A ONE-DAY BACKPACKING TRIP

Due to a last-minute cancellation, I ended up having the last week of October off from work. Since I had some free time, I decided to do a backpacking trip and make another attempt at finding some fall colors.

By last weekend, I saw that the weather forecast was calling for snow on Monday and Tuesday. Snow? What happened to fall? Didn’t summer just end last week? Then it occurred to me that I had a unique opportunity. Fall colors and snow at the same time. I envisioned the perfect photo – a snow-covered meadow featuring a single maple tree with brilliant red leaves. Now, I’d just have to find that scene and capture it.

According to the forecasts, all of the snow would be at the higher elevations. Would there be any fall color up there? Maybe, since the change is so late this year. I decided to plan a hike that would take me to a variety of elevations, to maximize the potential for finding some colorful foliage. Ultimately I decided on Shining Rock. I hadn’t been there in several years, and the area usually features some impressive colors. There’d probably be less snow there than up at Mt. Rogers or Roan Mountain, but the high elevation of the area suggested that there would be some.

I was up early on Tuesday for the long drive to the trailhead. I made good time though, and reached the Big East Fork parking area on highway 276 before 10AM. Along the way I had driven up to around 4000’, but hadn’t seen much color. Most of the trees were still green, or the leaves were already on the ground. Hopefully I’d find more above 4000’.

Conditions were nasty at the trailhead. Light sleet and snow was falling, and dark gray clouds promised more to come. After a warm September, the 30-degree temperatures and blustery wind seemed especially cold. I put on a long-sleeve shirt, long pants, a hat, and gloves, and started up the trail. I was still cold, but I didn’t want to overdress. I faced a steep climb, and knew I’d be sweating before long.

Saucony galloped ahead of me, glad to finally be free of the house after 6 weeks of recovery from surgery. We had visited the vet the day before, and she had given Saucony permission to hike. I don’t think Saucony really believed that I was going to take her until I loaded my pack and let her in the car.

We passed a couple of nice campsites along the river before reaching an ambiguous junction. An obvious trail continues ahead along the river, but the Shining Creek Trail climbs to the right, away from the river. A few minutes of steady climbing brought me to the crest of a minor ridge. The sleet was heavier, so I stopped to put on my pack cover. Then I turned onto the Old Butt Knob Trail and began the brutal climb to Shining Rock.

The climb was tough. I hadn’t done a serious backpacking trip since returning from the Canadian Rockies in August, and I was feeling the layoff. Saucony, who hadn’t been out of the yard in six weeks, was putting me to shame. Every so often she’d stop to wait for me, looking back at me with an expression that said, “What’s the holdup? I thought you were in shape for this sort of thing.”

I struggled onward, scrambling up rocks and pausing frequently to catch my breath. My pack was heavy, as I’d packed full winter gear (extra whiskey). Fortunately, occasional rock outcrops provided views that justified a brief rest. The vistas were still pretty good despite the clouds and snow. However, there wasn’t any significant fall color to be seen.

I eventually reached the top of the ridge, and the grade eased. I wandered along the spine of the ridge under some impressive trees. Large oaks and birches mixed with spruce and fir as I climbed higher. At one point I passed through a beech forest, where most of the yellow-green leaves were still on the trees. There was a dusting a snow here, and the foliage looked wildly out of place. Unfortunately, that was probably as close as I came to finding the photo I was looking for.

I continued climbing towards Old Butt Knob. I passed some dry campsites, and more views. One vantage point looked north, towards Cold Mountain. Cold Mountain was only a few miles away, but hidden under a snow cloud. When I first planned the trip, I thought I might hike all the way to Cold Mountain. The distance is only about 8 miles, but the elevation gain is close to 4000’. After the steep climb up the ridge, I considered the chances of making it all the way there in the snow to be slim. Camping near Shining Rock seemed more likely.

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Editor’s Note: We now return to the trip report already in progress.

I crossed the wooded summit of Old Butt Knob, descended briefly to a gap and a large spring, and climbed again. I reached the top of Dog Loser Knob, where I found a lost dog. Really. It looked like a hunting dog, but he didn’t have a collar or tags. It also appeared that he hadn’t eaten in weeks. I stopped there for lunch, and soon had more attention from this dog than I ever wanted. The dog was all over me, hoping for a bite of my sandwich. I finished off an apple, and made a mistake. I tossed the core into the woods, hoping this dog would chase after it. He did, but he brought it back in less than a minute. He then sat down and ate the entire thing. After that, there was no getting rid of him. This was unfortunate, because the dog was annoying. He was constantly underfoot, either by stopping in the trail in front of me or by clipping my ankles from behind. At times, he took to jumping on me (as if I wasn’t muddy and wet enough). To make matters worse, he would occasionally growl at Saucony. With Saucony still recovering from surgery, the last thing I needed was for her to get into a fight. How was I going to spend the entire night camping with this nuisance of a dog?

I tried chasing him off and yelling at him, but that didn’t discourage him in the least. Finally I resigned myself to bringing him out with me. When I got back to the trailhead, I’d give him the rest of Saucony’s food. Taking him home was completely out of the question, but maybe there someone would pick him up.

Not long after lunch I reached Shining Rock. The Old Butt Knob trail ends at a junction with the side trail connecting Shining Rock Gap with Shining Rock itself. All of the trees and shrubs surrounding Shining Rock were covered in rime ice. Occasional meadows provided views, despite the continuing snowstorm. The many blueberry bushes in the area were sporting bright red leaves, which created quite a contrast with the snow and ice. I spent the next hour exploring the area, enjoying the views, and trying to stay warm. Finally, it was time to think about finding a campsite.

Where did I want to camp? There are plenty of sites around Shining Rock, but I honestly wasn’t very excited about staying up there. The weather was still nasty, and what was I going to do all afternoon, anyway? I’d probably end up napping in the tent. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn’t really looking forward to the camping aspect of this backpacking trip. After a bit of soul-searching, I realized that I really wanted to camp at home. I have been traveling a lot for work, and had hardly seen my wife for the past couple of months. Finally, I decided to ask Saucony. Did she want to camp, or go home and see her mommy? She raced forward down the trail. My decision was made.

I descended to Shining Rock Gap, which is a small clearing where about a dozen trails (official and otherwise) meet. After one false start, I picked up the Art Loeb Trail south. A minute later, I passed a tent and reached the unmarked but obvious junction with the Shining Creek Trail. I descended to a spring, and continued down a rough, rocky, wet path into the headwaters of Shining Creek.

A few minutes later, I passed two backpackers with a huge dog on a leash. We talked briefly before going separate ways. A few minutes later, I heard some cursing from up above. It was then that I noticed that the annoying pest I’d found on Dog Loser Knob was no longer following me. He had decided to follow them instead. It sounded like they were doing everything they could to get rid of him, but I never saw that dog again.

A long, steady descent ensued. At one point, I was forced to stop because of a broken boot lace. Fortunately, I had taken a spare lace from my running shoes before starting the hike. I replaced the lace, and had a snack. I was most of the way through a Cliff Bar, when I noticed that I was also eating a large leaf that was stuck to the bottom of it. The fact that I hadn’t noticed the leaf tells you everything you need to know about the texture of Cliff Bars.

I hiked out along Shining Creek, which was even prettier with the colorful leaves in the water and along the banks. It was early evening when I finally reached a potentially confusing junction. A rough path continues ahead, along the bank of Shining Creek. The trail, however, turns and climbs away from the creek. A friend of mine once got lost here after taking the wrong path. He had ended up all the way down at the Big East Fork, which he forded to reach the trail on the far side. With night approaching, he had no idea where he was until he stumbled into the parking lot at the beginning of the Big East Fork Trail. It was getting late for me as well, but I was watching carefully for the turn. I angled left, up and away from the creek, to the crest of the ridge. I passed the junction with the Old Butt Knob Trail, and my loop was complete. From there, it was a short, easy hike back down to the river, and on to the parking lot. I reached the car at 5:30, and headed for home.

I set up camp in the living room by 8:30, and ate the chili I had carried with me all day. Instead of having hot apple cider spiked with whiskey and admiring the stars, I drank a beer and watched the World Series. It had been a long, tough dayhike, with an unnecessarily heavy pack. I didn’t regret my decision much though. I probably needed the exercise. Plus, it was good to be home.

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