August 7-9: 24.3 miles
My friend Mark and I hiked the Standing Indian Loop this past weekend in NW NC. Weather was gorgeous with highs in the low 80s and overnight lows in the high 50s. It alternated between overcast and clear, but we only got about 5 minutes of light drizzle that never even penetrated the forest canopy.
Day 1: 5.0 miles
We started at Backcountry Information Center and hiked up the Kimsey Creek Trail to join with the AT at Deep Gap. From there, we turned NOBO and hiked to Standing Indian Shelter. We had gotten a late start at 4:15, so we pitched our hammocks next to the shelter. That was my first experience with an AT shelter/privy, which I thought were both quite nice. The water source however was not very good, just a small trickle through a marshy area. I was told that conditions were fairly dry at the time, so maybe it's usually better? There were three other people at the shelter: a girl on her last day of a 10-day hike, a fellow hammocker who was using a Hennessey that he was kind enough to show us, and an Australian guy who was also headed NOBO (I wish we had exchanged names). Mark and I scrambled to pitch our hammocks in the fading light only for Mark to realize that his headlamp batteries were dying. We cooked dinner in the dark on my Bushcooker LT2 and then sacked out immediately. There weren't any bugs out that night, but I was still thankful for the bugnet on my WBBB since mice were apparently crawling all around the shelter all night bothering the other occupants. I didn't notice.
Day 2: 11.3 miles
Saturday morning, we made use of the privy and then broke camp and hit the trail around 9:30. We camelled up on water since we knew we wouldn't see any reliable water until Beech Gap. The climb over Standing Indian was gradual and not very difficult to manage. I particularly enjoyed the "rhododendron tunnel" that the trail so often forges on this section. We made it to the summit in about an hour and enjoyed the views. There is a great tenting sight right on the very apex of the mountain, but there are also several hammock sites just a few dozen yards down from the summit, if you are willing to carry water up with you. We pressed on past Beech Gap to a stream for a water refill and lunch. The descent from SI was long but not very steep. We had planned to stop for water again at a stream just past Carter Gap, but we couldn't find it (gone during dry conditions?). We pressed on to our target camp spot at Betty Creek Gap only to find the water source there had been reduced to nothing more than a muddy wallow. At this point, we were bone dry and needed water not only for that evening but also to get us up and over Albert Mountain the next day. After exploring a bit, we followed the Betty Creek Gap trail about 0.1 miles to find a stream with flowing water. Since connector trails are always blazed blue, it was not clear that there would be water, but thankfully there was. We found our Australian shelter-mate from the night before set up across the creek from us, so we pitched our hammocks on the near side of the creek and enjoyed a fairly relaxed evening. We even had time to clean up and pack out a good deal of garbage that had been left in the area.
Day 3: 8.0 miles
We got a very late start at 11:00 since we were in no real hurry and set off towards Albert Mountain. The approach to Albert was not too bad, but the last 0.3 miles were almost as steep as Heartbreak Ridge on the Foothills Trail. There were a few places where you simply had to scramble up a rockface. We paused to eat lunch at the fire tower and enjoy the 360 degree views, but both of us had finished the last of our water with lunch, so we hurried down the other side of the mountain to reach the water source at Long Branch Shelter. After pausing for water refill, snacking, and re-taping of feet, we pressed on the final 0.8 miles to Glassmine Gap and then turned onto the Long Branch Trail back to the cars. We finished around 4:30.
What I learned:
-This section of the AT is more beautiful than any other section of trail I have yet hiked. Not just because of the views awarded on the mountain peaks but also the forest itself and the "tunnels" that the trail frequently carves through the understory.
-Most of the grades on this section are mild to moderate (Albert Mountain excepted).
-We were easily able to sustain 2.5-3.5 mph pace on the slight grades and even close to 2.0 on the moderate ones (for me, this is pretty fast!).
-I am capable of boiling water for 2 people on my Bushcooker LT2 using fairly damp wood, but the process took longer than I would like. I need more practice!
-My 40 degree quilts were overkill for lows in the high 50s (I was borderline sweating).
-Moleskin works, but you have to be aggressive and use it immediately!
-You need to hike this loop!
P.S. Here's the "proof"
Chute campers built on the river for tubing
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Just one example of the "rhododendron tunnel."
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View from Standing Indian summit
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Me at an overview near Betty Creek Gap
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Part of the ascent up Albert Mountain
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The view from Albert Mountain fire tower
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Originally Posted by Str1der
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