Big East Fork Trail, Shining Rock Wilderness

[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;"] T [/dropcap]he southeast corner of Shining Rock Wilderness is filled with rivers, creeks and streams tumbling down from the mountains that rise above 6000 feet in the high country. Included among these waterways is the East Fork of the Pigeon River, otherwise known as Big East Fork. A trail follows the river from Hwy 276 to the confluence with Greasy Cove Prong and beyond. This Big East Fork Trail passes several coves and small waterfalls as it climbs nearly a thousand feet through dark and deep forest. The final push is a climb out of the wilderness from Bridges Camp Gap up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is one of those great wild places that Shining Rock is known for. Our hike occurred on Thursday, July 26, 2012 from 8:15am to 11:15am. The plan was to take the Big East Fork Trail along the Pigeon River to Greasy Cove, then join the Bridges Camp Gap Trail up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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Hike Length: 6.1 miles Hike Duration: 3 hours Blaze: None, wilderness

Hike Rating: Moderate Hike Configuration: Point to point

Elevation Gain: 1,042 feet Elevation Change: 1,385 feet

Trail Condition: Extremely rocky and rooty, slippery and treacherous. Typical wilderness.

Starting Point: Big East Fork Trailhead on Hwy 276.

Trail Traffic: We encountered one group of eight hikers.

How to Get There: From Brevard, NC take Hwy 276 into Pisgah National Forest, and all the way to the top at Wagon Road Gap where it meets the Blue Ridge Parkway, about 14 miles. Continue down Hwy 276 another 2.7 miles to the auxiliary Big East Fork parking area, which is unsigned, and on the left before the highway bridge. The primary parking lot is signed, and after the bridge.[/box]

Even though this is doable as an up and back hike, we chose to use two cars, one at each end of the trail. We started by taking my car to the Looking Glass Rock Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 417. Then we took my companion’s vehicle off the parkway and down Hwy 276 to the lower trailhead. We would be hiking from lower to upper, or top to bottom on the map above.

The easiest place to get lost on this hike is before you even start. It’s where you park your car and look for the trailhead. There are two distinct parking areas within a few hundred feet of each other on the left side of Hwy 276. One is on the east side of the river, the other on the west. The larger of the two parking areas, and one marked with a large national forest sign as Big East Fork, is not the one you want. That goes to Old Butt Knob and Shining Creek Trails. For this hike, you want the smaller, unmarked parking area that is a tenth of a mile before the highway bridge on the east side of the river. If you see the highway bridge and the Big East Fork sign, you’ve gone too far.

[button link="#" color="red"]WARNING [/button] This is a wilderness trail! There are no blaze marks to identify your path, so you should definitely have a compass and a map with you. You can get lost. The trail itself is very rocky and rooty. It is quite easy to stumble and fall, or twist an ankle, or worse. The rocks on the river bank and in the river are treacherous and slippery. They may look completely safe to walk on, but they may tip or teeter from your weight. There is a thin coating of moisture and moss on the rocks that make them extremely slick. Even with the best gripping shoes, you are very likely to slip and fall. You don’t want to hit your head, so trekking poles or a hiking stick would be useful for support. Having said all that, this is a beautiful hike along a wild river. Just be careful.

When you plunge into the forest, it’s like that old game from decades ago, Colossal Cave Adventure. You’ve entered a maze of twisty little passages, dark and deep. The forest is very dark. It’s made up of red and striped maple, hemlock, yellow birch, dog-hobble, and thick, thick rhododendron. The trail passes through occasional bogs and springs, so mud will cling to the grid on your shoes. It isn’t long before you hear the rush of the East Fork of the Pigeon River as you reach Rocky Cove.

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