LAND OF THE
STANDING DEAD
Back
in my college years, I did much of my hiking in Linville Gorge. It’s always been one of my favorite
places. I took my wife on her first
backpacking trip to
I
met Jack at the Pine Gap Trailhead at the north end of the Kistler
Memorial “Highway” at 9am. The
We
were on the trail by 9:30, and we immediately found ourselves behind a large
group of boy scouts. That didn’t last
long though, as we took a short side trip on the Rock Jock Trail. The Rock Jock Trail has always been one of my
favorites in the gorge. It clings to the
cliffs of the west rim for several miles, offering numerous views of the gorge
and the peaks on far side. These are
views that are enjoyed by relatively few people, as the Rock Jock sees very
little traffic. That is unfortunate,
because more traffic might improve the condition of the trail. Jack and I followed it for less than ½ mile,
but that stretch was littered with fallen trees. I suspect that the rest of the trail to the
south isn’t in any better condition.
After
a little walking and a lot of climbing over, under, and around trees, we turned
off the trail onto a faint path. This
path led past a bog and out to a cliff.
Here we were treated to excellent views of Hawksbill, Table Rock, the
Chimneys, the NC Wall, the Amphitheatre,
We
backtracked to the Conley Cove Trail and began our descent on switchbacks. Conley Cove is one of the better trails into
the gorge, but it was still challenging due to occasional trees blocking the
path. We passed a couple of small caves,
and entered the first of several areas of devastation. The slope held only a few standing but dead
trees, while their fallen brothers littered the ground. We crossed the paths of landslides, and tried
to avoid the most eroded sections of trail.
Although the scene was disturbing, it was still interesting. Despite the damage, nature will recover. In the meantime, there are at least some
views to enjoy. These are all new; the
last time I hiked through here, the Conley Cove Trail was merely a walk in the
woods.
We
reached the Gorge Trail just above the river near some large campsites. We found the boy scouts here, regrouping
after the descent. There were probably
at least 20 scouts, with several adult leaders.
Apparently they had overlooked or ignored the rule limiting group size to
10 people in the wilderness area. That
rule was implemented for several good reasons, one of which is that there
simply aren’t many suitable areas in the gorge for large groups to camp. As we were passing by, one of the leaders
asked us if we’d ever hiked the trail before.
We conversed, and it quickly became clear that none of them had. I was amazed.
How do you bring a group of 20+ boy scouts, many on their first
backpacking trip, into an unfamiliar area?
They were planning the same hike that we were doing, but were taking two
days. One asked me for suggestions on
places to camp. My answer was right
where they were. I knew that Conley Cove
was probably the only area large enough for that many people. They wanted to go farther though, so I
suggested Sandy Flats, and warned them that they’d be unlikely to find an
adequate site farther north. Sandy Flats
is the largest camping area north of Conley Cove, though it would still be extremely
cramped with that many people.
We
parted ways, and began a rugged stretch of trail above the river. The trail follows a roller coaster along the
side of the gorge. Fallen trees were
frequent, the footing was poor, and the trail was occasionally obscure. Frequently I wondered how those boy scouts
would fare. At best, it would take an
eternity to get that group through this trail.
For Jack and I, the trail provided an excellent workout, and some great
scenery. At times, we dropped down to
the river where we could enjoy the frequent cascades and pools. In other areas, we’d climb up to cliffs where
we could see the peaks towering above and the river racing below.
Before
long we reached the junction with the Spence Ridge Trail. This trail fords the river before climbing to
a gap on the east rim between Hawksbill and Table Rock. At the river crossing, I was surprised to
find what appeared to be a bridge under construction. I’m not certain, but it looks as if the
forest service is building a bridge across the river. I was a bit excited, as crossing the river is
difficult at the best of times. A bridge
would create a convenient trail connection that would open up a number of loop
hike options. I could only hope that
they’d build it high enough to keep it from being washed away during the first
flash flood.
We
resumed the hike, climbing and then descending to Sandy Flats. There are a couple of campsites here, but
they’re hardly large enough for 30 people.
We did stop at one for an early lunch.
Not far beyond, we found a path down to the river below some nice
cascades. After exploring a bit, we
resumed the hike. I knew the next
stretch of trail would be a test.
The
rugged path continued. After many ups
and downs, we passed a campsite littered with abandoned camping gear. Unfortunately, many backpackers drag gear
down into the gorge and then neglect to carry it back out. After the campsite, we began climbing on
switchbacks towards
We
reached the crest of the ridge and met the Babel Tower Trail. Our route continued ahead, but we took a few
minutes to explore the tower. We wandered
around a bit looking for the best route.
Eventually we followed a path to the left of the tower. The first likely place to ascend wasn’t the
easiest route, so we continued to a second.
This was an easy climb, though I still had to lift Saucony
up one of the taller ledges. A couple of
minutes later, we were on top of the perch.
We had a nearly 360 degree view from our pinnacle in the middle of the
gorge. The best vista was to the
south. In that direction, the river ran
straight towards the massive bulk of Table Rock. I’ve seen Table Rock from every conceivable
angle, but none is better than this one.
The only thing better than the view was the stereo sound of the river
rushing between the canyon walls on three sides.
After
a snack and some photos, we hiked on. It
was already 2pm, and we knew we probably had a couple of hours of hiking ahead
of us. The next stretch of trail was the
worst of the hike. The footing was even
worse, and even more fallen trees blocked the trail. Fortunately the trail improved after we
passed the junction with the Cabin Trail.
I believe the Cabin Trail was used as a firebreak during the 2000
wildfire. I’m not certain, but I think
the fire was largely contained south of that line. This seems likely to me, as there were only a
few fallen trees across the trail through the remainder of the hike.
We
took one more side path down to the river to another cascade. From there, we vowed to continue out without
any further diversions. We generally
stuck to our plan, and after a few more ups and downs reached the trailhead at
4pm. The trailhead was a relief, because
we were both exhausted. Counting side
trips, we had covered 9 miles, but it felt like 15. As I write this two
days later, I’m still a little sore. We
shuttled back down to the Conley Cove Trailhead to retrieve Jack’s car, and
parted ways. I tried a different route
on the way back to
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