Two Days of Total Solitude.

Some time back I had reserved two days to myself for an overnight backpacking trip. When the two days approached the weather report was for vile, lousy weather. Since I was going mainly to enjoy some leisure time and find some solitude this weather report actually looked better to me. If it was going to rain--and the forecast was for not just rain, but heavy rain--then there was the likelihood that few, if any other hikers would be on the loop I was going to hike.

The route I had set aside was similar to one I had hiked with other people some years back. My plan was to park at the fish hatchery near Looking Glass Rock and take the Cat Gap Trail to the Art Loeb Trail. Originally I had figured on taking an unmarked side trail to the summit of Cedar Rock Knob from Sand Gap and camp on the summit. But since I knew the weather could possibly suck mightily I had a backup plan to skip the summit and push on to the Butter Gap shelter where I would have a wooden roof over my head.

By the time I reached Sand Gap and began to climb the 300 or so vertical feet to the top of Cedar Rock the rain was coming down heavily and the atmosphere was like pea soup and the wind was gusting. I could hear the odd limbs crashing down to the forest floor here and there in the forest. So I decided that I should bypass the summit as my alternate plans indicated and instead I pushed on the couple of miles or so to Butter Gap where the shelter waited.

Once at the shelter the rain began to come down even harder. And by that time--despite my excellent rain gear--I was pretty much soaked. So I rigged some clothesline and changed into my long underwear (dry in my backpack) and hung my wet clothes on the lines inside the shelter. Then I set up my tent because there were a couple of small leaks in the roof and with the rain coming down as hard as it was I thought that some more leaks could develop and the tent would keep me dry. It was here that I saw the only person I encountered during the two days--a day-hiker doing essentially the same loop I was doing, but without a backpack and in one day instead of two.

After that I did the regular old backpacking deal. I got my tent comfortable, put the things I might need in the night close and handy (such as my headlamp), cooked supper, cleaned up, hung my food bag and then retired to the shelter to meditate. The rain was pouring down and the air was cool. Gusts of heavy wind would routinely blast through the forest. Limbs would hit the ground nearby, a couple of them actually just in front of the shelter. I meditated, thought about things, came close to doing some writing in the journal I'd carried along but ended up not even doing that. I just sat at the front of the structure, then lay in my tent and waited for it to get extraordinarily dark.

And it did. It got so dark that all I could sense was a sheet of purest black before my eyes. The world was essentially invisible to me. I had the sleeping pad under my back, my down bag around my body, the winds roaring outside the shelter, and the rain drumming incessantly on the roof.

It was cool.

As I sometimes do when backpacking I slept off and on, waking from time to time and then dozing off. Finally I was wide awake at a tad after 6:00 am. Even then I wasn't quite ready to fix breakfast and break camp so I waited for the sun to paint the gray skies with some manner of dim light and then finally got my motor running.

After breakfast it only took a few minutes to pack up and be on my way. My pants and rain coat had dried in the night but not my cotton shirt (stupid of me to wear a cotton shirt, but there you go). So I just wore my long underwear top on the final leg of the trip.

As near as I could tell from my map it was somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles back to the fish hatchery. And almost all downhill. So I knew the miles would vanish, even carrying my backpack. Just past the shelter the Art Loeb Trail intersects with the Butter Gap Trail and I took that back down, intersecting once more the Cat Gap Trail that took me the final half mile or so.

Since it was raining very heavily off and on I had opted to leave my camera stored safe and dry in my backpack. Thus, from the shelter and on to the truck all I had to record the journey was my GoPro camera which I had strapped to my chest.

Despite how steep and slick parts of the trail was on the way out, I made very good time. Even stopping occasionally to view and make video of waterfalls along the way (there are a lot of waterfalls on that stretch of trail) I made extremely good time. By 10:00 am I was back at my truck and storing my backpack and camera gear.

Since the fish hatchery was locked up tight--even the rest rooms--I drove to the single toilet that was unlocked in the entire area at the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area and washed up and changed into clean, dry clothes that I had brought with me. When you've been backpacking in heavy rain and are that wet, there's nothing better than changing into clean, dry clothes and shoes.

After that I killed an hour just walking around, thinking, and then ate at a nearby restaurant that I like and drove back home.

It was a good trip.

The first bridge near the fish hatchery parking lot.

There are a LOT of stream crossings on the web of trails I took. Some have foot bridges. Some do not.

This dead tree had recently fallen across this campsite. I was tired and used the dead tree as a seat to catch my breath after several miles of uninterrupted hiking.

The Butter Gap Shelter. It's in poor repair and needs some fixing up. But it was still a hell of a lot better and drier than pitching my tent in heavy rain and howling winds on a mountaintop.

My tent and stuff inside the shelter.

My truck, waiting safely for me at the end of the trip.

Two days condensed into ten minutes.

Backpacking in Torrential Rain.

I had set aside two days to take a backpacking trip in western North Carolina. After thinking about my options I decided on a loop from the fish hatchery near Looking Glass Rock that would use the Cat Gap Trail to take me past John Rock, near Cedar Rock Mountain, then to the Art Loeb Trail, after which I'd intersect and hike the Butter Gap Trail, meeting again with the Cat Gap Trail and back to the Hatchery.

The forecast called for heavy rain but I decided to go anyway, mainly because I knew that it would make the likelihood of finding some solitude that much more likely. And that is, in fact, what happened. I saw only one other person on the trail for the two days--a day-hiker who passed by the Butter Gap shelter where I spent the night.

I'll post details about the hike later. It has been a while since I've carried a 45-pound backpack over rugged terrain and my muscles are complaining. More after a night's rest.

The point where I caught the Art Loeb Trail. I really appreciate the well-signed trails of the Pisgah National Forest.

Initially I had planned to camp out on the summit of Cedar Rock Mountain. But I had told my wife that if the weather was too horrible (it was) then I would bypass Cedar Rock and head over to the Butter Gap shelter and stay there. It proved to be a wise decision.

Since the old shelter has seen better days, I decided to pitch my tent inside it to avoid the leaks from the decaying roof. This worked out well. If anyone else had arrived I could always take the tent down, but I suspected that wouldn't happen due to the incessant heavy rain.

Accidental selfie. I had set the camera up for self-timed shots, then realized I had forgotten my mini-tripod and put it down on my camera bag. Whereupon it went off, catching this photo. Pretty cool!

This was the second day toward the end of the hike. Cedar Rock Falls. I was so tired at this point that I decided to just take some GoPro video footage and leave my camera in my backpack. I really was just too tired to dig my camera out.

One For the Ages

After we left the top of Cedar Rock we began what was essentially a very long downhill hike back to the fish hatchery parking lot. Along the way we passed through some very scenic country. Eventually we ended up taking a route that took us along some of the rock walls of Cedar Rock Mountain and I, being unable to resist such temptations, had to scramble upon those walls. It was a lot of fun and if I'd not been so tired by that point I'd have climbed a bit more there.

In short order, though, we came to Butter Gap and the intersection with the Art Loeb Trail. I was impressed with the A-frame shelter that the National Forest Service erected there. They've built several shelters along the Art Loeb Trail, and this is a good one. It needs a little repair work, but largely it's in decent shape and offers a great place to sleep for weary backpackers.

Then we pushed on, and the trail soon took us into lower country where the small streams began to build into larger tributaries. Passing through Pickelsimer Fields we encountered a huge area that had been a beaver dammed lake in recent years, but which is now abandoned and drained. The sign of beaver activity is everywhere, but the animals have moved on after transforming the landscape. Soon after this we were at the first of the waterfalls where we lingered to take many photographs. Then it was on again to the next one where we were surprised to find more than a dozen people gathered there to take photographs. Everyone seemed to have big SLR digital cameras and ponderous tripods which they were using to snap memorable photographs.

And soon after that we were pushing into the parking lot. The hike turned out to be roughly ten miles in length and we had gained and lost over 1800 feet of relief over that distance. I was bushed, of course, and as I write this three days later I'm still physically recovering from that effort. But I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I enjoyed the views and the forest and the waterfalls and the company of five decent people (and two dogs). It was a great hike. One for the ages.

Last year's huckleberries were all going purple on the mountaintop.

Mother Nature's Fall Palette.

Okay. Whenever I come to a steep rock wall, I'm like a big kid. Yes, I was very tired at this point, but I could not resist scrambling up that steep wall of granite. Matilda beat me to it. So much easier for four legs! I copied her a bit and crabbed up the rock to a nice high point to take some shots.

Photograph from my vantage point about halfway up the slope.

Looking back up toward the top. I should have climbed higher.

A nice A-frame shelter on the Art Loeb Trail at Butter Gap. Thus: The Butter Gap Shelter.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the water and the leaves.

I think Jack used my camera to take this shot of me with the first waterfall.

The first waterfall we hit on the way down the mountain.

Waterfall seen through the rhododendron.

Old logs and leaves and water.

Near Pickelsimer Fields we came to this abandoned and drained beaver pond. You can see the work of the busy beavers everywhere.

Closeup of a large-ish tree that the beavers felled.

The empty beaver lodge. Whence the critters? One of my hiking companions, Johnny Corn, gets all of his hiking staffs from such beaver lodges. I was too tired at this point to go digging for a proper wooden hiking staff. But the beavers do all of the work for you. They cut them, peel them, and generally have them the proper length.

The next waterfall we came to. This one was actually quite crowded. There were easily over a dozen people there taking photographs. Everyone but me seemed to have a good SLR digital camera. Alas!

I took this one of Jack at the waterfall.

Jump across, but don't fall in!

Big Bob and the waterfall.

The second waterfall we saw just before the last leg of the hike.