PILLAR OF DAVIDSON
Have you noticed that it
seems to rain every weekend? That’s been
wrecking havoc with my recent backpacking plans. Last week, the initial forecast for the
weekend looked awful. As the days went
on though, it began to look like there might be a window of dry weather on
Friday and Saturday. This was
convenient, as my job assignment that week finished on Thursday. By the time Thursday afternoon rolled around,
the forecast for Friday and Saturday called for mainly cloudy skies, with only
a slight chance of scattered storms.
That sounded good to me, and I hastily began packing my gear for another
last-minute trip.
With the cloudy forecast, I
decided to do a trip into the
Last week was a bad one for Saucony. She didn’t eat
all week, and she was very lethargic Thursday when I returned home from my
trip. The vet had warned us to expect
her to have days like this. Under the
circumstances, I didn’t plan for her to join me on this trip. I was surprised when she met me at the front
door Friday morning, ready to go. I was
glad to have her along, but concerned, too.
It’s hard to explain to a dog that you’re planning a 20-mile hike with
lots of climbing!
I made the drive to the Fish
Hatchery in 2 ½ hours. When I arrived, I
was greeted with sunny skies. Where were
all the clouds? Oh well, I certainly
wasn’t going to complain.
Originally I thought I would
have to begin my hike with a 2-mile hike along the main road, which was
recently paved as far as the Cove Creek Group Campground. However, ½ mile up the road, I was able to
turn off onto the original roadbed, which is gated. This route promised a dirt walking surface,
and of course no traffic. It also runs
close to the river, providing more scenery than the new “highway”.
This new “trail” was
wonderful. However, shortly after
joining it, I managed to turn my ankle.
I went down in a heap, but fortunately my injuries were limited to a
slightly sore ankle and a skinned knee. I
looked around for the ankle-wrenching culprit, but saw nothing but smooth
gravel. As much walking as I do, you’d
think I would be better at it.
I dusted myself off and
resumed the hike. After about a mile, I
rejoined the main road for a short distance, before reaching a parking area and
the road leading into the Cove Creek Group Campground. I headed that way, passing the first blooming
Rhododendron I’ve seen this year. On the
way to the campground, I stopped to check out a nice sliding cascade on Cove
Creek. Unfortunately, the bright sun
overhead ruined any chance I had of making a decent photograph.
A few minutes later, I
picked up the blue-blazed Caney Bottom Trail and began skirting around the
campground. Then I passed a junction
with a major trail not shown on the Trails Illustrated Map. This path leads up to the forest road that
runs past
I followed the trail to a
junction, and went left onto the yellow-blazed Cove Creek Trail. I followed this up a ridge, until I could
hear the sound of the waterfall crashing below me. Before long, I reached a prominent but
unmarked trail heading down towards the creek.
I followed it, and made an easy descent to the base of the falls.
I crossed the creek, and
picked up a fairly primitive path heading downstream. A couple minutes later, I joined the
blue-blazed Caney Bottom Trail. I
followed this path back across the creek, and eventually returned to the
intersection with the Cove Creek Trail I had passed earlier. A few minutes later I turned off, onto the
unnamed trail leading over to
An easy climb brought me to
a gravel road, and a decision. A right
turn here leads to the upper end of the Daniel Ridge Loop Trail. A left would take me to
I turned left and headed
down, reaching the falls a few minutes later.
At the falls, I ran into a
solo hiker and her dog. Saucony was excited to see a friend along the trail. For me, it would be the only person I would
see all day.
From the falls, I continued
down the road to the Daniel Ridge Loop Trail.
This trail climbs steeply up the hillside close to
I turned to follow the Right
Fork upstream. Moments later, I reached
the remains of an old stone bridge spanning the fork. The old road used to cross the Right Fork
here before continuing upstream along the river. You can still go that way, but there isn’t
much left of the bridge. Hiking farther
upstream on the
My route went up the Right
Fork though. I headed that way, passing
a small waterfall before reaching a crossing of the Right Fork. After an easy rock-hop, I began climbing away
from the creek on switchbacks.
Incidentally, it’s worth noting that this crossing is farther downstream
than the Trails Illustrated Map shows.
Shortly after leaving the
creek, I reached the turn for the route up to the waterfall on Right Fork. I’d never been to that one, and was tempted
to check it out. However, the description
in Kevin Adams’ guide makes it sound pretty rough. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to try it
solo, with a big pack on. After scouting
the route briefly, I decided to save it for another day.
The climb resumed, but it
didn’t last long. Soon I began a long,
gentle traverse around a ridge. Eventually I worked my way down to cross Daniel
Ridge Creek. Another traverse around a
ridge ensued, before another descent to Shuck Creek. I met the creek right at the brink of
Getting to the base of the
falls was a little tricky. It required downclimbing a slippery, wet rock. My efforts resulted in a wet pair of pants,
but at least I made it down safely. The
effort was worth it.
The falls were mostly in the
shade, so I was finally able to make an acceptable photograph. After relaxing and having a snack, it was
time to tackle the hardest part of the hike.
We returned to the trail and
immediately began to climb. Before long,
we found ourselves back above the
I finally reached the
junction with the Art Loeb Trail at Farlow Gap. At this point, I knew I was nearly finished
for the day. From Farlow
Gap, the Art Loeb Trail climbs over Sassafras Knob before descending to Deep
Gap. An old road skirts around the knob,
providing an easier route. Despite this,
I decided to take the trail. I guess I
was tired of walking on old roadbeds.
It was a great
decision. The Art Loeb Trail was lined
with tunnels of blooming pink and white Azaleas. This stretch of trail may have been the
prettiest of the whole hike. The Azaleas
were delightful, and they made up for a surprising lack of wildflowers earlier
in the hike. At the lower elevations,
most of the wildflowers were long gone.
Up here though, above 4000’, the woods were alive with flowers. Aside from the Azaleas, I spotted a few Painted Trillium and some Red Trillium, along with
some other species I couldn’t identify.
I enjoyed a few limited
views from Sassafras Knob before descending into Deep Gap. Just before the gap, I reached an old A-Frame
shelter. With the blue sky above, I
briefly considered hiking on and finding a place to pitch my tent. I knew that water sources would be hard to
come by farther down the Art Loeb Trail though.
Since there wasn’t anyone there, I decided to stay at the shelter. It ended up being the best decision I made
all weekend.
The spring near the shelter
was only a trickle, so I followed the creek downstream to another old
road. Here the little stream runs
through a culvert. It pours out of the
culvert on the far side, making for a convenient place to fill a water
bucket. I hauled the water back to camp,
where I treated some of it with iodine.
I recently ordered a new water filter from REI, but it’s on
backorder. My old filter is hopelessly
clogged, so I’m relying on chemicals until the new one arrives.
That evening, I had soup and
chicken Quesadillas for dinner. While I
was eating, I noticed that it looked like Saucony was
winking at me. What was up with
that? I investigated, and noticed that
her left eye was badly swollen.
Apparently she had been bitten or stung by something. I gave her a Benadryl, but it wasn’t until
the next day (and another Benadryl) before her eye returned to normal.
After dinner, I dozed off in my camp chair. Sometime later, a bright flash woke me. What was that? Is somebody taking pictures? Then another flash came, followed by a
distant rumble of thunder. Uh-oh. I roused
myself, and scrambled to clean up my gear.
I hung the rest of my food and trash, and stashed everything else into
the shelter. By the time I finished my
chores, the storm was approaching fast.
At least, I was pretty sure it was a storm. Rather than occasional bolts of lightning,
the sky to the west was lit with dazzling brightness two or three times per
second. The echoing thunder sounded
almost like explosions. Was it a storm,
or was eastern
The fury of the impending
storm was too impressive to disregard. I
helped Saucony up into the shelter, and then walked
around the side of it to watch the fireworks.
It was moving fast – minutes earlier, I would’ve guessed it was in the Smokies. Now though,
it was bearing down on me. The bright
flashes continued – in fact, it would’ve been easy to read a book without a
flashlight, if concentration had been possible.
Moments later, I could hear the first rain drops hitting the leaves
above me. I dove into the shelter, and
moved all of my gear away from the entrance.
A minute later, it was like I was looking out from behind a
waterfall. The bright flashes and
deafening thunder continued. Luckily, Saucony isn’t scared of thunderstorms.
The storm brought a chill,
and I snuggled into my sleeping bag.
Despite the violence of the storm, I dozed off. I woke later, and the stars were out. I have no idea how long the storm went
on. For all I know, it was over in
minutes.
The next morning, I feasted
on eggs, bacon, and toast before breaking camp.
The best part about staying in shelter is that it makes getting on the
trail early a lot easier. Well, actually
the best part of staying in a shelter is not having to
pack up a wet tent.
We hit the trail, and
descended to Deep Gap proper, were we found another spring. From there, we tackled the toughest climb of the
day. Fortunately, most of the ascent of
From there, I endured an
endless descent. Most of this stretch of
trail is on switchbacks. However, parts
of it are badly eroded, and some stretches are nothing more than a gully. I was glad it wasn’t raining. I’d descended this stretch of trail last
summer during a thunderstorm, and at times the water was knee deep!
There was some nice scenery
to break up the monotony. A cliff
provided a nice view to the south. More
azaleas lined the trail, and later, near Gloucester Gap, I spotted the first
Flame Azaleas of the season.
At Gloucester Gap, I crossed
a dirt forest road, and began to climb.
From there, I followed an undulating stretch of trail over a series of
knobs. Although this ridge is viewless,
it’s a pleasant walk.
I was getting close to
Butter Gap when the silence was interrupted by a series of shouts. What was going on? I hadn’t seen anyone in almost 24 hours, and
the noise was startling. I crested a
rise, and encountered a large group on the trail, playing some sort of
game. I’m not certain, but it looked
like an Outward Bound Group. I passed
them by, and headed on down to Butter Gap.
There I saw a couple of mountain bikers.
Clearly the solitude I’d experienced throughout the trip was ending.
From Butter Gap, I descended
briefly to the shelter, where I collected water and had a quick lunch. Afterwards, I returned to the gap, and began
descending along Grogan Creek. This
trail was easy, but quite muddy in spots.
Some time later, I passed the waterfall on Grogan Creek. I paused briefly to check it out, but didn’t
spend much time on photos. The fog was
long gone, and once again, bright sunshine was illuminating the falls.
Later, another mountain
biker passed by. Then, I spotted a large
Black Rat Snake crossing the trail. It
seems like every time I hike in this area, I see snakes. Last summer, I encountered two Timber
Rattlesnakes nearby, on the Art Loeb Trail.
One of them was the biggest rattlesnake I’d ever seen. I’m not exaggerating much when I say that it
was as thick as a fire hose.
The gradual descent
continued to Pickleisemer Fields. There I found some nice meadows and beaver
ponds. Pickleismer
Fields is one of the nicest places to camp in the area. From there I continued downstream, now
following Cedar Rock Creek. Before long,
I reached the side trail down to the falls on Cedar Rock Creek. Even though I knew that photography would be
hopeless, I couldn’t resist checking it out.
Both the waterfalls on Grogan Creek and Cedar Rock Creek are nice, if
not exactly spectacular. I think both
could make good photos under better conditions.
From there, a short walk
around a fenced-off research area delivered me to the fish hatchery parking
lot. The lot was crowded! Where did all these people come from? Having covered 20 miles in two days, I was
ready to give up my parking space. I
headed for home, glad to have gotten another good training trip in. I’ll definitely return to the area. I’d like to check out some more of the
waterfalls in the
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