LOST IN ZEN

I’ve been itching to do a winter hike of the Rockjock Trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness for a couple of years now. My motivation was to see Bluejay Falls – which consists a long series of seeps and springs spilling over an impressive cliff – after a long stretch of cold weather. I was expecting nothing less than some incredible icicles. The problem is that the Rockjock Trail isn’t easy to reach after bad weather. The only access is on a rough dirt road - The Kistler Highway.

On Sunday Jack, Bob, and I decided to brave Kistler. It had been a few days since the most recent snowstorm, and we were hoping that the road would be passable. Bob offered to drive his 4wd truck, which certainly improved our chances of reaching the trailhead safely.

Bob and I picked Jack up at Lake James. The drive up the southern end of the Kistler Highway was better than we feared. There was some snow and ice (and even mud), but the road had seen a fair bit of traffic. In fact, it actually looked like it had been plowed at some point. We reached the Pinch In Trailhead without any difficulties. The trailhead was deserted. That would be a theme for the day, as we wouldn’t see any other hikers. In fact, we ended up walking the Kistler Highway for an hour later that afternoon and there wasn’t any traffic.

We walked up the road for about 10 minutes before we reached the Rockjock Trailhead. There isn’t really anywhere to park here, which is why we started from the Pinch In parking area. The Rockjock Trail is now marked with an official sign, which makes it a little easier to spot from the road.

We followed the trail through slushy snow as it descended steeply on Mossy Canyon Ridge. There were no footprints along the route, indicating that we were the first hikers on this end of the Rockjock Trail in at least the last week or so. Our progress was slow thanks to the steep grade and the trail conditions. It was a relief when we reached the bench that the Rockjock Trail follows for most of its length. We knew we’d only have to deal with short ups and downs for the rest of the hike.

We headed north on the Rockjock Trail, passing through an open forest of burned trees. This area caught the brunt of the most recent forest fires. Although this doesn’t sound appealing, the combination of charred tree trunks, white snow, and blue sky was certainly interesting.

It had been a little chilly back at the parking area, but it was downright warm along here. There wasn’t any shade to speak of, and the sun was surprisingly strong. Even though we were walking in the snow most of the time, it wasn’t long before we were all sweating.

I always seem to forget how much harder hiking in the snow is. Even though there was no more than 6” of snow on the trail, it forced us to concentrate on every step. Even though we were focused on our footing, there were plenty of slips and spills. Even the sunny, south facing slopes that had melted were messy due to the mud. Hiking in the mud may have actually been more tedious than the snow.

We paused at an overlook with a fine view for an early lunch. There we gazed up the canyon to Hawksbill, Table Rock, The Chimneys, the NC Wall, and the Amphitheatre. The Amphitheatre was particularly intriguing, as its waterfall appeared to be completely frozen. Many other impressive icicles dangled from the cliffs of the NC Wall. Farther south, the snowy cliffs of Shortoff were spectacular as well.

After eating, Jack and I hiked down the ridge to a lower overlook called T-Shirt Point. We scrambled up onto the rocks, where we took in more views of the gorge.

We resumed the hike and eventually left the worst of the burn behind. Once in the shade we found ourselves hiking in deeper snow. As we progressed northwards, I kept a close eye on the map. I wanted to keep track of each canyon that we passed, as we were hoping to make it out to Razors Edge Point. Razors Edge Point is one of my favorite places in the gorge, and Jack and Bob hadn’t been there.

We descended into a deep, snowy canyon full of boulders and fallen trees. As we approached it, I was pretty confident it was Zen Canyon. That meant that I needed to keep an eye out for the side trail out to Razors Edge Point.

Hiking through here was hazardous, as the snow obscured the rocks, making for tricky footing. Deep in Zen Canyon things went awry. I was watching for a side trail and following the footsteps in the snow when we wandered off course. Jack and I followed Bob directly out of the canyon, onto the hillside above. It wasn’t long before we realized that we’d lost the trail. Jack was convinced that the trail was above us, so we scouted up the ridge while Bob wisely waited for us. We didn’t find any sign of the trail, so we returned to where Bob was waiting. After a bit of additional thrashing around in the Rhododendron and briars we decided to double-back to the canyon where we’d lost the trail.

At this point I remembered that the Rockjock Trail climbs briefly through one of the canyons it traverses, rather than simply passing through. I thought that it was Moonshine Canyon though, which we should’ve already passed through.

Once back in the canyon we easily spotted the route heading down. This was clearly the canyon I was thinking of. But were we in Zen Canyon, or Moonshine? For some reason I came to the conclusion that we were in Moonshine, and that I had lost track of our progress on our hike.

We continued on, passing through Split Rock a bit later. Still, for some reason I failed to recognize that it was Split Rock. We arrived at a massive wall of icicles just beyond. Again, I failed to recognize this as Bluejay Falls – even though that was the original purpose of the hike! We then climbed up to Hackers Point, which I mistook for another overlook. We took a snack break there and enjoyed the view. Aside from the usual gorge scenery, we were treated to a distant view of some monster icicles. They were dangling from the cliffs north of Fern Canyon. Unfortunately, we passed high above them on the hike out and never got a better look at them. I wish I’d gotten a photograph, but they were a good distance away from our vantage point, and I’d neglected to bring my telephoto lens.

I finally realized where we were when Kistler came into view. I felt pretty silly at that point, as I was still convinced that we were much farther south. I regretted that Jack and Bob missed out on Razors Edge Point (again), but in hindsight it may have been for the best. Scrambling up there may have been hazardous in the snow.

We had a bit of time to spare, so we doubled-back to Lost Dog Pond. First we wandered out to another cliff. Then we passed a nice campsite before finally working our way to the pond. Lost Dog Pond was almost completely frozen, and we all took photos while Boone explored.

I suggested continuing out to Buzzards Roost, but we were all pretty worn out from hiking in the snow. Plus, we still had to walk almost 3 miles back on the Kistler Highway to Bob’s truck. We bailed out by way of Old Conley, which made for a nice little shortcut for the walk back. The road walk was uneventful but muddy. Oddly, Kistler seemed to be uphill the whole way. It’s funny how I never noticed that before.

Our latest adventure on the Rockjock Trail wasn’t entirely a success. Bob lost two lens caps and nearly lost his glasses and his hiking stick. Jack nearly lost a trekking pole. I nearly lost my mind. But it all worked out in the end. We had an enjoyable hike in surprisingly pleasant weather, with lots of snow to add to the gorge’s usual beauty. We’re all going to have to return though. Next time, Razors Edge will be our top priority.

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