A NIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD
Last March, Joel and I
backpacked to Graveyard Fields in hopes of having the place to ourselves. In the warmer months, Graveyard Fields is a
zoo of campers, dayhikers, and tourists.
By going in the winter, we thought it would be like visiting Disneyland
when it was closed, but still getting to enjoy all the rides. My plans were thwarted though, because the
Blue Ridge Parkway reopened for the spring on the same day as our trip. Since Graveyard Fields is within sight and
sound of the road, we had to alter our plans.
Last weekend, Myron and Dorcas joined me as I made another attempt at
camping in one of the prettiest meadows in the southern Appalachians.
Thursday’s snowstorm
guaranteed that the Parkway would be closed, but we still had some challenges
to overcome. Our plan was to access the
area from highway 215. Unfortunately,
that road was badly damaged during the fall hurricanes. At last check, the road was closed north of
the Parkway. Our trailhead is a ½ mile
north of the Parkway, so we weren’t sure if we’d be able to reach the official
trailhead. We decided that we’d
improvise a parking spot and walk the road if we had to.
I met Myron and Dorcas at
the WalMart outside of Brevard. We rode
together from there, and were relieved to find highway 215 free of snow. In fact, even the highest elevations
appeared to be largely free of snow. We
made it to the Parkway, and found the road open at least as far as our
trailhead. We parked, and noted some
traffic on the road, leading me to believe that highway 215 has reopened.
It was a cool and breezy
morning, but the sparkling blue sky promised great views once we reached the
meadows near Big Sam Mountain and Black Balsam Knob. From the large parking area, we headed down highway 215 past the
Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which would be our return route. We continued another 1/3 mile to a dirt road
on the right, which indicated the beginning of the Big Sam / Flat Laurel Creek
Trail. At the trailhead, we passed 2
guys car camping. They were loading
backpacks, so we figured we might seem them again on the trail.
The first challenge of the
hike waited within sight of the road.
We arrived at a creek crossing, which I knew would be difficult if the
water was up. The creek is partially blocked
with rocks and logs at the crossing, and the water upstream from the dam was
frozen. This seemed hazardous, but it
actually made the crossing easier. The
ice was thin, but by stepping only where it was supported by rock, we were able
to cross without a disaster.
We followed an old railroad
grade, and made an easier stream crossing at a small frozen waterfall. Some distance later, we crossed an old
concrete bridge over a taller waterfall that was almost completely frozen. I had anticipated easy hiking for the next
mile, but the trail is shady, and lingering snow and ice made it more
difficult. Long sections of trail were
icy, and my ice cleats helped, but I had to take them off for each area of bare
rock. Taking the cleats off and putting
them on over and over quickly became tedious.
Finally I decided to leave them off, only to slip and bash my knee. After that, I was more careful, and put them
back on for areas with smooth, glassy ice.
We hiked past an overlook
with a great view of the Middle Prong Wilderness and contoured high above the
roaring cascades of oddly named Flat Laurel Creek. We hiked upstream past some nice campsites and reached a small
clearing. Just beyond, a blue blazed
tree indicated the turn to cross Flat Laurel Creek. This was an easier rock hop, and on the far side we found sunny
meadows at the base of Big Sam Mountain.
It was already pretty breezy, and we knew it would really be howling up
on Black Balsam Knob. We decided to
stop there for an early lunch and enjoy the sun.
After lunch we climbed out
of the valley. We skipped the side trip
to Big Sam Mountain, as we still had a lofty traverse of the open balds of
Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain to look forward to.
We passed through the Black
Balsam parking area, and began a steep ascent up a nasty gully full of boulders
and ice. This part of the hike had a
sense of true mountaineering, but we were able to finish the climb by
scrambling from one boulder to the next and avoiding the worst of the ice. At the top, we were rewarded with a
fantastic view from the grassy ridge below the summit of Black Balsam. We were also greeted with a punishing wind
that made me question the wisdom of my choice in routes. Windy or not, it was worth it. It’s a rare opportunity to make a traverse
of these grassy balds in crisp, clear weather, and today we were in for a
treat. Views were unlimited in every
direction, from the Middle Prong wilderness to the west to Looking Glass Rock
to the south and Mount Pisgah to the east.
The best view was north, along the Shining Rock Ledge. The white quartz of Shining Rock itself was
easy to spot, and now-famous Cold Mountain loomed beyond. In the farthest distance, snowy peaks
indicated the location of the Wolf Laurel Ski Area.
We endured more ice
descending from Tennent Mountain, and reached a gap where we ran into 3 other
backpackers and 2 more dogs. They had
camped out the previous night, and endured 55 mph winds. After some confusion where our dogs tried to
go with them, and theirs tried to go with us, we eventually got moving
again. We traversed an un-named but
scenic knob featuring a lovely spruce / fir forest before descending again to
Ivestor Gap.
From the gap, we followed
another old railroad grade east to connect with the Graveyard Ridge Trail. The Graveyard Ridge Trail was another rocky,
icy railroad grade. Myron and Dorcas
were still getting used to wearing packs they hadn’t carried since June, and
everyone was getting tired of the ice.
We briefly considering camping short of our destination at a clearing on
Graveyard Ridge, but Myron and I were able to convince Dorcas to finish the
hike.
We hiked another mile, and
descended steeply into the high valley of the Yellowstone Prong of the Pigeon
River. Fortunately the wind had died
down, and we found a great campsite in the middle of the open meadows along the
river. We camped on a pleasant sandbar,
overlooking a lovely bend in the meandering stream. The creek is slow-moving and shallow here, and was partially
frozen due to the recent cold spell.
We enjoyed a wonderful
evening featuring a toasty campfire and sky full of stars. Spicy sausage and jambalaya helped keep us
warm, and plenty of hot apple cider didn’t hurt, either. I slept well in the Graveyard that night,
despite an aging winter sleeping bag that was barely adequate for the
temperature, which dipped into the low 20’s.
I thought I had badly
overslept when I woke the next morning.
The weather forecast had called for rain late Sunday evening, but I woke
to sleet on the tent. My watch said it
was 7:30, but was that AM, or PM? It
turned out that it really was morning, but the storm had arrived much earlier
than expected. It had actually started
as snow, before switching over to the dreaded “wintry mix”. I was feeling rather disgruntled as I lay in
the tent debating what I should wear.
By the time I was getting dressed, the sleet had changed to rain. Sigh.
I had oatmeal and hot
chocolate in the rain, and we broke camp quickly. After a brief discussion, we abandoned our plans to hike back on
the Mountains-To-Sea Trail. That route
would mean an 8-mile hike on icy trails in a cold rain. Instead, we elected to take a short cut. The Parkway runs right past Graveyard
Fields, and Myron’s truck was only a ½ mile off the road. A quick look at the map showed that it would
be shorter, and certainly much faster.
Normally I hate to cut a trip short, but I also hate walking all day in
an icy rain.
Our only remaining challenge
was reaching the Parkway. We hiked
downstream to the bridge, only the find that the steep trail on the far side
looked like a glacier. Myron and Dorcas
were somehow able to scramble up it without crampons. I used my ice cleats, but it was so steep I still slipped a
couple of times. It was a relief to get
beyond the ice, and an even bigger one to reach the pavement of the Parkway.
The next 2 hours were a
tedious stroll up the road. The first
two miles featured a steady climb, and I was sweating a little under my rain
gear despite the chill. From the crest
of the road near Chestnut Knob, the wind picked up and the rain fell
harder. Soon I began fantasizing about
the Devil’s Courthouse tunnel, which I knew was some distance ahead. All I could think of was how nice it would
be to get out of the rain, if only for a few minutes. Finally the tunnel loomed out of the fog and into view. Once under the roof, I took off my pack,
adjusted my rain gear, and enjoyed a few minutes of dryness. Myron and Dorcas caught up with me there,
and looked every bit as miserable as I felt.
Myron was wearing regular nylon pants, which were soaked. We then had the following conversation,
which really did happen.
Me: Don’t you wish you had brought rain pants?
Myron: Oh, I did. I just didn’t put them on this morning.
Me: Why not???
Myron: I didn’t want to get
them wet.
Well, I think that pretty
much sums up Sunday’s hike. We made it
back to the car less than 30 minutes after the tunnel, where we met 2 guys
getting ready to start a dayhike. And I
thought we were suckers for punishment!
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