Is sleeping in the back of your car, long late night
caffeinated drives and stumbling into the office Monday morning really worth
spending a single day running in the mountains?
Yes. The answer is always yes.
After a late Saturday morning start and a 5hr30min drive
from Birmingham, my car came to a halt in a back alley street in Brevard,
NC. I grabbed a pair of shoes, stuffed a
duffel bag full of running paraphernalia and hopped into Ali’s car.
Ali is a kindred soul… like my trail twin… like a sister
separated at birth. Though we have ran in some of the same races… we have never
had the opportunity to simply run and share our passion for the trails together.
But the stars finally aligned and presented us with a very short window of about 24hrs for an adventure…
We set off on the 3 mile trail up to Looking Glass Rock and
chatted as we followed the switchbacks up the mountain. Before we knew it… we
had reached the top.
We explored the huge granite dome up top and watched 2
climbers head down the side of the rock.
We eventually took a seat to watch the sun set over the
distant mountains. Not to toot our own horns… but we started the perfect slow
clap to cheer on the sun’s descent!
We climbed back up the rock and stopped to talk with a group
of South Carolina guys that had come up to camp for the weekend. The wind soon
picked up and goose bumps initiated our return to the trail. The descent down
from Looking Glass Rock was a fun and fast! We reached the bottom just as the woods
were getting dark.
Note to Self: If you decide to leave your car in a back
alley street… especially in a town you’ve never been to before… remember the
street name or drop a pin in your maps…
We eventually found my car and started walking the mean
streets of Brevard to find some grub. Apparently Brevard is the least crunk
town eva. Everything was closed with the exception of a little Mexican place…
Ranchero. Ranchero’s food was delish… but their attitudes… well I’ll remain
nice and just say they were subpar. After dinner, we swung by and grabbed ice
and some local brews before heading to Davidson River campground. After a beer by
headlamp… I checked into my room at Hotel Del Andrews, set my alarm and curled
up in my sleeping bag.
My alarm went off. UGH! I swear it felt like I literally had just closed my eyes. The
stars were still shining bright as we packed our vests with a day’s worth of
water and snacks. The game plan to run the entire +30 mile Art Loeb Trail was hatched a
few days prior to the trip… and of course we didn’t really start talking
logistics until the night before. We finally decided to leave Ali’s car at the
Art Loeb trailhead at Davidson River Campground and drive my car out to Daniel
Boone Boy Scout Camp. From online descriptions the Art
Loeb was pretty easy to follow with the exception of the part in the Shining
Rock Wilderness area which started at Daniel Boone Camp…
“Since it is entirely within
Congressionally-designated wilderness, you will find no signs or trail blazes - be prepared to practice map reading and compass skills.”
Well… we
didn't have a map... or a compass... so unfortunately we were not prepared to practice those skills... so we did the only thing we knew to do...
We followed John's advice and went home...
"Going to the mountains is going home..."
A cool morning had us starting off in light jackets, but we
quickly shed them as we started ascending. This section of the trail was steep
and technical… or a crunker person might say that the trail was “gnar gnar.”
We climbed until we reached what I presumed was Deep Gap…
but really it could have been any gap... hell it could've been Thigh Gap for all we knew. We referenced the
pixelated map saved on Ali’s phone. Meh. I vaguely remembered reading something about
their being a spur trail up to Cold Mountain that was supposed to be at Deep Thigh Gap.
The trail leading left fit that bill, so we went right to follow the ridge. We climbed a bit
and were rewarded with a few brief breaks in the canopy.
Ali could already tell she wasn’t feeling the entire 30+
mile adventure that we had originally planned. She decided to descend back to Daniel Boone
Camp to grab the car. She decided she would crew the rest of the way and maybe run the last
section with me. We parted ways and I continued through Shining Rock
Wilderness.
I pressed along at a pretty good clip passing a handful of
backpackers along the way. Though this section wasn’t blazed or marked with any
signs… the trail was well defined and pretty easy to navigate.
This was the only section of the trail that was muddy.
Needless to say… my shoes were soaked and muddy after sloshing through this…
I eventually arrived at Ivestor Gap and left Shining Rock
Wilderness.
From here the Art Loeb trail was well marked… however I
decided to take a side quest up one of the balds before continuing on my journey...
This adventure wasn’t about seeing how fast I could run the
Art Loeb. It was more about exploring a new trail and reconnecting with the
mountains that I had missed so much. After exploring the area for a bit… I said
goodbye to Ivestor Gap and continued onward towards Balsam Knob.
I started the chilly and windy ascent to the ridgeline. As
soon as I reached the spine I started getting excited and my stomach started
filling with butterflies… I was bringing Le Sexxxy back... and this trail was Le Sexxxy…
I pushed hard up the ridgeline and shot a smile at a group
of backpackers who were taking in Le Sexxxiness of the mountains from up top…
I bounded down the other side of the bald and start climbing
up through some overgrowth towards the next bald…
I reached the top of the next bald and could see down to Black
Balsam Knob parking lot. I didn’t see a bright green Element waiting at the
bottom, so I found a quiet spot in the grass. I took off my vest to use as a
pillow, sprawled out in the grass and enjoyed the cool breeze and warm mountain
sunshine.
A group of hikers passed and their talking snapped me out of
my serenity coma. I took my phone off Airplane mode and started the descent
down to the Black Balsam Knob parking lot to see if Ali was there yet. She wasn’t. I
chatted with a few hikers and briefly contemplated taking a side quest up to
Sam’s Knob… but before I fully committed to Sam’s Knob… Ali texted me and said
to carry on and she would meet me at Gloucester Gap. I headed back up
towards Black Balsam Knob to play at 6000ft…
Because of the beautiful weather, amazing views and easy
access… this area was crowded. Still… I hung around a little longer soaking
in Le Sexxxiness before descending. There’s just nothing sexier than elevated
single track with a view… except maybe my wifey when she’s all dolled up in a
Deandri dress... hot damn!
I crossed over the road and fell back into the tree line.
The Art Loeb shares the Mountains to Sea trail for a bit… this section brought
back wonderful memories of the Pitchell Fun Run I did a few years back.
I passed a small group of backpackers heading towards Black
Balsam… but then it was right back to running solitude. I passed through Farlow
Gap, said hi to some backpackers in the Deep Gap shelter, and then started the
climb up Pilot Mountain.
I spent a good amount of time on the summit of Pilot Mt. Since it was a bit harder to get to than
Black Balsam Knob… the summit was all mine for moment. I sat around and enjoyed the beautiful
weather over a Cliff Bar.
After finishing up my snack… I started the fast descent.
This section was steep but a lot of fun! I started crossing over dirt roads
which I assumed was an indication that Gloucester Gap was drawing near. A few switchbacks
later and I could make out my green Element, pink fold out chair, and cooler waiting at the bottom. I
popped out of the woods, cracked open a beer and hummed Justin Timberlake’s “I’m
bringing sexy back… yep.”
I found Ali taking a nap. She
woke up and the Element was immediately transformed into “Ali’s Country Kitchen.”
She whipped me up her famous peanut
butter nutella almond chocolate chip with a single coffee bean wrap. I munched
on the deliciousness while I changed my socks. I finished off my Le Sexxxy beer
while Ali gathered her gear for the final 12 mile section. I closed the hatch
and as we started towards the trail it hit me…
“I think I just smashed the rest of my wrap in the tailgate.”
I did but it was too late to turn back. We were already 4 steps
towards the trail. The last 12 or so miles consisted of a repeating pattern of ascending
then descending ridges and gaps. Though not as scenic as the first 18 miles…
good conversation and speedy descents made the section pass quickly. Brevard
peeked through a gap in the trees and the sound of vehicles let us know we were
closing in on Davidson River Campground. The last section of the trail was a
long descent to the river. We popped out off of the single track and strolled
down the crushed gravel walking path back to Ali’s car.
We drove back to Gloucester Gap to pick up my car before
sitting down at a restaurant to demolish a well deserved bacon cheeseburger.
9hrs of playing in the mountains, traversing some of the
most beautiful single track the South has to offer, lying around on grassy
balds, and drinking colbeer… yea… adventures don’t get much better than that…
"In every walk with
Nature one receives far more than he seeks…"
Ali… I pray you receive far more than you seek during your
walk along the PCT this summer! Stay crunk and I'll see you in the Fall!
Till tomorrow…
