Art Loeb in a Day

Camp Daniel Boone to Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway to Davidson River

Our fourteenth hike of the year… June 1, 2024

Sally & I

Last November as I was on an overnight in Pisgah with a friend - a thought entered my brain - could I hike the Art Loeb all in one day!? Since then, that thought continued to persist - so for a couple months I'd been watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to attempt it. During that time - I'd seen a few other people do it - which only gave me more confidence to attempt it.

By Thursday, I'd contacted Laura to see if she wanted to shuttle us to the trailhead at midnight on Friday! Thankfully with her positive energy and encouragement in tow, we met at the southern terminus of the Art Lob where I left my car. We then made our way to the northern terminus, where we parted ways and we hit the trail at 1:20am! The overwhelmed feelings of - WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF & SALLY INTO!? - quickly dissolved into my trail mantra for the day - one step at a time!! That's all 1 allowed myself to focus on ... this was going to be not only a physical challenge but also a mental challenge! As we navigated the first major climb of the day to reach Deep Gap - the doubt and fears subsided and all that was left was the trail zone! The trail was pretty easy to follow with the light from the headlamp. We made it to Deep Gap where we turned right to continue along the Art Lob and tried not to scare those camping there - so we tried to be as stealthy as we could. Once past the camping area, we continued into the Narrows, which is a rocky spine of trail which was actually pretty fun and there was a nice overlook where we got to see the moon and stars with a smattering of lights from civilization. We continued on - spotting a Jack in the Pulpit and some pink lady slippers! As we summited Stairs Mountain - the sun was starting to illuminate the horizon. Soon, it was light enough to remove our lights (and charge them just in case we'd need them later in the day). Unfortunately, with the daylight also meant I started taking my sweet time enjoying various wildflowers and mountain views!

As we got past Shining Rock Gap, we continued along making our way to Tennent Mountain - where as you're going northbound the views looking back south are amazing. It was hard not to stop, sit awhile, and soak it all in. We continued on making our way to the summit of Black Balsam ... where we soaked in the views a bit more before finally dropping off the ridge - making one more stop to get some extra snacks out. We made our way across the road and into the pine forest - where I momentarily lost the trail - but thankfully it was short-lived and we continued on making our way south. We turned left - making our way down the newly maintained section of the trail which is much easier than it used to be!

We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and continued downhill - this part of the trail while downhill is also littered with a bunch of rocks - so I chose to be cautious and not try to go too fast. We passed by the Deep Gap shelter where a couple of mountain bikers were enjoying a snack break - we continued on because we had 3 more mountains to climb. First up was Sassafras straight up with no switchbacks!

Second, Pilot Mountain ... switchbacks but the climb seemed to take forever - perhaps the tiredness was settling in. We passed by Gloucester Gap and made our way up to Chestnut Mountain ... where as we were on our way up I had a seat on one of the steps - I needed a break. Time was getting away from me ... hopes of finishing in the daylight diminishing. We passed Butter Gap - where a couple was set up for the night and the water was flowing out of the pipe. But I made the decision to keep going.... I grabbed water at the next water source, ate some fruit snacks (the candy kind), and mixed up a bottle of Liquid I energy. The uphill past Butter Gap was a seemingly relentless climb ... all I could say was - one step at a timel We passed the side trail to Cedar Rock Mountain and continued another relentless climb - Chestnut Knobl! At least the trail wasn't exceedingly rocky - but at this point almost 24 miles in - everything was labored! As darkness settled around us, we made our way down towards Davidson one step at a timel Two more climbs awaited us along Shut-in Ridge - with the last climb being over 200’.

Thankfully, the trail itself was really nice - and it'd probably be worth doing in the daylight! Regardless, when you know that all that is between you and the comfort of your car is 200’ and 4 miles ... focus and determination set in!

After the final climb, we started descending finally! Then I got startled out of my mind - when I see headlamps ahead of me. Turns out it was a couple backpacking with a GOAT - that was a first seeing a goat on the traill Sally wasn't too pleased about it - I think she was just as startled as I was. They were headed to Butter Gap - they had quite a ways to go and it made me grateful I was almost done! With about a mile and a quarter left - we started hearing the river. Apparently, my body was like you're almost there and all the aches and pains settled in making the last mile seem like forever! But also, at this point I'd been awake for 26+ hours ... but I wasn't going to quit - we were going to make it! Finally, we crossed the Davidson River bridge and a short ways up there was the final sign - the END of the Art Loeb. A wave of emotions that left me speechless. WE'D DONE IT - now it's time for a nap!

Things to note.

..this is not an easy trail. The last time I'd done this trail all the way thru was on a

backpacking trip that was 3 nights 4 days - it wasn't easy then either! There's no water from Black Balsam to Deep Gap... be prepared. The climbs on this trail are all varying - the longest sustained climb going SOBO is from the northern terminus to Deep Gap. The busiest part of the trail was around Black Balsam. I had cell service on most summits/ridgelines (Verizon). Highly recommend using Gaia for the trail ... I used my Coros watch map that I'd created so it'd let me know if I'd managed to get off trail or how far it was to my next goal post (just mileage points to look forward to - usually mountain summits) which helped with keeping mental positivity Special thanks to God for answered prayers - safe trip and no wildlife encounters!; Laura - for such an encouraging start to my trip and being willing to meet at midnight - I deeply appreciate your generosity; and all the nice people along the trail - some of them gave Sally special treats.