Description

This is the description of an approximately 12 mile, three day, weekend backpacking trip with minimal climb under pack. The trip will be in the Shining Rock Wilderness in the Pisgah National Forests, off the Blue Ridge Parkway, southwest of Asheville, N.C.. The trail will be a section of the Art Loeb Trail. The trip is intended for scouts of varied experience in hiking and camping from beginner on. Total distance under pack will be approximately 4 miles, round trip; the day hike to Cold Mountain and back is 8 miles. Altitude will range from 5500 to 6500 ft during the day hike on Sunday. Both Saturday and Sunday nights will be spent on Shining Ridge near Flower Knob above Shining Gap. Temperatures may range from the 20's F. at night to the upper 80's. Much of the trail is is open and exposed to sun and wind.

The Shining Rock Wilderness is a lovely portion of the southern Pisgah National Forest at the northern end of the north-south range that transects the main line of the Pisgah ridge. The prominent southern peak of the range is Looking Glass Mountain. The northern end, Cold Mountain, five miles beyond Shining Rock, measures in at 6030 ft. The Shining Rocks themselves are a magnificent outcropping of white quartz. They glisten in sunlight or moonlight, particularly when the least bit damp. The rocks span around ten acres and are largely grown up in spruce and pine. The northern end is beginning to disappear under the forest floor, but if you dig away the humus a few inches you can find the quartz surprisingly far from the primary outcropping at Shining Rock and Beech Spring Gaps. Below the camp site at Grassy Cove Gap, which we have used in the past, the confluence of Greasy Cove Prong and the East Fork form the Pigeon River. Fifteen-hundred-foot climbs are available either up the Pigeon River and Greasy Prong, or up Shining Creek , or along several other trails. A five to six day trip would begin to explore the trails here. Chestnut Ridge, downhill, is recommended for the intrepid, and uphill for Sherpas and fools (1500 feet in one mile, the first thousand in the first half mile). The ridge itself, once you have gotten to the top, has excellent views both north to Cold Mountain and south to Grassy Cove Ridge. Twenty years after my first trip to Shining Rock, the wilderness still has a fresh surprise at each new visit.

Schedule

 

Depart:	7:00 a.m	Sat. 21 March 98	Chapel of the Cross
	12:00 noon	Sat. 21 March 98	Meet at trailhead (parking lot at the north end of FS 816)
On-Trail:	1:00 p.m.	Sat. 21 March 98	Art Loeb Trail, after lunch at the parking lot
Overnight:		Sat.- Sun. 21-22 March 98	Shining Ledge near Flower Knob above Shining Gap
Day Hike		Sun. 22 March 98	Shiing Gap to Cold Mountain and back
Return:	11:00 a.m.	Mon. 23 March 98	Northern Trail Terminus
Home:	5:00 p.m.	Mon. 23 March 98	Chapel of the Cross

 

Messages and Emergency Contact

Telephone messages for emergency contact or for pickup after the hike and before the troop starts home may be left by calling 933-1969.

A status message including the times that the troop starts for home and expects to arrive may be heard by calling 933-1969.

Personal Equipment

See the troop's personal equipment list for details. The pack should contain sufficient material for a three day campout. Assume extremes of weather; i.e., pack clothes for 25^oF to 85^oF. Send some combination of sunscreen, hats and light-weight, long-sleeved shirts if sun protection is an issue.

Food and Group Equipment

Food (except Saturday lunch) and equipment will be coordinated at the troop meetings by patrol. Pack a bag lunch for Saturday. Pack a no-cook lunch for Monday that can be easily distributed to individual scouts. We hope to be on the road by lunch-time, but would rather pack the extra meal than be hungry.

Return Clothes

Pack a complete change of clothes, shoes, and a towel to leave in the car at the trail head.

Water

Reliable water is available at camp and at selected points. No water is available at the parking lot. Be sure to have 2 liters of canteen space for the Sunday hike. Come with full canteens for lunch Saturday and the trail afterwards.

Driving Route

Estimated travel time is five hours from Chapel Hill

• I-40 west to Asheville
• Blue Ridge Parkway south to US-276
• Continuing on the Parkway approximately another 9 miles to Forest Service Road 816 on the right
• FSR- 816 north a mile or so to the parking lot at the end of the paved road.
• Do not attempt to drive the dirt road beyond the parking lot!!

Drivers will leave Chapel Hill Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. We will assemble at the Forest Service parking lot between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m.

Maps

The following maps were used in the preparation of this material and are relevant to the trip but are not required.

• Shining Rock Wilderness, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1976.
• North Carolina County Maps, Ed. C.J. Puetz, c. 1987.
• North Carolina State Transportation Map, 1994.