Shining Rock Wilderness is the best, its my favorite here in Nc. May I recommend the flat Laurel creek trail loop starting from black Balsam knob trailhead and going to the waterfalls near to little Sam's knob, then back around below Silvermine Knob drainage and back to the parking lot. Its epic scenary and a much easier hike and much more well traveled trails so very wide. Wilderness areas do not allow marking of trails which is why no blazes.
Thanks for watching! Yes, that is one of the routes we want to do. It was actually where we were going to end our trip had it not gone sideways. We plan to go back this next April and do some more sections out there. We can't wait!
Hiked this in 2013 for 4 nights. Went up tenant mtn out of the parking lot, out to cold mtn and back. Camped at that same campsite on the last night that you stayed at on your first night, then came back on the fire road. Used dead reckoning and pace counts to navigate. Had 50mph winds and a storm the last night. It was a wonderful trip!
My first real backpacking trip was the Art Leob…. starting at the boyscout compound. A pack that was a rookie attempt at being lightweight (35lbs) and sweltering July heat made for a suffer-fest I still remember. A great time that brings back great memories. Nothing beat climbing up onto the granite boulders overlooking the valleys, and nothing was worse than 10” wide trails overgrown with rhododendron lol
OMG, I can totally relate! I've been in a similar situation before, where the crossroads had me scratching my head. But hey, it's all part of the adventure, right? And I bet the greenery made the whole experience even more magical! Thank you for watching!
@@Backpacksandtrails it sure looked like you went over grassy cove top when you went out I left your Gap and got to shining Rock camp. It's been closed for years. Otherwise art lobe up to shining Rock camp is only a 300 FT elevation
Great place to hike and camp. Just wanted to let you know the hard part of the hike you made straight up Ivestor Mtn. is the old Art Leob trail. That part was supposed to be closed years ago because of erosion. The new trail goes around the back side of the mountain and is much easier. You are right about the trails not being maintained. It seems the forest service is content letting the trails go back to all wilderness. Happy trails.
Thats a brutal hike 🤨 I have hiked Va NC and there is some beautiful places to hike there. Its a great were not solo hiking. Its even more sketchy when you're all by yourself. I'm glad you both are hikers with some experience...bad decisions could have been made. We can all be grateful for lessons learned.👍
You did this hike the hardest way! It's easier to go counterclockwise, starting on the Art Loeb - most of the climbing will be downhill. Also, when you start in the morning, you have more energy for all the ups and downs and the views along this route are amazing. At Ivestor Gap, you should have continued right onto Art Loeb, bypassing the summit trail to Grassy Cove Top (which is closed now anyway - probably due to all the erosion). The views on top aren't really worth that climb. The mistake I made was when I got to Shining Rock Gap, I got confused and instead of getting on the Old Butt Knob trail to the cliffs, I continued straight on Art Loeb. I still got to see the white quartz, but only the rockfall at the bottom of the cliffs, not the cliffs themselves. when I got back to Shining Rock gap, I turned right and then left onto Ivestor Gap trail, which is almost as scenic as Art Loeb and a heck of a lot easier for my tired body at the end of the day. Despite missing the quartz cliffs, I'd still rank this as one of my favorite hikes, and really not that difficult if you do it counterclockwise. It looks like what you did was go down Old Butt Knob down to the Shining Creek trail that comes up the eastern flank of the range, and both trails (especially Old Butt Knob) are notoriously difficult. You wouldn't have had to deal with those trails at all (except the short part to get to Shining Rock cliffs) if you had taken Art Loeb back to the parking lot. But the scenery around the creek and the views up to the ridge were stunning, so not a total loss! If doing the hike this way was your intention, my apologies.
Thank you for your comment and insights on the trail. We did do it the way we did on purpose, but I would not do it that way again for sure... Sometime in the near future I will be back out there exploring different routes. Probably either a 1 or 2 night route. Thanks for watching and subscribing! New changes and new videos coming soon!
That whole area up there is not marked ... so it's all kind of dangerous especially if you're not familiar with route finding. It's even harder doing it with a backpacking pack on. I'll second the recommendation of Flat Laurel/Sam Knob loop ... I did it as an overnight but could easily be shortened or customized depending on personal skill level. I agree ... if they have a sign on one end stating it's impassable - then it should be marked the same on the other end. Glad y'all made it safely and hopefully you're knee is doing better!
Wow. Glad you two made it out ok. Looks like I can not worry about hiking that trail.
Yea, they really need to do something about that.....
Shining Rock Wilderness is the best, its my favorite here in Nc. May I recommend the flat Laurel creek trail loop starting from black Balsam knob trailhead and going to the waterfalls near to little Sam's knob, then back around below Silvermine Knob drainage and back to the parking lot. Its epic scenary and a much easier hike and much more well traveled trails so very wide. Wilderness areas do not allow marking of trails which is why no blazes.
Thanks for watching! Yes, that is one of the routes we want to do. It was actually where we were going to end our trip had it not gone sideways. We plan to go back this next April and do some more sections out there. We can't wait!
That’s a crazy experience! Glad y’all survived! Those washouts were crazy!
Yes they were......thanks for watching!
This gives me PTSD, but the views were awe-inspiring. Definitely an experience I will never forget.
Hiked this in 2013 for 4 nights. Went up tenant mtn out of the parking lot, out to cold mtn and back. Camped at that same campsite on the last night that you stayed at on your first night, then came back on the fire road. Used dead reckoning and pace counts to navigate. Had 50mph winds and a storm the last night. It was a wonderful trip!
Wow, yea, we love it there. Going back for sure! Thanks for watching!
My first real backpacking trip was the Art Leob….
starting at the boyscout compound.
A pack that was a rookie attempt at being lightweight (35lbs) and sweltering July heat made for a suffer-fest I still remember. A great time that brings back great memories. Nothing beat climbing up onto the granite boulders overlooking the valleys, and nothing was worse than 10” wide trails overgrown with rhododendron lol
Thanks for sharing your experience! It's amazing how backpacking trips can create lasting memories. Thanks for watching!
My family hiked this area back in 2019. I remember getting "lost" at a couple of the crossroads. Everything was really green when we were there.
OMG, I can totally relate! I've been in a similar situation before, where the crossroads had me scratching my head. But hey, it's all part of the adventure, right? And I bet the greenery made the whole experience even more magical! Thank you for watching!
Why didn't you go around grassy cove top ?
This was not near Grassy Cove Top. We did however go over Grassy Cove Top the day before and it was not closed at that time.
@@Backpacksandtrails it sure looked like you went over grassy cove top when you went out I left your Gap and got to shining Rock camp. It's been closed for years. Otherwise art lobe up to shining Rock camp is only a 300 FT elevation
@tallyrc I'm sorry, yes, I thought this was a different video, lol. We wanted to go over grassy cove top. It was a lot of fun 😁
Great place to hike and camp. Just wanted to let you know the hard part of the hike you made straight up Ivestor Mtn. is the old Art Leob trail. That part was supposed to be closed years ago because of erosion. The new trail goes around the back side of the mountain and is much easier. You are right about the trails not being maintained. It seems the forest service is content letting the trails go back to all wilderness. Happy trails.
We are so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching, and Happy New Year!
Grassy cove top is closed. Not sure why they didn't take art loeb or investor around..
Thats a brutal hike 🤨 I have hiked Va NC and there is some
beautiful places to hike there. Its a great were not solo hiking.
Its even more sketchy when you're all by yourself. I'm glad you
both are hikers with some experience...bad decisions could have been made.
We can all be grateful for lessons learned.👍
You did this hike the hardest way! It's easier to go counterclockwise, starting on the Art Loeb - most of the climbing will be downhill. Also, when you start in the morning, you have more energy for all the ups and downs and the views along this route are amazing. At Ivestor Gap, you should have continued right onto Art Loeb, bypassing the summit trail to Grassy Cove Top (which is closed now anyway - probably due to all the erosion). The views on top aren't really worth that climb. The mistake I made was when I got to Shining Rock Gap, I got confused and instead of getting on the Old Butt Knob trail to the cliffs, I continued straight on Art Loeb. I still got to see the white quartz, but only the rockfall at the bottom of the cliffs, not the cliffs themselves. when I got back to Shining Rock gap, I turned right and then left onto Ivestor Gap trail, which is almost as scenic as Art Loeb and a heck of a lot easier for my tired body at the end of the day. Despite missing the quartz cliffs, I'd still rank this as one of my favorite hikes, and really not that difficult if you do it counterclockwise. It looks like what you did was go down Old Butt Knob down to the Shining Creek trail that comes up the eastern flank of the range, and both trails (especially Old Butt Knob) are notoriously difficult. You wouldn't have had to deal with those trails at all (except the short part to get to Shining Rock cliffs) if you had taken Art Loeb back to the parking lot. But the scenery around the creek and the views up to the ridge were stunning, so not a total loss! If doing the hike this way was your intention, my apologies.
Thank you for your comment and insights on the trail. We did do it the way we did on purpose, but I would not do it that way again for sure... Sometime in the near future I will be back out there exploring different routes. Probably either a 1 or 2 night route. Thanks for watching and subscribing! New changes and new videos coming soon!
Take care
That whole area up there is not marked ... so it's all kind of dangerous especially if you're not familiar with route finding. It's even harder doing it with a backpacking pack on. I'll second the recommendation of Flat Laurel/Sam Knob loop ... I did it as an overnight but could easily be shortened or customized depending on personal skill level. I agree ... if they have a sign on one end stating it's impassable - then it should be marked the same on the other end. Glad y'all made it safely and hopefully you're knee is doing better!
Thank you, and thanks for watching! 😀