Flat Laurel Creek is in the area just north of the Pisgah Ridge and in between the Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wildernesses. It drains from Sam Knob and Little Sam Knob and runs to the West Fork of the Pigeon River. The trail that bears its name starts at the headwater and travels 3.7 miles around the west side of Little Sam until it meets Hwy. 215 and joins the Mountains to the Sea Trail. Most of the trail is an old railroad grade that was used in the early to mid 20th century. This hike occurred on Thursday, August 11, 2011 from 9:30am to about 1:45pm. Our plan was to take the Flat Laurel Creek Trail from the trailhead along the Black Balsam Road, pass the gap between Sam Knob and Little Sam, then meet the Mountains to the Sea Trail to Chestnut Bald. The Art Loeb Trail would complete the loop.

After enjoying a week of hiking in the beautiful Colorado Rockies, it was also good to get back to my local environment and local hiking buddies. For a hot summer day we chose the high country, up on the Pisgah Ridge where the elevation is mostly over 5600 feet, and the air is a lot cooler.

As long as you’re going by Sam Knob, you may as well go to the summit of this sixer. The summit trail starts on the east side of the mountain and winds around to the south side as it gradually ascends. This isn’t a difficult climb, one that most folks can do in 30 minutes or less. One of the many 6000′ peaks in the high country, Sam Knob has a double summit. The northwest side looks out on the Middle Prong and Shining Rock Wilderness areas, while the southeast summit faces Black Balsam and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Once you come back down off Sam Knob, the Flat Laurel Creek Trail is 3.7 miles long, mostly flat, easy to navigate, and uses orange blaze markings. It goes through a nice grassy meadow not long after the start, toward the gap between Sam Knob and Little Sam Knob. The trail drops about 250 feet as it follows the cascades of Flat Laurel Creek after the first half mile.

At the bottom of the cascades there is a creek crossing with a trail junction. We crossed to take a few photos, but our trail continued straight ahead. This time of year, the crossing of the creek was no problem, merely stepping across large rocks. I have been there in the spring when the water is flowing a lot stronger and the crossing is a bit more dangerous. Across the creek is the way to the Sam Knob Trail, one that I have done before, but on this day we continued down Flat Laurel.

The trail follows Flat Laurel Creek for about half a mile more, and has terrific views of the craggy southwest side of the 6000′ Sam Knob. For those who enjoy backcountry camping, there are a number of great spots along the creek… good water supply and sheltered from the wind. The trail begins a large southerly curve as it winds around the western side of Little Sam Knob, and alternates between rhododendron canopies and spruce forest with long distance vistas toward the Middle Prong Wilderness.

An hour into the hike, we came upon one of the most unexpected things I have seen when hiking the high country of Pisgah National Forest. Apparently a remnant from the old logging days, there was a one-piece concrete bridge, large enough for motorized vehicles, that curved across an 80 foot tall waterfall/slide. I had no idea either was there. The waterfall isn’t named on my topo map [Update 10/22/2012: the waterfall is called Wildcat Falls… thanks Rebekah], so it was a total surprise to me. As we looked under and around the concrete bridge, it became quite obvious that the waterfall can really roar in the spring. There was erosion around the bridge structure, but it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I definitely want to go back to that spot some time during peak snow melt season.

The trail gets a bit rocky as it approaches Highway 215 and eventually makes an easy crossing of Bubbling Springs Branch. The southern terminus of Flat Laurel Creek Trail is Hwy. 215. To find the Mountains to the Sea Trail we turned left, or south, on 215. It is a gradual uphill for about .3 mile. Look carefully on the left of the road for the short cement trail marker with a white blaze that designates entry to the Mountains to the Sea Trail. It can be easy to miss. Back into the forest we went.

The next mile of trail was the only significant climbing we did all day. We climbed about 550 feet through hardwood forest with fern and mossy beds, and back up into the thick, dark spruce and fir forest this area is known for. Along the way we encountered a large group of teens and tweens who seemed to be enjoying their day exploring the Pisgah Forest. There were about a dozen, all very polite as they allowed us Meanderthals to pass and zoom on by. At the top of the climb, there is a junction with the Little Sam Knob Trail, and a large rock outcropping that makes an excellent spot for lunch. We climbed the rock, took our packs off and watched, as 5 minutes later the teen group trudged by with no idea we were spying on them from above.

The rock outcrop is a great spot for photos. The Devil’s Courthouse and the Blue Ridge beyond is due south. The balsam forest of the Middle Prong Wilderness is due west. The Flat Laurel Creek area is to the north, and east is the direction we would continue after lunch. The rest of this hike has been reported before, so I won’t repeat, but it is very enjoyable. All in all, it was a nice mid-summer day — not at all hot because of the elevation, and a good leg-stretcher of a hike. I love the high country near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Frequently. That is how many times I have done this hike. So many, I’ve lost count. I love the western North Carolina high country, and this area along the Blue Ridge Parkway known as Black Balsam has nearly a dozen peaks over 5,800 feet elevation, with Black Balsam Knob being the highest at 6,214. This area has some of the highest hiking on the Parkway. Many of these mountains are what are called balds, because they do not have trees on their tops, not because they are above treeline. There has been a series of fires in this area, the last in the 1940s, leaving mostly scrub. Blueberry bushes and rhododendron are plentiful, but no trees, and that makes for fabulous 360 degree views of the Blue Ridge Mountains as far as the eye can see. Did I say I love it here? This report is from a hike on Thursday, April 21, 2011. We started at 10:15AM and finished near 2:00PM. I have mixed in some photos also from May 20, 2010 so you can see how much the scenery changes in one short month. There were two of us on this day and we planned to take Section 3 of the Art Loeb Trail to the summit of Black Balsam Knob and then on to the summit of Tennent Mountain. We then planned to return to the trailhead, cross the Black Balsam forest road and head across Section 2 of the Art Loeb to Chestnut Bald and back, a total of six miles.

A little more than a year ago, I got involved with the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway Adopt an Overlook Program. It had been an extremely harsh winter along the parkway from Mt. Pisgah to Waynesville, the “high country,” and there were a lot of downed trees on both the road and the trails. I wanted to do something to give back for all the enjoyment the area had given me. I was assigned the Pounding Mill Overlook at milepost 413.2, so I stop there every time I go by in order to pick up trash and look for other problems. The overlook sits right on a hairpin curve in the road, so there is a terrific 240 degree view of the Pisgah Ridge to the east, Looking Glass Rock to the south, and Nantahala National Forest far away to the west. On this morning my friend and I were treated to an even better view than usual. The clouds were laying low over the valleys and made it look like there was smoke coming out of Looking Glass Rock. That’s the photo at the top of this post. You can click it for a larger view. What a great way to start the day!

The weather was threatening, but the radar looked like we had about a five hour window to get the hike in. Being good Meanderthals, when hiking in the high country we always come prepared with rain and wind gear. The weather can change in a hurry at 6000 feet, and we don’t want to get caught with nothing but the clothes on our back. I love the Art Loeb Trail so much, but unfortunately it is really getting carved up from over use. Particularly in this stretch over Black Balsam and Tennent, the trail is horribly trenched, and has become even worse because now water uses the trail trench for storm runoff. It seems deeper each time I do this hike. If they ever ask for volunteers to rebuild the trail, I will definitely be in line. The first 1/3 mile goes through a beautiful black balsam forest and climbs modestly, then pops out onto the bald section of the mountain where we could see Graveyard Fields to our right. There is a lone old, gnarly balsam tree that sits right on the trail. I love this tree. I stop to admire it every time I go by. You can tell it has been through some very tough winters, but it continues to hang in there. Just another feature that makes this hike so special to me.

Black Balsam Knob is not steep. It is a gradual climb of a few hundred feet to the top. There are several outcroppings along the way where I always stop to take pictures. The summit is large, not a peak. You could probably fit three football fields on top of Black Balsam Knob. It is a joy just to walk around the top. There is a plaque honoring Art Loeb himself on the southern side. There are rhododendron blooming in June, tall wheat-like grasses with wispy tops in the summer months, and blueberries enough to turn your tongue blue in August. There is a great view from the eastern side of the next destination, Tennent Mountain, with Mt. Pisgah, topped with its TV tower, behind it.

To get from Black Balsam to Tennent Mountain, the trail goes down into a sort of saddle, and then back up the other side; about 1/2 mile total. The down and up elevation change is roughly 300 feet. This northeast back-side of Black Balsam is literally covered with small rhododendron bushes. It is breathtaking during the bloom season of mid-June. Unfortunately, a lot of people know that, so this is the worst stretch of the trail. The trench is now close to four feet deep down the hill. With the bushes that surround the trail standing another three feet, I cannot see anything but the bottom of the trail. It is rocky and rugged, a twisted ankle just waiting to happen, so be careful. Also, watch for a heavy downpour. This trench will be full of water quickly. The saddle area is a clearing with great views to the north and south. This day there was a raven catching the thermals just above us. I’m no expert determining a raven from a crow, but they tell me a raven is a lot larger, and has more of a “kronk” sound than a “caw.” This guy was definitely a biggun. He landed in a tree just a hundred feet away and posed for several pictures. Kronk!

The climb up to the summit of Tennent Mountain is short and not too strenuous, but again it is through a rocky, trenched trail. Unlike Black Balsam, Tennent has a distinct peak with a rocky top. There is also a plaque there, honoring Gaillard Stoney Tennent (1872-1953) who established organized hiking in North Carolina. The views are extraordinary. To the south is the rugged pluton Looking Glass Rock. This is perhaps the highest point for viewing it. To the east is the unmistakable cone of Mt. Pisgah. In the distance to the west is the Middle Prong Wilderness. Black Balsam consumes the southwestern vantage, and the Art Loeb Trail continues north as far as you can see into the Shining Rock Wilderness. It eventually gets to Cold Mountain, and on to its end at the Daniel Boone Scout Camp.

On the way back we grabbed a nice rock in the saddle area to enjoy our lunch. A couple other young hikers stopped to chat. They were obviously going a lot further than we did because they had full packs rather than day packs, and their packs were stuffed with fire wood. There is a choice to make about the return. We chose to go back up on Black Balsam the way we came. There is another trail that connects with an old logging road that skirts around Black Balsam to avoid the climb. The logging road comes out at the end of the Black Balsam Knob Road. We encountered two more groups of hikers up top. Both groups were of the tourist variety because they had no water and no gear; one from Atlanta, the other from Florida. I hope they got off the mountain before the impending storm.

Best HikeWhen we got back to the car, I shed my vest before we resumed with the trail on the other side of the road. Again, straight into a thick old-growth black balsam forest it goes. You really have to pay close attention to the blaze markers because the trail is like a maze through the trees. I have been off-trail here before, and while it doesn’t take long to find it, it’s a bit disconcerting. More than one person I’ve been with has commented about J.R.R. Tolkien and the Mirkwood Forest. I won’t go into great detail about this section of the Art Loeb Trail because I’ve mentioned it in another trail report, but this trail is forest all the way. It crosses Silvermine Bald (a forested bald, go figure) and hugs the ridge above the Blue Ridge Parkway for 1.5 miles to Chestnut Bald. The view from Chestnut Bald is 180 degrees and is one of the best I have seen anywhere along the Parkway. This three mile stretch of the Art Loeb Trail from Chestnut Bald, across Black Balsam, and on to Tennent Mountain may be my favorite hike in all of western North Carolina. If you happen to be by this way, you really should try to allocate a couple hours to check out Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain. You won’t be disappointed.

Updated July 11, 2014: I made a summer time visit to the Black Balsam area so you could compare the scenery. Here is another photo gallery that shows how tall and lush the foliage is.

Updated May 12, 2015: My brother Dave and I took another trip into the high country along the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting at Black Balsam. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes into our climb up to the summit, a squall moved in with gale force wind and piercing rain. We hustled to get our bad weather gear on, then made a bee-line for the Black Balsam Forest to get out of the elements.

We headed west on the Art Loeb Trail through the forest, and by the time we met the Mountains to Sea Trail, the weather had cleared. There was still a dark overcast when we reached Chestnut Bald, but as we enjoyed lunch the clouds began to dissipate, and the sun enlightened Looking Glass Rock and the surrounding woodlands of Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.

Turned out to be a delighful day for photos. See what you think.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.