Friday Hoofing it on the 23 Feature Loop Hike

As part of my post Appalachian Trail re-entry adjustment and in an effort to keep my trail legs from atrophying, I have joined a great hiking group called the Pisgah Hikers. I have spent most Fridays with a hard core group of seasoned hikers called the Friday Hoofers. They welcomed me into their tribe and it has been most enjoyable to join them on a Friday hike around and about Brevard, NC and the Pisgah National Forest.

As I drove over Indian Camp Mountain and down into Rosman to the carpool meetup location, the blue skies vanished and visability disappeared in the pea soup fog. Six of us loaded into 2 cars and headed up toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. The fog quickly dissapated and surprisingly the temperature began to rise as we drove up the steep but scenic road to the trail. Shortly after crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway we hit black ice and gently skidded into the trail head parking lot thanks to the expert driving skills of our drivers, David and Vince.

The plan today was to follow the Flat Laurel Creek Trail, summit Sam Knob, follow the trail to Black Balsam Parking Lot to connect with the Art Loeb spur, then take the Mountains to the Sea Trail back to the cars, a total of 10.7 miles

The group had hiked this trail previously and one of the participants of that past hike had noted that there were a total of 23 different features to see along the route, so there was funny commentary and discussion on whether what we were looking at was one of those features. The trail was plenty muddy from the never ending rain our region has been experiencing and there was abundant ice too, but blue skies, the approaching puffy clouds and mild temperatures made for perfect hiking weather

I had hiked up to Sam Knob a couple of years ago in the fall, with Frolicking Dinosaur and lunched at the exact same spot we chose as a lunch spot today. The elevation on top of the Knob is just under 6000 feet and there was a 360 degree panorama. The view was  spectacular!

It was really surprising to see there were no cars parked at what is usually a super busy Black Balsam parking lot. Perhaps there was a gate closure at the Parkway due to the government shut down. It was a short climb up the Art Loeb spur to another spectacular view! I am really beginning to appreciate winter hiking on days like this.

As the day progressed it became more cloudy, foggy and a little cooler and the group told me we were missing some of the features but there were still some outstanding views to be had as we dropped in elevation. At one rocky outcrop you could barely make out Lake Jocassee in the very far distance which is my neck of the woods. As we intersected back with the Flat Laurel Creek Trail there was a short rock scramble up to a great view. Some of the group were not interested but since I had not hiked this particular trail, Vince,  volunteered to hike up there with me to give me a chance to see it.

Over the last few weeks the group had mentioned a member called Maryann who had been sidelined by joint replacement surgery. Maryann rejoined the group today and it turned out we were already aquainted through attending the same yoga class. She was so funny, asking me to duct tape her sitpad to her rear end because she was afraid of falling on all the ice we encountered. I obliged and that seemed to insure that none of us fell despite the sometimes tricky trail conditions. Another fantastic hike with great company!