Years ago, a friend suggested we do an overnight trip near Asheville, somewhere called Black Balsam Knob. She had never been, but someone who had been described it to her as “mile after mile of rolling hills. We're talking The Sound of Music scenery." I wanted so badly to see this for myself. Little did either of us know Black Balsam Knob would be the setting of our first misadventure together and a ridiculous story to tell later.
The pictures online were a serious selling point, but what really got me was the freedom to choose your own adventure. According to the posts from Romantic Asheville and Hike WNC, I read before the trip: camping is permitted at any established spot on the bald. No reservations or fees required! Both of us were just day hikers, so spending a night on the trail was exciting new territory for us. The more I thought about it, the more it conjured up day dreams of freely trekking across hill and field in an Autumn wonderland. Can you tell I'd never been backpacking before?
I recognize now this is the same romanticized thinking that sucks so many day hikers (like myself) into backpacking trips they aren't prepared for. After several days of being sweaty, dirt caked, and covered in blisters they find themselves asking “Why on Earth did I think this was a good idea?!” But despite the possibility of things going awry, I couldn't resist a weekend trip to the mountains.
Game Plan
I've always loved hike planning. That and navigation are my two favorite aspects of going on outdoor excursions. So, I jumped on planning this trip right away: comparing possible routes, preparing our gear, and pouring over any info I could find.
What I came up with was an 11.5 mile loop. Starting at the parking lot for Graveyard Fields, we would backpack Graveyard Ridge trail to the Art Loeb up Tennent Mountain, then camp on Black Balsam Knob. The next day we would return to the parking area via the MST and Graveyard Ridge trail. While there is a trail head on Black Balsam road, it’s only 1 miles to the top and not much of an adventure if you ask me. Looking back, we probably should have started at the Black Balsam trailhead and made a smaller loop in the direction of Sam Knob. OR base camped on the bald and day hiked into Shinning Rock Wilderness.
A few days before, everything was ready to go. The weather, on the other hand, had different plans. Early on in the week, the forecast predicted mild clouds; which rapidly escalated to a 70% chance of thunderstorms as the week went on. Rescheduling was inevitable. Thankfully, the following weekend brought nothing but clear skies, and the trip was back on!
The Trek
The parking lot at Graveyard Fields was packed. But none of the other visitors were going as far out as we were. After the first few miles, we had the trail all to ourselves. I’ll admit there wasn’t much to see at first. Just tall crunchy brown vegetation lining the trail. What really caught us off guard were the streams of 2 - 4 inch deep water flooding the trail. With tall thick brush keeping us from going around it. Our choices were:
A.) go through the freezing cold water
B.) lose a shoe in the mud
or C.) try to play hopscotch on puny rocks and sticks on the surface and hope you don't slip.
I opted for C and slipped several times, soaking my boots all the way through.
It wasn't until we reached the Art Loeb that we finally started to see those rolling hills we came for. The steep path up Tennent Mountain was beyond beautiful. On both sides were clear views of hill after hill painted every shade of red, orange, and yellow (with the occasional speckle of green). The view from behind was just as beautiful, with even more Fall painted fields and peaks in the distance.
The top of Tennent Mountain was pretty crowded, but we were able to find a grassy patch to rest on across from the plaque. As I unclipped my pack and dropped it on the ground, all the weight just peeled away. There came a momentary sensation of being lighter than a feather. Then the aches and pains set in, slapping me like a wave. I spread out in the grass next to my pack and closed my eyes. Nose to the dirt, I thought “How do backpackers do it?” Here I am groaning at the thought of putting my pack back on after just a couple hours, yet some people can put up with this for days at a time? Maybe you just get stronger. Or maybe it doesn't get easier, you just get over it.
Foreshadowing
Not long before we got on the Art Loeb, we met a couple coming from the opposite direction. The first people we'd seen in miles! The man lead the way carrying a bulky pack (bulkier than mine!), and the woman followed behind - hood over her face, hands firmly planted in her parka. They seemed to be in a hurry and not all that interested in stopping to chat. But my friend wanted to know where they camped the night before. It wasn't too far from where we were headed. Then she asked about the cold
“Did y’all make out alright?”
Semi-friendly chit-chat turned to awkward silence. The woman looked at the ground and the man hesitated. His eyes shifted between us and the way they came from.
“Uh...it was alright. Yeah, it was good. Kind of cold but alright.” He lied.
The woman's face said it all. We parted ways, and I started to have some reservations.
“Do you think we’ll be alright?” I thought out loud.
“I’m sure we will.” my friend answered.
The Moon
Things got bizarre when we reached Black Balsam Knob. We walked right into the party. Crowds of people laughing and shouting over blaring music. And a whole lot of Mary Jane wafting through the air. We made our way passed the bulk of the party, eventually finding a nice spot with a view. More people arrived and our camp quickly became some kind of attraction. Screaming kids chased each other in circles around our tents, while their parents paid no attention to their whereabouts. At one point a little girl climbed inside my friend's tent! Teens modeled for their Instagram accounts on the grass behind us. While all of this was minorly annoying, it was nothing compared to the bride and groom who claimed the rock beside my tent as the backdrop for their photoshoot. Remember I had little experience with camping at the time, so I wasn't entirely sure if this was a violation of outdoor etiquette. Also being cold, wet, and exhausted made me pretty complacent.
The photoshoot carried on and on with the bride making dirty comments about the groom, and the groom repeatedly cracking the same joke about his genitals. Don't get me started on the bridesmaids. They ended the shoot in a big finale by exposed their rear ends to EVERYONE on the mountain and the photographer snapped away. All of that to say, Black Balsam Knob is a weird place to be on the weekend; and probably NOT the best place to experience a quiet moment in nature.
The Rescue
In the midst of all the chaos it was getting colder. Now that I wasn't schlepping a heavy pack uphill, the chilling wind was way more noticeable. It was starting to get dark, and I still hadn't succeeded in getting water boiled for dinner. My friend asked if I wanted to pack up while there were still some people around. We could ask someone at the parking area below for a ride, and try this again when it was warmer. Determined to stick it out I said
“Not unless you want to. If you’re fine, I'm fine.”
I lasted about 10 more minutes before caving.
“Okay, let’s get a ride.”
We approached two of the last people heading down the trail. As it turns out, they were camping in the forest and had a car parked on the road below. They knew the area and were more than happy to help us out. By the light of our headlamps we tore down the tents and haphazardly jammed everything we could back into our packs. The things we couldn't fit (like still inflated sleeping pads), we carried. As we made our way down the bald, I saw distant city lights to my left and a red glow over the peaks to my right. It seemed like a completely inappropriate time to whip out the camera then, but now I really wish I had.
The guys met us half way, and helped us carry our loose gear to their car. As we walked they told us a little about themselves. Both were college students who backpacked together often. They also told us we weren’t their first rescue mission (and probably won’t be their last.) A group of girls from a neighboring college had recently ended up in the same situation. Unprepared for the conditions, the girls turned to them for a ride.
They guys didn’t have much luck with Black Balsam Knob either. One time they had to move their camp down to the woods because of erratic weather. They went back up the next morning to find the bald covered in snow. We tried to offer them gas money as a token of gratitude, even though it was a few miles down the parkway. Like true gentlemen they refused and said our thanks was enough.
We transferred all the gear back to our car and both let out a sigh of relief. After warming up a little we realized how hungry we were. It’s funny how you forget about things like eating when you’re focused on not freezing to death. We stopped at Chick-fil-a before driving back to my friend's house. Cleaning out the car and correctly repacking our gear was going to have to wait. Just for laughs, I checked the temperature on Black Balsam Knob the next morning. At 9 a.m. it was still 25 degrees. At one point in that evening it dropped to 18!
While I’m a little bummed our camping weekend didn’t go exactly as planned, I sure am glad we chose to leave when we did. It would have been a miserable sleepless night. While our adventure didn't go exactly as planned, I highly recommend visiting Tennent Mountain and Black Balsam Knob. Just be prepared to share the views with A LOT of other folks!
UPDATE 2022:: Since this trip, I've learned and grown quite a lot as a backpacker. I've had a few more failed trips and dozens of successful ones in this part of the National Forest including thru-hiking the Art Loeb... TWICE. You can find some of those other adventures throughout my trail journal.
Final things to share:
Although there is a high population of bears in the area (part of why camping is still prohibited in Graveyard Fields) I have yet to encounter one out there. In fact, the only wildlife I saw on this trip was a mouse!
Bear canisters are required when camping in certain parts of Pisgah Ranger District. Specifically North of the parkway. While I follow the rules and get why it's important, I HATE my bear canister. That sucker is heavy! We only packed a day's worth of food and it was well over 6lbs. Thankfully, my friend and I shared responsibility of carrying it throughout this hike.
There are A LOT of intersecting trails in this area. So to help keep us on course I downloaded a map through the AllTrails app. You do need a subscription to actually download the maps, but it isn't very expensive. I think the pro account was $30 for the year.
I hope you found my trip to Black Balsam Knob entertaining. If there's anything I learned from this, it's always be prepared and know your limits. Going off one person’s experience isn’t enough to inform the important decisions you might need to make.
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