Tales From The Wood Booger: Adventures In Backpacking At The Shining Rock Wilderness

Backpacking…I will admit I have got the itch and this weekend I got to scratch it at the Shining Rock Wilderness. On Saturday I met up, again, with the Harvey Broome Chapter of the Sierra Club for an overnight hike.

The first time I did an overnight with the Sierra Club last month.

Before meeting up at Big East Fork Trailhead I had to get ready, and I thought I was, so Deb and I went to her Mom;s and I was going to leave from there and take I-26 over the mountains. However, about four in the morning, I remembered I left my tent poles at the house in St. Clair. So, I had to get up almost an hour earlier (around 6 am) because I had to drive to St. Clair and then take I-40 through Davenport Gap.

I thought I was ready (no tent poles).

Heading down I-40.

I was lucky that I wasn’t held up by the road work on I-40 and I even beat the rest of my group to the trailhead. Since we were planning to hike back to the Big East Fork Trailhead from the Shining Rock Wilderness we had to take three cars up to the Art Loeb Trailhead just off the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), one of those cars was mine.

I made it to North Carolina.

I followed this guy on the way...

...to the trailhead.

So, I shuttled up Jenny, Jackie, and Denise. The Art Loeb Trail, which is part of the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST), heads up Black Balsam Knob, a mountain I first visited back in October of 2013. Let me just say that this is a beautiful area and maybe the best spot on my favorite stretch of the BRP. Still, my bad luck continued on the way up Black Balsam Knob the front strap on my backpack broke and I had to lash it together with a carabiner. So after walking over balds and through rhododendrons we stopped for lunch in the gap between Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain.

My first visit to Black Balsam Knob in 2013.

The group ready to head out.

While now the trail is part of the MST...

...but it was first the Art Loeb Trail.

The group headed up...

...I was at the back with our leader Will.

Some of the beauty....

...of Black Balsam Knob.

This was the Art Loeb plaque in 2013 it was gone in 2016.

The Investor Gap parking area was full.

Another great vista.

"Drunk" Bumble Bees on Mountain Angelica.

Denise taking a picture of me while I do the same.

Art Loeb signs in 2013...

...& 2016.

I will say that I had eaten quite a few blueberries by this point as there was plenty to be had. I think most of the day hikers were there picking them. It was then up another six thousand foot peak that I visited back in 2013 and that is Tennant Mountain. We then headed down to Investor Gap, where we headed toward our campsite.

Ready to head up Tennent Mountain.

Looking back at Black Balsam Knob.

At the summit of Tennent Mountain in 2013...

...& Saturday.

Vista from the summit.

Wood Booger sighting.

Headed down from Tennent Mountain.

Clouds on the mountains...cool.

This might have something to do with John Muir Law.

Back at lunch our leader Will decided to change where we would be camping and where we would hike out Sunday. Instead of hiking to Greasy Cove Gap we instead took the Fork Mountain Trail to a campsite on Fire Scald Ridge. It was a nice hike through the woods to an open field where we camped. It had good water and nice views of Black Balsam Knob and Sams Knob.

Headed on the Fork Mountain Trail...

...into the Shining Rock Wilderness.

Indian Pipe.

Trail in had vistas...

...& wooded section on an old railroad grade.

We have arrived at camp.

Black Balsam Knob.

Tents in the shadow of Sam Knob

We have water.

We had fun that evening and laughing a lot which included Lenny whipping up some blueberry cobbler from fresh berries (yes I said blueberry cobbler) we picked. After some more laughs, which might have included a Squatch call from a Wood Booger I decided to take in the moon and the clouds rolling over the mountains. Then Art, Carol, Sharron, Tommy and I sat back and spotted some shooting stars as part of the Perseid Meteor Shower. After this, it was time to return to the tent and let me just stop to say the new air mattress I got for my birthday made a HUGE difference, I only woke up once and had the best night sleep in a tent that I can remember.

Our "kitchen" area.

My dinner buddy.

Getting ready to cook, notice the Bear Barrel it was required.

Blueberries before...

...after.

Sun is going down....

...with beautiful colors.

Having some fun.

My tent lit up.

The moon....

...& the view at my tent.

Stock photo of my pad (from Outdoor Gear Lab).

After getting up for a sunrise and some breakfast it was back on the trail and to the cars. It was mostly uphill as we back-tracked up the Fort Mountain Trail and then headed up the Investor Gap Trail. When we reached the Investor Gap Trailhead we still had a half-mile on the road back to where we parked and this was the worst part.

Sunrise....

...at camp.

Wonderful colors....

...on a beautiful morning.

Sun on Sam Knob.

Our morning meal.

Will told me about this view before we headed out.

Cold Mountain in the clouds.

One last look at camp...

...& back on the trail.

Headed on...

...the Investor Gap Trail.

We passed vistas....

...& tunnels.

Rough Butt Bald.

Smooth Phlox.

We hiked to the Investor Gap Parking Area....

...then up the road to where we parked.

Then most of the group headed back to Waynesville for lunch at Bocelli’s Italian Resturant. As always I will have a separate review, but it was a good time. I would just like to thank Will and the rest of the group for a great weekend of backpacking, it was an excellent overnight.

Downtown Waynesville...

& Bocelli's.

But that wasn't all. Because I-40 was backed up I decided to take NC-209 back to Hot Springs and then on down to Greeneville. What I didn't know is this stretch of road has a name...The Rattler. Back in May, I drove on the Dragon on my trip to Fontana Dam. It was over 300 curves in11 miles, and while the Rattler wasn't that extreme with just 290 turns, but it is longer at 24 miles. While not as curvy as the Dragon it is twisty in its own right. I also got to drive the Rattler in the rain.