Agile Trekker: Black Balsam Loop via Graveyard Ridge & Art Loeb Trail

Sunday, November 6, 2022

Black Balsam Loop via Graveyard Ridge & Art Loeb Trail

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
11/6/2022	6.4 miles	4 hours 37 minutes	1,052'	1.7	875.2

Parking:

See 100 Favorite Trails Map.

Maps:

Pisgah Map Co. Pisgah Ranger District (for navigation)
100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge (for directions)

Directions:

See 100 Favorite Trails map

Carolina Mountain Club Challenge

100 Favorite Trails Challenge #50
Pisgah 400 Challenge - #356 Graveyard Ridge Trail
Pisgah 400 Challenge - #146 Art Loeb Trail
South Beyond 6000 Challenge - Tennent Mountain, 6,040'
South Beyond 6000 Challenge - Black Balsam Knob - 6,214'

We joined leaders Karen and Ken on a CMC hike today. We had rain and fog on the drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway, causing many people to want to bail. We stood around in the parking lot in the drizzle trying to decide what to do. In the end, 9 out of 10 of us did the hike, and the 10th person did an alternate route by herself. We really only had rain for the first 15 minutes, and then the skies cleared. We had very warm weather and got a little bit of sun in during the afternoon. It turned into a lovely day - so glad we hiked instead of heading home!

We saw wild cranberries on the MST. I didn't even realize that cranberries were a native plant! My grandfather was a nurseryman and had cranberry bogs.

I had done a variation of this hike before - ascending Art Loeb and descending via the Ivestor Gap trail. I did it by myself last year when Glen was in NY. I loved the hike, so I was happy to do this variation of it for the 100 Favorite Trails Challenge. The trees were bare at this elevation, which meant even more views, but I still prefer fall or spring foliage. We saw Henry and his new dog Willie on an off during the hike. His pup looks like the perfect hiking companion for him - I'm so happy he ended up with a nice dog.