While I have hiked many areas of the Pisgah, The 30.1 mile ALT has been on my bucket list for awhile. Sometimes referred to as the "Appalachian Trail's Greatest Hits" (although technically not on the trail), it's one of the more scenic backpacking trails in the Southeast. It's also one of the more difficult ones going northbound with over 8,200' of elevation change (according to Alltrails and confirmed by my Garmin). I had limited time to complete it as I had to work most of Friday and be back in the office Monday morning. So I traveled up to Camp Daniel Boone Friday late afternoon and camped near the trailhead. I used the Purda Vida Adventures trail shuttle to ferry me back to the start at Davidson River Campground in Brevard, NC (Joe Moerschbaecher the owner/head guide was my driver and a wealth of info on Western Carolina outdoor activities).
I hit the trail at about 9:30am Saturday and completed the first 14 miles after traveling through the green tunnel and ascending Pilot Mountain to see the sunset at its summit and then setting up my hammock by headlamp at Deep Gap (sorry no hammock photos as it was hung in the dark). I then got up in the dark Sunday am to break camp and complete the 17 miles from Deep Gap to the trail terminus at CDB in Hayword County. This is reportedly the highest elevation Scout Camp east of the Mississippi. While the trip was incredible, I would definitely recommend tackling it SOBO and allowing 3 days for the trip. The stretch from Butter Gap to Pilot Mountain going north is brutal, and my second day traveling from Deep Gap up the ridgeline up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then up Silvermine Bald was equally tough. There were areas where I was literally scrambling up boulders and roots using hands and legs. I would also recommend choosing early spring or fall for this adventure as the rain and humidity in WNC is pretty much constant from June through August (also odd that this trail still has spotty water sources given the various micro climates in WNC).
For those of you that have completed this trail or section hiked it, my hat is off to you. I wasn't entirely prepared for it although I had extensively researched various trip reports. In terms of tips for those considering it in the future, pack as light as you can and bring as small/light of a bear canister as possible. They have extended the bear can requirement to anywhere north of the BRP, so it's no longer limited to just Shinning Rock Wilderness. The Forest Service also had bear bag hang lines installed at the Butter Gap Shelter, which is on the southern leg of the trail. I didn't see any black bear activity during my trip, but I heard multiple hikers discussing it. Also, water was already becoming limited on certain sections of the trail. The stream at Deep Gap was down to a trickle, and I met some hikers at the Cold Mountain intersection who said the trail had run dry at the summit. Early spring and winter this isn't an issue, but this trail requires you to hydrate early and frequently and carrying back-up liters is costly. Lastly, I'm not sure if the Pilot Mountain climb is worse than the BRP ridgeline climb, or if Silvermine Bald is worse than the Narrows, but this trail throws a lot of technical climbs at you. My knees throbbed the whole drive home.
Anyways, the following are some of the highlights from my trip:
Trail Map GPX Coordinates from Caltopo
art loeb trail map by Twistytee, on Flickr
Southern trailhead at Davidson River
DSC05366 by Twistytee, on Flickr
DSC05370 by Twistytee, on Flickr
Sunset over Pilot Mountain
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Views from the Green Tunnel on Day 1
DSC05377 by Twistytee, on Flickr
DSC05378 by Twistytee, on Flickr
TVA Survey marker heading up the BRP ridge line section
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Trail steps up to Silvermine Bald
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Peak through across the BRP from Silvermine climb
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Black Balsam forest off the MST
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Trail split from MST to Black Balsom Knob and the 360 degree vistas
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Views from Black Balsam
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Summit Marker
DSC05383 by Twistytee, on Flickr
Trail to Tennent Mountain
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Northern ART terminus
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
Untitled by Twistytee, on Flickr
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