February hike!

I really enjoyed hiking in the snow a couple of weeks ago, so went in search of more snow on this beautiful February morning. I read that the Smokies received 12″ or more and though no snow fell where I live, knew I probably just needed to head a few miles north up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to find some of the white stuff. My hiking friends were all hiking at lower elevations, so hiking solo it was! I have been inspired by and in awe of diehard hikers, Apple Pie and Greenleaf, who are hiking south on the Appalachian Trail and currently traversing the White Mountains in New Hampshire. I don’t think I’m up for that sort of excursion in February, but do want to become more confident and proficient at winter hiking. Not much snow to be seen as I drove up Hwy 215, though there were some magnificent ice-falls! The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed to automobile traffic during the winter months but open for hiking.

My truck thermometer registered 22 degrees and as I began hiking the wind pierced right through the many layers and down pufffy jacket I was wearing. Except for persistently cold hands, I did warm up as I walked the Parkway past Devils Courthouse and eventually to the Art Loeb Trail. It was time to extend my trekking poles for the climb up Art Loeb and it wasn’t long before encountering ice and having to stop again to put on micro spikes.

I finally reached the ridge and the snow I had been searching for. An inch or 2 of snow for the most part but some drifts that went over the top of my hiking shoes. No other human footprints, just the occasional animal paw print!

My destination was Black Balsam, one of my favorite local hiking areas and evidently also a favorite of many other outdoor enthusiasts as it is always crowded in the milder seasons. Today I didn’t see a single person and had this fantastic and very special place to myself. Wow, it was cold and windy though and sometimes felt like I could be blown off the mountain. My buff that I had pulled up over my mouth and nose became moist from my breath and promptly froze. So worth it for the amazing views! Such clear days are not often seen up here and it was fun to identify distant peaks on my new PeakFinder phone app. I was able to identify mountains in the Smokies and NC’s highest peak, Mt Mitchell in the distance.

I got confused on the descent trail and ended up having to bushwhack through some steep and overgrown terrain but finally found the trail down to the unusually vacant Black Balsam parking lot. Time to head back, so I decided to hike Flat Laurel Creek Trail towards Little Sam Trail. At times I wondered if I was actually hiking on Flat Laurel Creek. Glad to have my spikes!

When I finally made it to the Mountains to the Sea Trail, I had a short distance to hike before heading down a side trail to the Parkway. Somehow I ended up on the trail up to Devils Courthouse and was puzzled on how I had crossed the Parkway without knowing. Since I was halfway up to Devils Courthouse, I continued on up and enjoyed more beautiful views. I didn’t linger since it was again very cold and extremely windy.

When I finally made it down to the Parkway, I had to chuckle when I realized I had unknowingly crossed the parkway over the top of Devils Courthouse tunnel. Short walk back to the truck and the thermometer telling me it had warmed up to a balmy 32 degrees.

Although todays outing was not a particularly difficult test of hiking in winter conditions, it did give me more confidence in my abilities to hike in frigid and windy weather, though definitely not enough to attempt crossing the White Mountains in February! Most importantly it was an excellent outdoor adventure on a spectacular winter day! I had a blast!

8.8 miles hiked!