Adventures in the Old North State: Hiking Shining Rock Wilderness Area

Big East Fork / Art Loeb / Shining Creek Trails

Amongst all the difficult things I have had to deal with this year, several things have really helped me through... Good friends, backpacking, cats, and beer. That about explains it..LOL

This blog is a new idea and I hope my friends and family will find it at least interesting.

This weekend I made an "epic" hike with two fellow hikers (Joel and Dave). For those that may not know we all have trail names. Mine is GoHike, Joel is Sixpanel, and Dave is MuddyPaws. We set out on a journey through the Shining Rock Wilderness Area in the Pisgah National Forest.

Shining Rock Wilderness Area is located in Pisgah National Forest, west of Hendersonville, NC. It has many peaks reaching over 5,000 feet above sea level, and a few just a bit over 6,000 feet. Big East Fork trailhead is off Hwy 276 near the Blue Ridge Parkway, where it crosses Big East Fork Pigeon River.

Saturday morning I got up at 3am and got ready. I had the car loaded by 4am and was at Sixpanels by 4:32am (4:30 sharp, was the plan). We loaded up and ended up eating at Jimmy's before getting too far. We got to the trailhead at 9:30am if I recall correctly. (The time stamp on the picture below says 9:08am)

MuddyPaws, Sixpanel and I, getting ready to head out on our 8+ mile day, to our camp.

We headed out and started our hike. The first few miles of the trail wandered south,then west, along the Pigeon River. One of my favorite parts of this trail was the river crossings. Some were simple and others were more of a challenge like the crossing at Greasy Cove Prong. Sixpanel took off his shoes and made his way across and I watched MuddyPaws hop across the rocks... I decided I would rather make my way across the rocks... I made it without getting wet, but thought I was going for a swim at least once. There were a few other groups who were also searching for a way across. I heard one young guy say, "I have crossed a few rivers in my day." I am pretty sure he's the same guy from that group that got wet. Looked like he went the smart way and took of his boots, but one of them fell in the water anyway...LOL

Once we made it across, we stopped for lunch and after eating I thought I would try out my brand new water filter. I pumped the handle twice and it broke. Thankfully we had at least three ways of processing water between us. I ended up using Sixpanel's Platypus gravity filter kit and it was great. I will be getting one like his soon.

We got our packs back on and began ascending. Over the next four miles or so, we were treated to an ascent from 4,250 feet to heights over 6,000 feet. During this ascent, we traveled through Grassy Cove Gap, which was beautiful. We hiked over Grassy Cove Ridge and continued on and eventually ran into the culvert that is Art Loeb Trail. This trail was a deep muddy rut. The trail actually has walls. We contended with ice and mud for the next mile, but were treated to gorgeous views.

We made it to camp before sunset. We got some water and made dinner. Sixpanel and I were so tired we set up our tents and were in bed before 8pm. I slept pretty well, and wasn't too cold. MuddyPaws stayed up and talked with some fellow backpackers who were camped down the trail from us.

We were up just before sunrise Sunday morning. I watched the sunrise from my tent and Sixpanel watched it from some elevation up at Shining Rock. It was a beautiful site with amazing views.

After a tasty breakfast of re-hydrated milk and oatmeal, I packed up and joined the others for the descent. Originally, we had planned to descend via Old Butt Knob, but opted for an easier route: Shining Creek Trail. This trail was wearing enough as it was. I can't imagine having to climb it the other direction. Same elevation gain, shorter distance. Note: even more gorgeous campsites along the lower portion of this route.

Saw some real natural beauty on the way out...((trail fairy. :)) And I don't remember staring Sixpanel!

Our trip out took about three and half hours. Exhausted, yet refreshed, we began our trip home.