peanut butter and jelly on pita bread. Oskar Blues was the start / finish for a bike race that day, so the place was packed. In fact, I had to drive through the finish line to get to the parking lot. That was a little disorienting after 3 ½ days in the wilderness, but a burger and fries and a cold beer made up for it.

It was a great solo trip, and the ideal way to get in shape for my Wyoming trip in July. I might do it all again someday, but more than likely I’ll keep hitting the various highlights on dayhikes and overnight trips.