Art Loeb Trail

I've been trying to plan out a multi-day backpacking trip so that I can get away from the city for a little while. When you're living in an urban environment, you forget what it's like to have some real peace and quiet. I sometimes find myself with the need to get away from the noises of Mankind--music, voices, engines. There are nearby city and county parks where you can see trees and go walking, but you are never free of the sounds of traffic and gasoline engines.

Next month I have a three-day break. If I can keep my plans afoot I hope to tackle the Art Loeb Trail. I first heard about this footpath when I was a very young man and it has remained a possible goal for years. At a bit over 30 miles in length, it can be tackled as a two-night, three-day backpacking trip. My problem is to arrange to be dropped off at one end and picked up on the other. I'm not sure I can arrange that, but I'm going to try to figure it out.

The trail does pass through some genuinely wild areas so I hope that I can find myself away from the noise of so-called civilization for a little while every day. It's what I need and hope to find.

In past years I have actually walked on sections of the Art Loeb Trail, but never have had the time or opportunity to tackle the entire route. Here's hoping...

A few years back, near the Art Loeb Trail (but not on it).

Just short of the Art Loeb Trail on Sam Knob.

The famous Cold Mountain, which the Art Loeb Trial summits.