Many of you are already familiar with this route. For those who aren't, the 'Is That All Ya Got Loop' is widely considered the premiere adventure in North Carolina's Linville Gorge Wilderness. Packing an incredible amount of action into just over 20 miles ITAYG has everything the intrepid backpacker could hope for - strenuous climbs, beautiful views, rocky descents, treacherous river crossings, old growth forest, unofficial trails & much more.
We started the trip at the Spence Ridge Trailhead and everything was easy enough for us as we dropped down into the Gorge. We knew what lie for us at the bottom - Joey and I had tried to do a similar loop in the Gorge in 2019 but were unable to complete it due to the river being impassible at the time. The Linville River ran deep and cold but we made it across this go-round! Beautiful campsites abound along the river and we picked one a few miles down to set up for the night's rain.
Our second day had another crossing of the River waiting for us. Before the crossing we had to tackle the unofficial Leadmine Trail, which started out benign but then went up and down a handful of ridges to lead us to the river. This crossing was wider but shallower and much more comfortable to handle than Day 1. We then climbed steeply from the floor of the Gorge up to Shortoff Mountain and picked out a site to hunker down from the incoming cold night.
Day 3 gave us the best views and prettiest weather, a perfect way to end the trip. We hiked several miles along the East Rim and summitted Table Rock before finishing up our trip back at the trailhead.
Thanks for watching!
Layne
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