IN SAM’S SHADOW
Dave and I snuck away for a
last minute mid-week backpacking trip last week. We both had some time off, and Dave suggested we visit the
Shining Rock Wilderness. It only took me
a few minutes to come up with a route.
Unfortunately, we didn’t even start discussing our plans until late
Monday afternoon. I ended up packing
while cooking dinner, as I wanted to be ready before Monday Night Football.
We got a late start Tuesday
morning. Dave had some errands to run,
and we didn’t actually leave Charlotte until 11am. (Later, I found out that Dave didn’t get up until 8:15). We arrived at the Graveyard Fields overlook
on the Parkway three hours later. When
we arrived, we were stunned to find the parking lot packed. I certainly wasn’t expecting this on a
cloudy Tuesday. However, the reason was
obvious. The fall colors above 5000’
were already impressive. In fact, I
imagine they will be reaching their peak at the highest elevations this week.
We packed up and escaped the
parking lot with the dogs, Saucony and Sasha, in tow. We descended through a rhododendron tunnel to a bridge over the
Yellowstone Prong of the Pigeon River.
Just beyond, we picked up the trail heading downstream. After a short distance, we reached a long
staircase descending to the base of Second Falls. We were pushed for time, but elected to take a few minutes to see
the falls. Surprisingly, there were
only a couple of other people there.
The falls were nice, as always, but the overcast sky detracted from my
photos.
We didn’t linger long, as it
was already mid-afternoon and we still had a ways to go. From there, we had a choice of several
routes to our intended campsite on Flat Laurel Creek. I asked Dave if he wanted to follow the scenic route or the short
route and he chose the scenic route. I
was concerned that we might not have enough time to make it that way, but
figured we could camp elsewhere if necessary.
Plus, I knew that the cloudy weather might actually turn worse the next
day. We should probably take advantage
of the scenery while we could.
From the falls, we contoured
around Graveyard Ridge and joined the Mountains to Sea Trail. We followed this trail back to the west,
passing a couple of nice colorful views along the way. Sometime later, we reached a 4-way junction
and turned right on the Graveyard Ridge Trail.
We followed this old railroad grade, crossing a pair of streams and
passing more fine views to the east. We
passed below Ivestor Gap, and a long switchback brought us to a spring and a
junction with one of the trails to Shining Rock. We stopped for a break here, and Dave filtered some water.
A few minutes later a
trail-running couple arrived from the direction of Ivestor Gap. I don’t remember much about the guy, but the
girl was certainly noticeable. That’s
probably because she was wearing…well, let’s just say she wasn’t burdened by an
overabundance of clothing. They stopped
to ask for directions. While I helped
him with their route, Dave studied her topography. They continued on, towards Shining Rock, and I caught Dave
dousing himself with Tag Body Spray.
Good grief, where did that come from?
They returned a minute
later. Apparently, the trail ahead to
Shining Rock was overgrown. This was
surprising to me. As much traffic as
that trail sees, I didn’t think it could ever get overgrown. They decided to return to Ivestor Gap and
take the old railroad grade to Shining Rock.
We followed after them, at least once Dave was able to walk again.
Just before Ivestor Gap, I
noticed that the old route of the Art Loeb Trail over Grassy Cove Top had been
re-opened. That was the original route,
but it had been closed a few years earlier due to erosion. At that point, the Art Loeb Trail was
re-routed around Grassy Cove Top’s east side.
Now that the original route has re-opened, the re-route has fallen into
disuse. Just beyond, we reached Ivestor
Gap and a seasonal 4WD parking area.
The Ivestor Gap Trail (road) is open to 4WD vehicles during hunting
season.
We picked up the Art Loeb
Trail and followed it south towards Tennent Mountain. We passed through a meadow and a lovely stretch of spruce / fir
forest as we crossed an un-named knob.
Beyond we descended into more open meadows. We briefly joined the Ivestor Gap Road, but quickly left it as we
began the climb of Tennent Mountain. On
the ascent, I was adjusting my glasses when I banged me knee off a rock. I guess maybe I was the one that couldn’t
walk.
I eventually recovered, and
we resumed the climb. Before long we
reached the ridge, which we climbed to Tennent’s summit. Tennent is one mountain I’ve never been able
to cross without taking a break. The
scenery there is just too dramatic to race by.
We paused to enjoy the view, even though heavy clouds and haze
restricted it considerably.
After a short break, we
hurried down to a gap and up over Black Balsam. Almost all of the terrain between Ivestor Gap and the far side of
Black Balsam is completely open, and we enjoyed the expansive views in every
direction as we hiked. We descended through
the meadows of Black Balsam and reached a side trail on a minor summit. We followed this trail, which was recently
reconstructed, down switchbacks to the Black Balsam parking area. It was already 6:30, and sunset was looming.
We hurried through the
parking lot, past the toilets, and down an old road towards Big Sam
Mountain. We passed through another
meadow, and descended through scattered trees into the valley below Big Sam. We passed a decent campsite next to a
tributary, but continued on towards Flat Laurel Creek. We arrived in a series of meadows featuring
scattered campsites. However, another
party was camped nearby, so we decided to retreat to the campsite we’d seen
near the tributary. That campsite is in
a small meadow surrounded by trees, and it provided a pleasant place to spend
the evening. We arrived with just
enough time to set up camp before dark.
That evening, we enjoyed dinner and some warm adult beverages. The moon was nearly full, but the bright
light in the now cloudless sky didn’t hamper my sleep at all.
I overslept the next
morning. That’s probably because I had
my head deep inside my sleeping bag. I
suspected that temperatures had dropped far below the forecasted low of 51. As soon as I emerged from the tent, I knew my
suspicions were correct. A heavy frost
covered the meadow we were camped in.
Dave was still asleep, so I
took a short hike to warm up. I hiked
down to Flat Laurel Creek, where low water levels facilitated an easy rock
hop. On the far side I found a freshly
bulldozed trail and heavy construction equipment. What was going on? There
were several bulldozers and graders parked alongside the trail. Apparently the forest service had embarked
upon some serious trail maintenance. I
don’t know what the trail conditions had been previously, but now I was forced
to follow a wide, muddy track. I headed
downstream, passing another occupied campsite before reaching the first of many
cascades. Originally I had planned on
hiking down to the stream to photograph some of them. However, the steep path down was wet and looked hazardous. Plus, because of my late start, the sun was
already high enough to ruin any hope of a decent photo. At least that sun promised some warmth and a
nice day of hiking to come.
I returned to camp in time
for breakfast. Once the sun’s rays
reached our meadow, the day began to warm quickly. It was almost pleasant there in the sun, as we listened to the songs
of the birds and the distant drone of heavy machinery. Apparently the workday had started down by
the creek.
Originally I had planned to
hike upstream along Flat Laurel Creek to join the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Then we’d follow the MST back to Graveyard
Fields. I didn’t really want to dodge
bulldozers and wade through mud though.
Since the weather was nice, we decided to return the way we came and
enjoy the views from the Art Loeb Trail again.
We broke camp and returned
to the Black Balsam parking area, where I made use of the facilities. While he was waiting for me, Dave overheard
a ranger talking to someone about a movie that was to be filmed in the area the
next week. What would that be, the
much-anticipated sequel to “Cold Mountain”, titled “Ivestor Gap”?
From there we climbed back
up to the Art Loeb Trail. Today, the crossing
of Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain was even more spectacular. Although there was still a bit of haze,
there weren’t any clouds to interrupt the views. The fall colors far below added to the vista, as did the numerous
red berries on the abundant Mountain Ash trees. The best colors though may have been the red Blueberry bushes and
the bright yellow Goldenrods. If you
are allergic to Goldenrod (as my wife is) this is not the place to be in early
fall.
We passed back through
Ivestor Gap and continued down the Graveyard Ridge Trail. For variety, we altered the end of our
route. Instead of looping around
Graveyard Ridge, we continued ahead on the old railroad grade, eventually
descending into Graveyard Fields.
Graveyard Fields is a fascinating high-elevation valley. The combination of abundant meadows,
scattered trees and shrubs, a meandering stream, and widespread views makes it
rather unique in the southern Appalachians.
In fact, the whole area reminds me more of the western United States than
the southeast. If it just had a few
geysers and a bison or two, it could be mistaken for Yellowstone. It’s also a great place to view fall color,
and we weren’t disappointed.
We wandered down to the
creek, where Dave had a brief nap while I took photographs. I was afraid I might not get Dave going
again, but somehow I managed. On our
way out to the trailhead, we discovered that the trail through the valley has
been recently re-routed. This re-route
was long overdue, as the original trail had become eroded due to the heavy
traffic through the area.
The parking area was even
more crowded when we returned to Dave’s truck.
This time I wasn’t surprised. In
addition to the fall colors, the beautiful, sunny day certainly had drawn the
crowds. Our trip had been a good one,
even though it was a little rushed due to our late start the day before. Still, I had enjoyed a good hike, the dogs
had gotten out of the house, and Dave had fallen in love. That’s not bad for a simple overnight
backpacking trip!
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