LET IT SHINE
The
initial prognosis for hiking last weekend didn’t look good. Christy and I had plans on Saturday afternoon
and Sunday, and the first serious rain in over a month was supposed to move in,
too. Luckily, I had Friday off from
work. At the last minute, I decided to
squeeze in a quick backpacking trip. I
planned a short loop in the Shining Rock Wilderness, as I hadn’t been there in
quite some time.
The
Shining Rock area has always been one of my favorite places. I’ve dayhiked and
backpacked through the wilderness area many times. However, I’ve never actually camped near
Shining Rock. I’ve always been scared
off by the threat of crowds. This
weekend though, I decided to give it a try.
I figured the Shining Rock area would be less crowded on a Friday night
than on a Saturday.
My
plan was to start at the Big East Fork Trailhead on Friday morning. I’d hike upstream along the Big East Fork for
a few miles to Bridges Camp. From there,
I’d head up Greasy Cove to meet the Art Loeb Trail near Grassy Cove Top. I’d then head towards Shining Rock and look
for a place to camp. On Saturday, I’d
head back down on either the Shining Creek Trail or the Old Butt Knob Trail.
I
got a reasonably early start Friday morning, but the drive seemed to take even
longer than usual. As a result, it was
10:30 before Boone and I got on the trail.
There were a couple of cars at both parking areas, so I knew I wouldn’t
have the trails to myself.
I
headed upstream, enjoying the many cascades and pools despite the extremely low
water levels. Early on, I passed a large
group of young men just off the trail. A
bit later, I encountered another group of younger boys heading the other
way. They had a couple of adult leaders,
so I’m guessing it was some sort of Outward Bound type group. From that point, it was relatively quiet for
an hour or so. I reached a nice cascade
a bit before noon and stopped for some photos.
A bit farther on I arrived at a nice stretch of open rock
bordering the river. I stopped there to
enjoy the bright sunshine while eating an early lunch.
Afterwards,
I continued upstream to Bridges Camp.
The campsite (one of many along this trail) is located where the Big
East Fork begins at the confluence of Yellowstone Prong and Greasy Cove
Prong. I crossed the Yellowstone Prong
there, making an easy rock hop. At
normal water levels this crossing can be tricky, but on this day it was
virtually effortless.
The
easy hiking ended there. I passed
another campsite before beginning a grueling climb above Greasy Cove
Prong. I could just make out a number of
impressive slides and cascades below me as I hiked. Before long though, I had to descend a steep
stretch of trail down to the creek. I
rock hopped the stream just below a small cascade and resumed the climb. Initially I hiked on the hillside above the
creek, but eventually I left the main valley for a minor tributary. Before long, I led Boone down to the
dwindling stream so he could drink. I
knew water would be scarce beyond this point.
I
climbed again, through a stretch of open, grassy forest. I’ve often wondered about the naming of
Greasy Cove. Grassy Cove Top is situated
at the head of the cove. I suspect that
Greasy Cove was originally Grassy Cove, but somehow the name was changed in
error.
I
finally reached the ridgecrest
a bit later. I continued to climb along
a lovely stretch of trail. Some parts of
this trail were a bit overgrown, but I’ve always loved this trail. Near the upper end, I passed through a lovely
Beech forest and a long, dark tunnel of Rhododendron. High on the slopes of Grassy Cove Top I was
finally rewarded with some fine views.
The best were of Mount Pisgah and the surrounding peaks.
I
picked up an old railroad grade high on the east side of Grassy Cove Top and
followed it north. Before long I joined
the Art Loeb Trail, and followed it down to the grassy meadows of Flower Gap. There are a number of possible campsites
here, and I was surprised to find the area deserted. I climbed up Flower Knob, thinking that I remembered
a nice campsite up there from an earlier trip.
Flower Knob is overgrown with blueberry bushes and other shrubs now
though. I headed back down to the gap
and took a nice campsite on the east side of the meadow. I was a little leery about camping here, as
it is a large area, and I could easily envision lots of folks hiking in to camp
there later that evening.
I
set up camp and then hiked north five minutes to a spring. There are actually two springs in this area,
and both were barely flowing when I was there.
I got enough water to get us through the rest of the trip and headed
back to camp. I spent the rest of the
evening experimenting with my new tripod and taking photos. I even managed to find a little bit of fall
color, though it was largely limited to red blueberry bushes and blooming
Goldenrod.
I had a quick dinner of black beans and rice
before enjoying a colorful sunset. That
sunset, and a subsequent full moon, gave me more opportunities to experiment
with photography.
I
went to bed early, and slept fairly well despite a stiff wind buffeting the
tent. The full moon shining into my tent
was like a spotlight, too, but at least there wasn’t anyone else around. I couldn’t believe I ended up having Flower
Gap all to myself.
I
was up before dawn on Saturday, and was rewarded with a colorful sunrise. After some more photos I ate a bagel and
packed up. I was actually on the trail
by 8:15, ready for a quick hike back down.
I
followed the Art Loeb Trail north to Shining Rock Gap, where I found a couple
of other groups camping. From there, I
followed the Old Butt Knob Trail east towards the summit of Shining Rock. Well, that was my intention. I inadvertently headed up the wrong trail,
which has been replaced since the last time I was there. The old route is overgrown and eroded, and I
was pretty annoyed when I realized I was on the wrong trail. At that point I joined the correct route,
which I followed up towards Shining Rock.
Near the top I took an unofficial side trail, plowing my way through
damp blueberry bushes and scraggly rhododendron branches. I reached a campsite in a small clearing, and
continued to Shining Rock’s namesake quartz.
I climbed up the rocks to the proper summit, and took in a beautiful but
hazy view.
I
headed down from there, following the Old Butt Knob Trail down a series of
switchbacks. This stretch of trail was
recently cleared, which was a relief as I was growing weary of fighting my way
through damp vegetation. I descended to
Beech Spring Gap and climbed to Dog Loser Knob, where I kept a close eye on
Boone. Believe it or not, two different
friends have (temporarily) lost their dogs in this area while on hikes. I found a partially overgrown view from a
small meadow before dropping down to Spanish Oak Gap. There are some potential campsites here, but
I didn’t make an attempt to search for water.
One final climb brought me to a lovely rhododendron tunnel on Old Butt
Knob.
Towards
the east end of the peak I found a rock outcrop with a nice view back towards
Shining Rock. Unfortunately the pleasant
hiking ended there. For the next mile I
descended a steep eroded gully with horrible footing. I picked my way down carefully, and took a
break at another outcrop featuring a view of the Shining Creek valley. I resumed the tedious descent, and was
relieved when I finally reached the junction with the Shining Creek Trail. The last ½ mile of the hike was suddenly
busy, as I passed several groups on their way into the wilderness. I reached the car a little after 11am, ready
to be on the road but pleased that I had managed to squeeze a quick backpacking
trip into my weekend.
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