My First Unforgettable Adventure in the Linville Gorge of North Carolina

I learned to be a solo traveler during college.  I had the itch to go exploring and over the course of a few years after college managed to score some cheap tickets and travel to several major cities throughout the continental United States.  My travel companions were a small suitcase and a medium sized backpack.  No survival gear or anything like that.  When you travel through most airports and various stations you want to be a minimalist packer.  Travel light, travel smart was always my motto.  Pack enough clothes for a couple days and I was go for takeoff.

It wasn’t until 2008 that I experienced my first unforgettable adventure in the Linville Gorge of North Carolina Wilderness Area.  I remember hearing about Linville Caverns and Linville Falls, but didn’t really pay any attention during my previous travels to and from Asheville, NC.  We had been to the Smoky Mountains a few times, but never on any kind of expedition.  We attended a Friends of the Smokies benefit event one year and did an overnight, but it was tame compared to a wilderness hike out and back on foot with full gear.  I found a copy of trails of the Linville Gorge in my dad’s library too.  I had some gear and knew a buddy that was interested enough to spend some money on some extra supplies, so a plan was hatched.

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I want you to keep in mind that at the time, we were still using handheld GPS and printable maps to navigate this great land of ours.  We had some topography maps, a couple of books, and a few satellite images that could give us an idea of what we would be facing out in the wilderness.  The books and articles named trailheads by GPS coordinates only.  If you were lucky, you got some great word of mouth directions from some locals on the way.  You couldn’t just plug in the directions in on your phone, which really didn’t have good service anyway once you start winding up around the mountains.  We made a list of what we thought we’d need and planned a weekend trip where we could leave Friday morning, be hiking at noon, then pack up and head out on Sunday morning.  We had our wanna-be hiking outfits with our cool hiking shirts and we were ready for our excursion.

Looking south towards Hawksbill Mountain on the Babel Tower trail.

At the time of our adventure we had no knowledge of terms like thru hiker or main camp or what any of the colors of ribbons or paint blazes or anything like that.  We plugged coordinates into the GPS before we left and prayed that we could make our way through this inaugural backpacking / hiking excursion.  I even brought a disposable camera. That particular year wasn’t dry at all.  The month was October and little did we know that the official end to reservation camping season was exactly when we’d be going.  We later learned the official season runs from May - October.  It rained earlier in the week and we’d later learn that most of the rain that misses us in the foothills gets swallowed up by the mountains as the storms pass into North Carolina. We had not packed fire kits of dryer lint and flammable cotton balls with waterproof matches and ever strike fire steels.  Nope, just a couple of hand held lighters and whatever semi dry tinder we could find on site.

We found the trailhead for Babel Tower that was going to lead us east down to the Linville River trail and then south.  We strapped on our insanely heavy packs that were loaded with between 60 or 70 pounds of gear, food, and water.  I forgot my hat.  We hiked for a couple of hours and a 900 ft. elevation drop, eventually made it to the river.  We were tired and dehydrated and had no idea what to look for in a good spot to pitch camp and set up shelter.  In hindsight, I think we missed the established campsite, but setting up a fresh camp next the river on the rocky shores was an experience never to be forgotten.  My old hand me down tent actually survived the first night in the gorge.  

Down by the Linville River at the bottom of Babel Tower trail.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed south along the marked trail that runs the river.  You would like to think that south meant downhill, but it doesn’t.  A few hundred feet of elevation change throughout the entire trail is what we hiked.  After a few hours and some hairy scrambles with full packs we made it to a string of campsites that had been mentioned in the literature somewhere near the bottom of Conley Cove.  On a really awesome stretch of river, we started to set up camp and before we knew it three other groups had descended upon our spot and began following suit and started setting up camp.  Of all the things we were not prepared for, a proper wood prepping saw would have come in handy.  The tiny little camping hatchets are great, but there are better alternatives on the market.

Even with our makeshift gear the night’s sleep was refreshing and the next morning we packed up and hiked out on a bright, brisk Sunday morning.  For those who have never been to the gorge, hiking down to the river is tough enough.  Hiking back up and out 900 ft. from a riverside campsite is a physical test for all ages and experience levels.  Running low on water seems to make dehydration hit you much faster.  If you ever can, plan on leaving some supplies in your car for your return back to civilization.  You’ll thank yourself later.