Shining Rock/ Art Loeb/ Ivestor Gap in August

[SlowPoca]

Hey there,
I'm looking to do a nice low mileage easier meandering type of hike and have seen a lot online about the Ivestor Gap trail from Black Balsam to Shining Rock. It sounds like exactly what I'm looking for, except for all the bear talk! Much of what I've read regarding bears seems to be years old, except for the fact that I'd have to bring a canister.
Anyway, as a hanger, I'm wondering who has hung near Ivestor Gap and near Shining Rock gap specifically. What was it like? Was it hard to locate the trees to hang? Is it safe if you have a bear canister in recent months?

My planned route is:
Day 1- Hike from Black Balsam parking lot up the Art Loeb spur trail across Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain, down into Ivestor Gap then take Ivestor Gap trail to Shining Rock Gap. (4 miels) Camp here for the night.
Day 2- explore Shining Rock then return to break camp. Head back towards Ivestor Gap, (thinking it's about 2.5 miles?) not sure if I'll take Art Loeb or retrace steps on Ivestor Gap- would love to hear reports about the difficulty of the two! Camp near Ivestor Gap for the night.(I hear there's a random cove of trees somewhere in here that I'm hoping isn't hard to find).
Day 3- take the easy Ivestor trail back to car. (2 miles)

Does anyone know if this is doable? If you've hung in these areas, what was your experience like?

~Deni
aka: SlowPoca

[wcannon32]

Check out this trail on AllTrails.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/n...nob-trail?p=-1 might have to hop on road for half mile to make the loop but looks like a good trip.. no help on area for trees or bear reports. Figured I'd help with some mapping ideas.


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[Gqgeek81]

I camped in Shining Rock Gap a few weeks ago. There aren't a ton of spots out there so even with a few other hikers, it was slightly crowded. YMMV. I didn't make it to Shining Rock itself, but I'm curious if somewhere near Beech Spring Gap would be suitable. The older FS maps show a trail heading north of 332 from the gap. This area might be off the Art Loeb enough to avoid the crowds and if the spring is running, you'd have water right there too.

I took the Art Loeb out there just like you suggest. It can be a bit hard to follow. There are alternate parallel routes and only the Art Loeb seems to be marked. The trails themselves are obvious, but sometimes it's confusing which one is which. I took Investor Gap on the way back. It was an absolute stream bed with a lot of running water in several parts, but it had also rained daily for at least the previous 3 days I was out there. Right at Ivestor gap specifically, there is a giant puddle that's a good 8" deep and unavoidable. Ivestor is largely flat and rocky, but very easy going. It took 2 hours to hike back to the parking area from Shining Rock Gap.

I believe I passed the spot you're suggesting for night 2 but I didn't go explore. It means you're planning on no one else being there so have a backup. If you walk back to the parking lot on day two and then continue on the Flat Laurel Creek Trail, you can turn into the balsam trees after 0.6 miles or so and find a gigantic area with almost unlimited camping and one fire ring after another. 35.317949° -82.881973° give or take.

Keep in mind, fires are forbidden inside the Shining Rock wilderness. I believe that means everything North of Ivestor Gap.

[biggiefrye45]

There are some good trees to hang from around there.. spent 3 days up there in that area doing the art loeb trail and never saw any bears. Just take the same precautions you would take in other areas and you should be fine.

[Ashe]

just saw a great trip report over on GoSmokies.

[snwcmpr]

Beautiful area, lots of berries, they may be ripe then.

[Crawldaddy]

When do you plan to do your hike? Im a regular up there and know the area pretty well. Im always looking for company if you are interested. But Im not fast hiker anymore. Let me know..

[adam.b]

Beautiful area. You are now required to use bear canisters, not just a bear bag .

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[scclimber]

Last weekend i went in the opposite direction from Black Balsm knob toward Flat Laurel Creek. I connected Sam Knob to Little Sam knob to MST (side hike to Devils courtshouse) to Flat Laurel Creek and back to car. I did this in 3 easy days about 10 miles total. lots of nice campsites and blueberries. Years ago I did the hike you described, but in a tent. Have fun. let me know if you have any questions.

David

[TallPaul]

Last weekend i went in the opposite direction from Black Balsm knob toward Flat Laurel Creek. I connected Sam Knob to Little Sam knob to MST (side hike to Devils courtshouse) to Flat Laurel Creek and back to car. I did this in 3 easy days about 10 miles total. lots of nice campsites and blueberries. Years ago I did the hike you described, but in a tent. Have fun. let me know if you have any questions.

David

That is a nice area. And numerous Black Balsam trees in the area to hang from.