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
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