The terrain is rough, water is scarce, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which way to go. Despite all of that, the Art Loeb is an incredible journey! After two thru-hikes and several more section hikes, I've learned a lot about this trail. Today I'd like to share 5 pieces of advice for backpacking the Art Loeb.
If you're interested in hiking this trail, please check out the itineraries / guides I put together from this trip! It helps me to keep doing what I do. Included are three thru-hike itinerary options, a list of planning resources, mileage profile detailing campsites water sources junctions etc., elevation profiles, shuttle and logistics recommendations, and MORE all in one neatly organized PDF. (While it isn’t a substitute for doing your own research and preparation, hopefully it will take the guess work out of planning your own hike.) *There is also a bundle version which includes both documents!
1. Familiarize Yourself With The Trail
Something I did to prepare for my week-long trip on the Foothills Trail and I highly recommend doing for the Art Loeb as well is familiarizing yourself with the trail before your trip. Reading and watching videos about the trail is great, but it can't compare to experiencing it for yourself. Taking a few overnight out-and-back trips first is one of the best ways to get to know it. By doing so, you can gather info about water sources, campsites, and important junctions along that section which may not be available in resources shared online. It also gives you an opportunity to condition yourself for the terrain beforehand. I did not do this before my Northbound trip, and it would have made a huge difference.
In the case of my Southbound trip, I made sure to take a few overnight and multi-day trips on the Art Loeb and in the surrounding area. Not only did it prepare me physically, it helped to prepare me mentally as well. By getting to know this trail all over again, I gained the confidence I needed to take on the full 30 miles a second time.
The most beneficial of these trips, in my experience, were the 2 - 3 day ones onto connecting trails in the area. By "branching out" to other intersecting trails you may come across a water source, campsite, etc. that you can fall back on during your thru-hike. If you aren't sure where to begin, try getting out on the easier more accessible sections first. Like Davidson River to Butter Gap. From there work up to the more challenging areas like Shining Rock Wilderness. Once you know what to expect from tougher parts of the trail, they won't feel as intimidating the next time you encounter them. If you aren't able to get away for the night in the time leading up to your trip, day hikes are a perfectly fine substitute.
2. Utilize Water Sources Off the Trail
By "off trail" water sources I'm not suggesting you bushwhack off the established trail system in search of water. I mean taking spur trips onto other trails nearby that may have water sources on them. Sources along the Art Loeb itself is few and far between. There are however a few along trails that intersect with the Art Loeb. Most of which are about a 1/2 mile trip one way.
One benefit to this approach is being able to carry less water for shorter stretches. By only utilizing water sources directly on the Art Loeb, most backpackers will end up carrying 4 to 6L for 8 miles at a time. If key fill-up points like Butter Gap and Deep Gap Shelter aren't flowing it could be longer. That's a lot of extra weight in your pack! In my case, I have to avoid carrying extra weight for long stretches to prevent further injury to my knees. By taking multiple spur trips throughout my Southbound hike, I was able to carry about 2 - 2.5L at a time between fill-up points. With the exception of camp. Both nights I carried about 4L in to my site. However, it was just under 1 mile each time. A drawback to this approach is you are taking a distance penalty in place of a weight penalty. Stashing my pack nearby did make those out-and-back trips much easier though. It also gave me a chance to stretch and move around unencumbered by bulky sweaty pack.
Leaving water caches at certain access points is another option many backpackers choose. It is not without setbacks though. With this strategy, you will have to take time to drive out to those points to place and retrieve the caches before and after the trip. Unless you hire someone (like a shuttle driver or a friend) to do the pick-up/drop-off for you. There is also a risk of someone or something disturbing or emptying the cache in the time it takes you to reach it. You may be thinking "Why would anyone do that?!" The reality is people (and bears 😉) can be pretty inconsiderate nowadays.
The last thing I'll share on this topic is - the time of year will heavily impact your decisions on the trail when it comes to water. Fall can be a very dry time. During my Southbound trip in late October, the Art Loeb was experiencing drought conditions. A lot of key fill-up points along the trail were either dry or had a very weak flow. By making frequent spur trips onto connecting trails, I was still able to gather water when I needed it. One example is Yellowstone Prong along the MST. That source came in clutch both on my Pisgah Circuit trip in May and the Art Loeb in October. It's about a 1 mile out-and-back trip, but it was well worth taking. Another example in that area is a piped source along Ivestor Gap Trail. This one has been less reliable in my experience though. While the flow was decent over the Summer, the same could not be said during Fall.
3. Northbound or Southbound?
They say going Southbound is easier. Having hiked it in both directions now, I have to disagree. In my opinion, they're equally challenging, but for different reasons. Each direction has its own benefits and setbacks. What you're hoping to get out of the experience will determine whether Northbound or Southbound is better for you. Below are just a few pros and cons I've found for each direction...
NOBO Pros
Begins beside the river on flat walking path.
Short descent from Pilot Mountain summit.
Best views within last 10 miles.
NOBO Cons
Works up in elevation until Black Balsam Knob.
Strenuous ascent to Pilot Mountain summit.
Ends with steep rocky descent from Deep Gap / Cold Mountain.
SOBO Pros
Works down in elevation following Black Balsam Knob.
Short ascent to Pilot Mountain summit.
Ends beside river on flat walking path.
SOBO Cons
Begins with steep rocky ascent to Deep Gap.
Campfire ban and no blazes for first 8 miles in SRWA.
Strenuous descent from Pilot Mountain summit.
Would you rather end the trip with mountain top views or forest canopy beside a river? Would you rather get the steep climb from Daniel Boone out of the way or save it for the end and hike down? Would you rather make a long ascent up Pilot Mountain or a long descent? What it comes down to is weighing the pros and cons of each, and choosing the direction you think would make a more enjoyable trip. You may even hike it one way thinking it was the better option and find you would have liked what the opposite had to offer instead. That's okay! I wish I could tell you one way is better than the other. It just depends on the individual hiker though.
4. Have a Flexible Plan
Being too rigid or strict with your plan can add a lot of unnecessary stress to the trip. By being more flexible with where you camp and how many miles you do in a day, you have freedom when the unexpected happens. Maybe the campsite you were aiming for is already full. Maybe the water source there is dry. Maybe you just don't have the energy to pull a 12, 14, or 16 mile day. On the flip side, you could end up at your projected camp with plenty of energy and daylight to spare. In which case, you decide to hike a little further. The wonderful thing about this trail and Pisgah Ranger District is there's no permit system or assigned sites for primitive / dispersed camping. Should you need to change your plan at the last minute, you can!
Another thing to consider with taking this approach to planning is it can reduce the risk of injury. I don't know about you, but when I get injured on the trail it's usually because I continued hiking when I should have stopped. Like I mentioned, there's no telling how you will feel the next day (or even the first!) By trying to achieve a certain distance each day without any leeway, you run the risk pushing yourself too far and getting hurt. On my Northbound trip, I had a very rigid plan to complete the trail in 2 days 1 night. No exceptions. I didn't have the energy for yet another 15 mile day, but I did it anyway. I ended up tripping, stubbing my toes repeatedly, and pulling muscles. I also couldn't stay focused and got turned around a few times. It was not a positive experience to say the least.
What this looked like for my Southbound trip was giving myself a range or zone to work within for each day. For example, I planned to camp somewhere between Ivestor Gap and Silvermine Bald on day one. How long it took me to get through SRWA and how tired I felt by 4:30 - 5 pm would determine how far I go. It was similar for the following day. How I felt that morning, how long it took me to get passed certain obstacles, which sites were available, and which water sources were flowing helped me decide where/when to stop. I still had a general mileage goal and I checkpoints to reach in order to complete it in 3 days, but I didn't let that hinder me from altering the plan when needed.
5. Take Advice With A Grain Of Salt
That's right. Take all the advice you hear and read about this trail with a grain of salt. Even mine! If you're thinking about hiking the Art Loeb, chances are you've spent countless hours pouring over trip reports and videos trying to get an idea of what you're up against. There's nothing wrong with researching and trying to be prepared. However, it's easy to get caught up in all the words of warning and tales of woe from folks that have hiked it before. What you take away from your research can make or break the trip. Plain and simple.
Thru-hiking the Art Loeb can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It starts with the expectation: "This is a difficult trail. Other hikers had a bad time. So, I will too. That expectation, realistic or not, ends up influencing your behavior on the trip. When your behavior brings about the outcome you were expecting the "prophecy" is fulfilled. "This is a difficult trail. Other hikers had a bad time, and I did too!" By internalizing and dwelling on all the things that could go wrong, you can end up sabotaging your own trip. You might even miss out on the incredible adventure it could have been.
I spent most of my Northbound trip doing this very thing. I was expecting trouble around every turn, and it made each obstacle I faced needlessly harder. When I got the chance to hike it again, I made sure to go into it with a clean slate. Leading up to the Southbound trip, I reviewed all the research I'd done: notes, trip reports, even my NOBO trail journal through a factual lens. I did my best to filter out all the things that wouldn't actually help me along the way.
Bonus: Have Fun!
I know that's such a cliche, but you'd be surprised what a difference that mindset can make. When you're focused on enjoying the journey, it's a lot easier to roll with the punches when things don't go the way you planned. My husband was so supportive leading up to my Southbound trip. (He's supportive leading up to all my trips, but this one especially!) Every time I started to feel worried or anxious he would tell me "You love doing this. You're going to have fun!" I carried that with me the whole way. Whenever I hit a bump in the road and things got tough, I repeated to myself "You're here to have fun." It kind of became my motto for the trip, and it made all the difference!
