The 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.

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.

WARNING 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.

On this lower section, the river is rather benign. There are lots of bowling ball and beach ball sized boulders in the river, but not much water in mid-summer. I began to notice the tulip poplars, their large elephant ear leaves reaching full size this time of year. I also noticed how tricky those river rocks were going to be. With the mud on my shoes and the slick surface of the rocks, I could see that taking photos was going to be a slow and careful process.

About three-quarters mile upriver from the trailhead, Shining Creek flows into the river from the west. That’s the picture at the top of this post. Click it for a larger image. There’s a pretty good campsite there. In fact we saw a makeshift lean-to that someone had probably put together quickly in one of the nasty thunderstorms we’ve had here recently. We also noticed the first of what would be many great swimming holes. Oh, to be young and carefree again.

The next stream is Bennett Branch, this one coming down from the east. There’s a switchback in the trail as it climbs away from the river for the first time. This gets you around where Bennett Branch spills into the river. The crossing is not a problem. Just plant your feet squarely on the rocks and logs that cross the creek.

What’s that? Suddenly we could see light, quite unusual in this thick forest. For the first time, we got a view of something above the tree canopy. To the southwest is Raven Cliff Ridge, a large rocky cliff that stands several hundred feet above the river level. This ridge splits the drainage from Shining Creek on its north side and East Fork.

The trail continues following the river and crosses areas of exposed bedrock that have been carved over the ages. My friend has a 10-day backcountry adventure coming soon in King’s Canyon, so he was practicing by carrying his fully loaded backpack. These granite slabs make great spots to rest and take a load off. On a cool spring morning I could see myself sitting on these rocks for hours, lost in my surroundings.

Next is another series of coves, these known as Little Buckeye and Big Buckeye. The forest floor is covered with fern and galax. There are campsites here, and more of the inviting swimming holes. We passed a group of junior high type teens, loaded down with full packs, and smelling of a few days in the wilderness. It was a relief when we also passed their chaperones about 100 yards behind.

As the river and the trail take a southeasterly turn, it gets a little steeper. From here the river begins to rage with whitewater as there are small waterfalls seemingly every couple hundred yards. The river has to carve its way through narrow channels in the bedrock, making for beautiful sights and sounds. With all this allure also comes danger. The terrain is quite rugged. The river banks are much steeper and trickier to navigate. It takes some careful scrambling to get in position for photographs.

The river then makes a big sweeping curve so that we were now heading pretty much due west. Looking at the topo map I could see why. It’s flowing around Nobreeches Ridge. There’s bound to be a story there, one of those the old-timers tell so well. If there are any locals out there who know the naming etymology of Nobreeches Ridge, please use the comments below and share the tale.

After about 3.5 miles on the trail, it suddenly becomes Bridges Camp Gap Trail. This is the boundary of the Shining Rock Wilderness, as the river is now in Pisgah National Forest and the trail has a different name. You’ll also notice the yellow blaze marks on trees now that you’re out of the wilderness. Not much further and the trail comes to the confluence of Greasy Cove Prong with East Fork. The Prong comes down from the west and there are several campsites. There is a rocky crossing here that I have written about before in the Greasy Cove trail report. That hike was a fond memory, the creek crossing not so much.

The trail takes a decided southerly turn and begins another steep uphill climb. There is one of those Forest Service trail markers here to point the way. Good thing, because otherwise the trail is kinda hard to notice because of all the campsites.

There is one more area of campsites along the East Fork and then the trail leaves the river for good. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is the crossing for Greasy Cove Trail. My companion tells the story about doing so the first time he came here and spending an hour on the other side of the river looking for a nonexistent trail. So if you’re coming down the trail from above, go past this spot and cross at the next series of campsites.

The final quarter mile is a climb away from the river and toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. You will notice the sound changing from rushing water to roaring Harley-Davidson engines. The trail spills onto the Parkway just a couple hundred yards from the overlook where we parked my car. We were the 2nd car there early in the morning. Now, just over three hours later, the pullout was packed with teens heading to nearby Skinny Dip Falls. It’s probably odd to the Parkway tourists who try to pull into this overlook to peer at Looking Glass Rock that there’s nowhere to park.

We finished off the day by driving back down to Big East Fork to pick up my friend’s pickup and conclude another successful hike. Ah, such a life!

I truly enjoyed this hike. The river is beautiful, and rugged, and exciting. The hike is not particularly difficult, as the climbing is relatively steady. There aren’t any really strenuous stretches. This is another trail I will relish exploring seasonally. I look forward to the beautiful colors of the hardwoods in the fall, and I’d like to try this hike in winter just to be able to peer through the trees at the surrounding wilderness. We took our time and were very careful on the slippery rocks and roots, and made it through without incident. That would be my warning for you. Be aware of the potential for slips and falls and you too will appreciate Big East Fork in this little corner of Shining Rock Wilderness.

Update July 10, 2015: Made another trip along this beautiful river with Griztrax. The rosebay rhododendron was in full bloom, the fresh mountain water was flowing well, even the humidity was tolerable. We also found fresh monarda and honeysuckle along the way, and the occasional snail or mushroom to pique our curiosity. We did a shuttle hike top to bottom choosing the nice easy relaxing route so we had plenty of time for pictures… and reflection.

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.

Looking at a trail map or topographic map, the area of this hike within Shining Rock Wilderness can be somewhat confusing. There is the Greasy Cove Prong, a creek that runs off of the Grassy Cove Ridge. The trail is called Greasy Cove, but it starts/ends at Grassy Cove Top. I think the guys who named the area may have had a touch too much huckleberry wine. Regardless of the befuddling names, the hike has a bit of everything for hiking enthusiasts. There are sections of hardwood forest, a couple creek and river crossings, a steady climb through delightful grass and fern ground cover, bushwhacking through blueberry and blackberry bushes, as well as rhododendron and laurel thickets, long distance views above 5800 feet, and even a cascading waterfall thrown in for good measure. This hike occurred on Thursday, June 16, 2011. We started at 9:15AM and finished at about 3:20PM. The plan was to start at the eastern trailhead at the Looking Glass Rock Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There, the Bridges Camp Gap Trail connects to the Greasy Cove Trail where the East Fork of the Pigeon River and the Greasy Cove Prong meet. From there the Greasy Cove Trail climbs to the Grassy Cove Ridge where we would pick up the Graveyard Ridge Trail south to the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The final 3.8 miles back down to the parkway is along the MST.

View Greasy Cove Trail, Shining Rock Wilderness in a larger map

WARNINGThe first half of this hike on Greasy Cove Trail is in the Shining Rock Wilderness. There are no trail markers, signs, blaze spots or other means of following the trail. You can get lost. There are false trails, particularly at camping areas, that can lead you astray. It is very important to have a good topographic trail map and a compass. It is best to do this hike with companions, and you should always let someone back home know where you are hiking, and approximately when you intend to return, so they can notify search and rescue if you are gone a lot longer than expected. Also, there are two creek and river crossings on this hike. If the water is high, crossing can be treacherous. The rocks are very slippery and falls can happen suddenly… as I found out. Hiking sticks or trekking poles can be very useful for maintaining your balance when crossing the streams. The crossings are also the most likely spots to lose the trail, so study your surroundings carefully.

About 100 yards east of the Looking Glass Rock Overlook the Bridges Camp Gap Trail heads into the forest from a small grassy clearing on the opposite side of the parkway from the overlook parking. There is also a trailhead directly across from the parking area, but that one is the return exit point. About 1/4 mile into the woods, there is a trail junction where Bridges Camp Gap meets the Greasy Cove Trail. This is where the fun begins. The trail descends for 20 minutes to the unmistakable sound of water streaming down the mountainside. The first to greet us was the East Fork of the Pigeon River, really little more than a creek. There are several campsites along the sandy and rocky riverbank, as well as places to cool off on a hot summer day. Not much further we got to the sign that marked the Shining Rock Wilderness boundary. From here on there would be no markings, just hope the trail itself was obvious.

The night before there had been a significant line of thunderstorms move through western North Carolina. With the storms came very high winds and about four hours of steady rain. The river was swollen quite a bit more than its normal flow, and the trail was covered with green leaves blown from the hardwood trees that comprised the forest, an odd sight. It actually made for a nice trail cushioning. The rushing stream was another matter. It’s generally dicey crossing rocky streams anyway, but when the rocks that are used to hop and skip across are partially submerged, caution is paramount. The East Fork crossing was located alongside a campsite, so it wasn’t intuitive to determine we needed to cross. Seeing the exit trail on the other side of the river was really the only clue. That, and the topo trail map indicated we would be crossing the river somewhere.

Just going down the bank to the crossing was slippery. I knew this was going to be interesting. I slipped not once, but twice on the first few rocks but managed to stay upright. Just about the time my hiking friend asked me if I wanted to use his poles to get the rest of the way across, down I went. My left foot slipped off its perch and into the water and I fortunately landed on the softest part of my body. No, not my head silly. It startled me for a moment, but I took inventory, and decided I wasn’t hurt… just my pride. I immediately accepted his invitation to use his poles the rest of the way. After he tossed them to me, I was able to cross the remaining half of the river without further incident. Lesson learned. I always carry a spare pair of socks in my pack, so I paused for a moment to change into those, and I was good to go.

The trail begins its climb after crossing the East Fork. It’s hard to select the correct trail. There is another campsite on the far side, and lots of false trails where campers no doubt go into the woods for nature calls. The proper trail is straight ahead from the crossing, and climbs steeply up, up and away. The trail is now alongside Greasy Cove Prong, running just as hard and fast down the mountain, but not as big as the East Fork. Half a mile further and it was time to cross this creek. Again, there is a confusing trail decision. There’s a false trail up and to the left, but the Greasy Cove Trail goes down steeply to the creek for another rugged crossing.

Remember that lesson learned? This time I let my friend cross, and then toss me his poles. Piece of cake. I’m still debating whether to get some poles myself. I really like having my hands free. Perhaps an adventurous marketing rep from a hiking poles company is reading this (hint-hint). The next couple miles of Greasy Cove is the toughest part of the hike, but perhaps also the most beautiful. It climbs roughly 1200 feet in those two miles with few switchbacks. It’s definitely uphill. But all along the climb you see where this area got its name (I still think it’s supposed to be Grassy Cove). The forest floor is covered with a thick carpet of natural grasses and ferns with the trail just meandering its way up and through. See the photo at the top of this post. The soil here is as black as the grass is green. Eventually we reached the Grassy Cove Ridge (yes, now it’s called Grassy), and the foliage and vegetation began to change to a more hearty stock that can withstand wind and snow. We found a beautiful little opening on the ridge to enjoy our lunch.

After lunch we continued upward toward the ridge crest. There are a few brief stretches where the trail gets overgrown with blackberry bushes, but otherwise it is quite lovely. There is a delightful beech forest and a long, dark tunnel of rhododendron, laurel and old, old blueberry trees. Yes, they’re so big they have become trees. As we approached the ridge crest, the trail got the steepest it had been and our lungs were burning. It was well worth the climb though as we popped out into the clear and had magnificent views of Mt. Pisgah and the Pisgah Ridge to the east, the Graveyard Fields area to the south, and Ivestor Gap to the west. Now at 5800 feet, the mountain laurel and flame azalea were still in bloom. My friend and I began to tick off the places we had hiked in the past year, like the fire tower at Fryingpan Mountain. There were a dozen at least that we could see from this vantage point.

There are a couple small signs along the trail announcing the Shining Rock Wilderness boundary. The rest of the hike is contained within Pisgah National Forest. The trail forks, with the right fork going to Ivestor Gap. We took the left fork, now an old logging road that is known as the Graveyard Ridge Trail. This two mile stretch is totally flat, so it was a welcome respite after the tough climb up Grassy Cove Ridge. The road is very rocky from erosion and hard on the feet. It skirts the southeastern flank of Tennent Mountain and looks out on the Blue Ridge far into the distance. There was a nice breeze to cool us, and fantastic views to enchant us.

We came upon another trail junction. From there we had a great view of the Tennent Mountain summit and could see a large group, probably a hiking club, up top. We encountered a young couple coming up from Graveyard Fields. At this point we could continue straight along the Graveyard Ridge and eventually end up at Graveyard Fields. We could turn right, and go up to Black Balsam Knob, or take the left turn on the Mountains to the Sea Trail to return to our starting point. It is 3.8 miles from this junction back to the parkway overlook.

After about 1/4 mile, the trail began its plunge, just as steep as on the way up. Again the scenery changed with the elevation. We went through the scrub foliage, then the thick hardwood forest. Along the way we met four other young people with their dog. I don’t know that they were hikers as they weren’t carrying anything. There are a couple more opportunities to cut over to Graveyard Fields, but we continued in an easterly direction on the MST. With about a mile left in our hike, we heard it again… the unmistakable sound of rushing water. This time is was the Yellowstone Prong. The trail parallels the stream about 200 feet above on the right, then steeply drops to Skinny Dip Falls.

Skinny Dip Falls is a popular place with sunbathers, and there were certainly quite a few out on this beautiful warm June afternoon. There is a wooden bridge across the river at the falls. The final 1/3 mile is about a 200 foot climb that was quite taxing at the end of a nearly nine mile hike. The trail exits onto the parkway directly across from the overlook. I always wondered why there were usually so many cars parked at the Looking Glass Rock Overlook. Now I know. They are all down at Skinny Dip Falls catching some rays, and a, um, dip.

I have been volunteering with Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway for a couple years now with their Adopt an Overlook program. So my friend and I stopped at our adopted overlook, Pounding Mill, at milepost 413.3 to do a little trash pickup and general maintenance. I try to get up there about every 2-3 weeks in the summer. I think it’s one of the best overlooks in the Pisgah district of the Parkway because it sits on a curve and has a 240° view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. All in all, a very nice day.

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.