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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