2020-10-01 Sam Knob Adventure with Jen

Sam Knob Adventure with Jen Loow
Pisgah National Forest
Haywood County, NC
Thursday, October 1st, 2020

 

Sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway
 

For today's adventure Jen and I set an early meetup time to catch the sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway.   It was an beautiful sunrise and the perfect start to an incredible day.

 

We started our hike with the short climb up to the twin summits of Sam Knob.  

From there we continued on and made a little loop combining the Sam Knob Trail (617), Flat Laurel Creek Trail (346), a section of the MTS trail (440), and finishing up with the Little Sam Trail (347).

GPS Track from our Hike

Click here for Interactive Link

We avoided the short walk along Hwy 215 by adding in a little bushwhacking / creek walking to our loop.

Total hike distance was about 10 miles and the weather was perfect for hiking.  

The only downside was the fall color was not as far along as we had hoped and we didn't get lucky enough to catch any of the Monarch Butterfly Migration.

Despite the Black Balsam parking area overflowing with vehicles by the time we finished up, we only saw about a half dozen other humans on our hike.

Here are some of the photos from our adventure:

Jen heading towards the twin summits of Sam Knob

Jen hanging out on a Quartz Outcrop on Sam Knob

 

Me on Sam Knob

View from Sam Knob

The Best Campsite along Flat Laurel Creek

Jen heading down Flat Laurel Creek

 

view of Sam Knob from the Flat Laurel Creek Trail

Jen at Heart Rock

 

Wildcat Falls

 

Waterfall along the Flat Laurel Creek Trail

Jen just could not resist climbing this tree!

Tree Hugger Jen

View from the Little Sam Trail

 

My complete set of photos is posted here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157716262360716