Today, I share a post from that trip originally published on January 22, 2011. I share it in part as a reminder that I have some unfinished business. Read to the end to find out.  

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Back in the old days – meaning before I got a GPS – I knew I’d been on a good hike when I couldn’t wait to get home and perform a topopsy. That would be a postmortem in which I would get out a topo map and try to figure out why, instead of going from Point A to Point B, I’d wound up at Q. Nothing quite like that post-hike thrill of figuring out that you should have gone left at the junction just past the beech cove rather than right, which, it turns out, dumps you in the backyard of a rustic type with a fondness for easily-angered dogs and cinderblocked pickups bearing bumper stickers of a laissez-faire theme.

I still get that thrill, only now I get it after plugging the Garmin Coloradointo the Mac, downloading my tracks and waypoints, then basking in the laptop glow of failure. I mean adventure.

Last weekend I headed up to the mountains. The initial plan was to backpack. When my hiking partner backed out and the winter weather turned out to be more wintery than someone with my backcountry skill set should attempt solo, I modified the plan: use the Davidson River campground, under about eight inches of snow, as basecamp for testing some winter gear, doing some cross-country skiing and a hike. (I wrote about the skiing end of the trip earlier in the week). I was indecisive about the hike until I noticed that the Carolina Mountain Club was doing a Sunday hike in the Shining Rock Wilderness.

I’ve hiked and backpacked a fair amount in Shining Rock, a 18,500-acre wild area that has some of the best views in the state. But I’d never done this 10-mile loop because I didn’t know it existed. In fact, it doesn’t exist, at least on any map I have of the area. Alas, by the time I tried to sign up, the hike was full (groups are limited to 10 people in a wilderness). “I’ll let you know if we have a cancellation,” hike leader Charlie Peterson emailed me.

Turns out they did, but I didn’t find out about it until the hike was about ready to start. I quickly packed and made the 45-minute drive from my Davidson River base camp to the trailhead. I said the hike didn’t exist on paper: That’s not entire correct. The main legs of the hike – the ridgeline out on Fork Mountain Trail, the return along the Little East Fork of the Pigeon River, do exist. It’s the climb from the Daniel Boone Scout Camp up to Fork Mountain Trail, and the descent down to Little East Fork that you won’t find on a map. And, I discovered, unless you’re a CMC hike leader, you’ll be very hard pressed to find the trailhead.

The trip map on the CMC Web site (OK, the loop does exist on one map) shows the trailhead just past the dam as you enter the Daniel Boone complex. The accompanying trail description simply says: “Climb to High Top tower site, follow the Fork Mtn. ridge, then descend to Little East Fork of Pigeon River.:-)” It’s the smiley that gets me.

The problem wasn’t that I couldn’t find a trail, the problem was I found too many trails: The wilderness borders Forest Service land criss-crossed with logging roads. Did the trail follow an old logging road? I started following a likely suspect, likely because it appeared maintained, likely because it seemed to follow the route on the CMC map, likely because there were bootprints in the foot-deep snow. At least for a mile or so. Then the footsteps abruptly retreated back down the mountain, all except a set of deer tracks that soldiered on. To heck with people, I thought. I’ll go with the deer. Onward and upward I continued.

Periodically, I stopped to try and reconnoiter my position with the CMC map. As the logging roads forked I chose the one that seemed the most likely to take me up to the ridgeline and the Fork Mountain Trail. But none of these roads seemed interested in reaching the ridge. I’d follow a spur line for 15 minutes, but at some point, usually tantalizingly close to the top, the trail would peter out. At one point I was within 200 vertical feet of the ridge, but with no easy way to get there. I should have been frustrated. And yet … .

And yet, I was hiking in a North Carolina forest with a foot of snow on the ground. The sky was cloudless much of the day, the temperature in the low 40s. Because of the snow, it was remarkably quiet. And I had zero chance of getting lost, since my lone set of bootprints followed me whereever I went. I hiked for about four hours, covered about nine miles, returned to the car exhausted and elated. And befuddled.

I was even moreso after getting home and downloading my GPS. I had assumed that I was hiking well north of where I should have been. In fact, I was a little south. But at some point, according to my GPS and the CMC map, I should have crossed paths with the actual trail. Multiple times, in fact. At my zenith, 200 feet from the ridge, the electronic topo gives the impression of a ridiculously easy scamper to the ridge. I close my eyes, picture the reality and sigh. I’m baffled, then elated. There’s only one way to solve this mystery, I realize.

A return trip.

The post The joy of figuring out what went wrong appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Though conditions haven’t been ideal for spotting early fall color — warm, sunny, dry days followed by cool nights — we are beginning to see some change. Last weekend, we saw sourwoods and dogwoods aflame at South Mountains State Park (a popular and close destination for Charlotte hikers), and even this week we’ve seen those first responders of fall start to light up the woods along the Eno River in Durham and Orange counties. With fall color in mind, we offer our thoughts on the weekend. 

Fall Foliage Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Stone Mountain State Park, Roaring Gap. Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, Stone Mountain does seem a likely place to catch early fall color. On this ranger-led hike you’ll explore some of the best places to find that color, and you’ll also be able to learn about the trees in question and what causes the change. Learn more here.

In the Pines Guided Hike, Saturday, 10 a.m., Gorges State Park, Sapphire. While the focus of this hike is pine trees, there’s a good chance you’ll see some early fall color in this rugged and diverse park, which contains 21 of the 44 natural community types found in the mountains of North Carolina. Learn more here.

Swoop In: Fall Hawk Watch, Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head. You won’t see fall color at the coast, but you will experience another fall phenomenon: the fall hawk migration. Hang out on the dunes, learn about hawks and their fall migration, and participate in the international hawk count project. Learn more here.

If you’re planning to find color on your own, a reminder that last week in this space we wrote about the best ways to find fall color is currently busting out. Find that blog, with numerous resources, here.

Our last thought: this won’t help you find fall color but it could help you find something even more valuable: your way out of the woods. Saturday at 9 a.m., we’re holding our monthly GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods clinic, at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. We spend a half hour going over map and compass skills, then head down the trail and off to help you test your newfound skills and relate what your map and compass are telling you to the world around you. Learn more and sign up here.

Whatever you do this weekend, remember to GetOut! And enjoy!

Hikes for fall

Some trail just lend themselves to certain seasons more than others. We identify six of those trails, in the Piedmont, in two of our GetHiking! Guide compilations. 

• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Fall. Learn why the Cane Creek Natural Area, Seven Mile Creek Natural Area and Day-Hike Section L of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along Falls Lake are especially good all-around fall hikes. Download the guide here.
• Piedmont: 3 Hikes for Mid Fall. Jordan Lake State Educational Forest, the Fews Ford Access at Eno River State Park and MST Day-Hike Sections Q and R highlight this collection, which you can download here.

The post GetOut! A Fall-like Weekend Awaits appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

GetBackpacking! Appalachian Trail from Carvers Gap to US 19E

• July 16-18
• $145

The 14-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail between Carvers Gap and US is perhaps the most scenic stretch of the AT in the Southeast. We take our time and savor this hike, over Round and Jane balds, over Hump and Little Hump mountains, and past all the scenic hardwood splendor along the way on this 3-day, 2-night backpack trip. Includes shuttle and post-hike shower.

Learn more here.

GetBackpacking! A Wilson Creek Water Adventure

• Aug. 6-8
• $125

Join GetBackpacking! and beat the summertime crowds that descent on Wilson Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest with this summer visit. On this two-night, three-day backpack basecamp trip we’ll hike 4 miles in full pack and about 14 in day packs, exploring Hunt-fish Falls, Gragg Prong, Bee Mountain, Lost Cove Creek, South Harper Creek Falls, Harper Creek Falls, Harper Creek and Persimmon Ridge.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetHiking! New River Paddling and Hiking Weekend

• July 30 – Aug. 1
• $185

Enjoy a mountain weekend of paddling on a placid stretch of the New River in North Carolina, and hikes up both Mount Jefferson and Elk Knob, both with sweeping views of the North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee mountains. This is a basecamp weekend with meals included.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods

• Eno River State Park, Durham: June 13
• Umstead State Park, Raleigh: July 11
• $65

In just two weeks you can become a bonafide backpacker in time for the prime fall hiking season. We start with a gear session via Zoom, then meet for a 5-hour in-field training session before our weekend graduation trip to South Mountains State Park.

• Learn more and sign up for the Eno River State Park class here (SOLD OUT)
• Learn more and sign up for the Umstead State Park class here

GetBackpacking! Intro to Backpacking class

• Sept. 8, 11, 24-26
• $225

In just two weeks you can become a bonafide backpacker in time for the prime fall hiking season. We start with a gear session via Zoom, then meet for a 5-hour in-field training session before our weekend graduation trip to South Mountains State Park.

Learn more and sign up here.

GetBackpacking! Basecamp Weekend in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock/Citico Creek Wilderness

• Sept. 16-19
• $195

Enjoy a four-day wilderness immersion, exploring the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock/Citico Creek wilderness areas of North Carolina and Tennessee. We establish basecamp a mile and a half in, then do a pair of 12-mile daypack hikes exploring this 33,000-acre wilderness straddling the North Carolina/Tennessee line.

Learn more and sign up here.

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