NC>Art Loeb Trail> April?

[gfstanley]

Last year I reached out for guidance and suggestions on a couple backpacking trips for myself, my 9-year-old daughter, and a second 9-year-old daughter/dad. The suggestion of Birkhead Wilderness in Uwharrie NF for a first trip and Grayson Highlands for a follow up trip were spot on. Therefore, I am reaching out for another suggestion.

The same four of us (daughters are now 10) would like to plan an April trip on the Art Loeb Trail. I think the entire Trail will be too much for the girls, but I do think they can handle a 15-20 mile loop depending on the # of days we have available. What are your suggestions for trails that will create about a 15-20 mile loop that will include 1 or more sections of the ALT? Also will a bear canister be required on the ALT in April?

Thank and I look forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions.

[Shug]

Can't help you with a loop but Hickery and I did the entire trail. Pretty tough trail.
We did not use bear canisters...not required as far as we knew.
Shug

[Rain Man]

Bear canisters were definitely required last year in the Shining Rock Wilderness. A volunteer was at the trailhead stopping people to tell them. The ALT passes through a portion of it. If you don't camp in the SRW, then you're not required to have canisters on the rest of the ALT.

Self-consumed idiots in other groups were trying to get by without the bother, and bears took several food bags the weekend we were there on the ALT in the SRW. That creates a danger for humans and a deadly danger for bears. Did I say self-consumed idiots?

The ranger at the Davidson River Campground hdqtrs was happy to help us with advice and suggestions. Just a hint. There are several ways to do loops, but we were hiking straight through so didn't bother to investigate.

[Gqgeek81]

PISGAH FOREST, N.C., January 20, 2017 - Bear canisters are still required in the Shining Rock Wilderness, Black Balsam, Sam’s Knob and Flat Laurel Creek Areas of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest.
A camping closure in Graveyard Fields area is still in effect, though the area remains open for day use.
“We’ve had numerous reports of bears having success in acquiring improperly stored as well as hung food, reinforcing that bear canisters are the best way to deter hungry bears,” said Pisgah District Ranger Derek Ibarguen. “Visitor safety is of the utmost importance and canisters are the most effective way to safely store food and reduce bear-human conflicts.”
These regulations, issued in consultation with the N.C. Wildlife Commission, were implemented due to human safety concerns after a bear entered a tent and removed a hiker’s backpack earlier this year.
All bear canisters must be commercially made; constructed of solid, non-pliable material manufactured for the specific purpose of resisting entry by bears.
Please ‘Be Bear Aware’

Keep in mind, regardless of drought, fires are not allowed in some of these areas as well. I think they are always banned in the Shining Rock wilderness.

I've been doing a lot of research on the area but haven't been out there yet. I would look into a figure 8 loop starting at the Black Balsam trailhead. From there you could hike SW and pick up Sam's Knob, Devil's Courthouse, and several waterfalls on Flat Laurel Creek. There would be plenty of creeks for water sources on that side. There's also a water source just down Ivester Gap trail from the parking area.
Return to the car and refill the bear canister and then head NE to summit Black Balsam Knob, Tennant Mountain, Grassy Cove Top, and Shining Rock Mountain. There are plenty of options to get to and from.
It looks like the main water source up on that ridgeline is in Shining Rock gap at about 35.362651, -82.864084 but with the drought, any sources may continue to be iffy for a while.

Apparently, people get confused at the trails and spurs in that gap. There are several videos just pointing out what trail goes where from the middle of the gap.
Like this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztgFDkiH6Es
And this one (better)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgvyL-MOHBc

HikeWNC has a great downloadable map of the whole area.
https://www.hikewnc.info/maps/black-balsam/gps-map

Maybe drop by Celebrity's hot dogs on the way in and finish up the trip with a stop for ice cream at Dolly's Dairy Bar.

Have fun.

[bobbycobbler]

Myself and a friend are hiking the entire trail this April as well. Did it from north to south a couple January's ago so this time were going south to north. It is a tough trail. The bear canister has been extended to include the "Black Balsam Area". When I call about where this demarcation is, I was told "any area north of the parkway". That being said, our plan is to camp just south of the parkway, and do the northern section in a day to avoid canister restrictions. Probably just leave food in our truck at Daniel Boone and have steaks our last night

[Shug]

Well, I reckon they do......https://appalachiantrail.com/2015042...tional-forest/
As far as I know they where not when we hiked it.
Shug

[Rain Man]

Well, I reckon they do......... As far as I know they where not when we hiked it.
Shug

I assumed you hiked straight through that short stretch. Lots of people do. But it's real popular with "locals" due to road access.

[TallPaul]

@Gqgeek81 - I was going to ask if you had the GPS coordinates for the water source & re-read your post & saw you included it. Nice.
One tip i'll give ya is the satellite views show the Black Balsam forests. On the Flat Laurel side, I've found good trees to hang there. Some might be on sloped ground, or require a water haul. Last time I hiked the ridgeline (Black Balsam, Tennent, etc). I had a tent, so can't speak to the hanging along there.

OP - as Gqgeek mentioned, the Flat Laurel side does offer some nice options. You can combine this with the ridgeline to make some nice loops. Been a bit since I've been on the ridgeline otherwise I'd offer you more specifics.

[gfstanley]

Thanks for the suggestions and especially the videos. This info will help out tremendously on the planning part. We want to challenge our daughters and get them a little out of their comfort zone so they can discover how strong they are, but we don't want to turn them off from backpacking. Each trip we take we want to increase the difficulty with plans to go to either Joyce Kilmer or the Gorge this summer.