Art Loeb Trail - March 18, 2012 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Art Loeb Trail |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | North Carolina |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | March 18, 2012 |
| Duration: | 2 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Fair to Good |
| Trail Traffic: | Light |
| Trip Weather: | Partly Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | Light to Moderate |
| Trip Precipitation: | Thunderstorms |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 71-80, Low: 41-50 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | Me and a couple friends started this hike at the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp and ended at the Davidson River Campground. We started at about 2 in the afternoon with light packs, planning on hammock and tarp camping for the most part. The trailhead leaves from the Boy Scout Camp past the lake. There is roadside parking for a few cars with yellow signs indicating it's for Forest Service use and not camp parking. Don't turn at the camp signs to long term parking, just keep going straight and you'll find the trailhead. Daniel Boone-Cold Mountain Trail Branch: After parking we started the ascent. Compared to some other parts of the trail the ascent is moderate, difficult for short bursts, but overall not too bad at all. Just long and sustained. There are a few intersections with some old logging roads but nothing too bad. Plentiful water on this part of the trail. Some pretty good views of the valley below including one grassy field which always seemed to have sun on it even with the passing clouds. Joined the ridge after not too long. Turning right continues on the ALT, left goes up to Cold Mountain. A few bugs at the top but a great campsite at the trail intersection, although dry. Lots of clear flat ground with trees for hanging. Cold Mountain to Shining Rock: This part of the trail is along "The Narrows" and the name is pretty accurate. Along some of the ridges there was nowhere to stand but the trail. Even in March some of the vegetation was pretty close, so might be hard to follow after the growing season. After a few miles the terrain levels out nicely and turns into a nice walk with some great views. We got a great one of a small thunderstorm building in the valley below and working its way up to the ridge we were on. The rain made the trail pretty flooded at points. There was some water along the way, but not more than some small trickles. Could have been due to rain though. Got to a large campsite at Shining Rock Gap in time to set up camp and get dinner. There are some great tent spots in the gap and some more shielded camp sites (and hammock spots 😛 ) off the trail. The sites are well used and have some trash etc around them. For water, if you travel down the unblocked logging road (not the trail you came in on) in the direction of the Shining Rock Wilderness, it will curve downhill and parallel to the ALT. There are some water sources before the curve, but they had tadpoles and the like in them when we came across them. Past the curve there is a metal pipe going under the trail, that's the best water source we were able to get. A little far from camp but better than nothing. Stock up here because it's the last real water for miles. Many miles. Shining Rock Gap to Blue Ridge Parkway: Definitely my favorite part of the trail. The balds and views in this section are absolutely stunning and one of my favorite trails so far. No water that we saw. Some campsites after Black Balsam knob and before the descent to the BRP. Lots of elevation change in a short distance and very glad we were going downhill. Heavily used part of the trail and where we saw most of the people on the trail. BRP to Deep Gap Shelter: ALT goes up and down, wash rinse repeat for most of the remainder of the trail. The climbs can be tough at times and the descents are steep as well. A good or bad thing about this trail is that if you look ahead at any point in time and see a mountain, you will be at the top of it soon. There was no water on this part of the trail until a trickle at the Deep Gap shelter. If you walk out to the dirt road off the trail you should see it. Not much to speak of at all, but stock up if it's there. There is water further down the road if this stream isn't flowing. Since you're going up Pilot, it will be welcome to have. Deep Gap to Butter Gap: Pilot Mountain. Just keep going. After that it's more up and down and up and down. Water is still scarce until Butter Gap. Great views of John Rock and Looking Glass. You can also see a lot of the balds on the other parts of the trail from a lower elevation. Butter Gap to Davidson River Campground: More intense spurts of quick uphill sections followed by a lot of downhill. There is water at Butter Gap but not too many free flowing streams. Butter Gap has a decent shelter with bear hangs provided. We debated camping at Butter Gap but decided to press on and finish the trail. As you go downhill the climbs get smaller as does total altitude and the scenery is more like the stuff we're used to around upstate SC. However the trail continues it's theme of climbing everything in a reasonable distance of it all the way into camp. We finished up right before full dark. Overall, the trail was amazing. I would recommend it but do not underestimate the trail. Water will be tough to come by and there are no blazes in the Shining Rock Wilderness. Be sure to bring a map and plan your water stops and camping carefully. |
Trail Map For This Area
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