Hammock Camping & Ultralight Backpacking on a 40 mile Grand Loop of the Linville Gorge Wilderness.

For this 3 day backpacking trip, I headed back down to North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest for some hammock camping and another attempt at the “Grand Loop”, a roughly 40 mile trek with 11,000 feet of gross elevation gain.

This video is sponsored by Upstart.
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The Linville Gorge Grand Loop is not a single official trail. It’s actually a patchwork of several official and unofficial trails. In fact, due to the extensive network of unofficial trails in the Gorge, there isn’t really any one “real” way to do the loop. The basic goal is simply to circumnavigate the gorge, hiking along the Linville River on the west side, and along the ridge top of the gorge on the east side. Whatever trails you decide to use is really up to you.

The upper ridges stand an average of 1,400 feet above the river banks below, with trails frequently descending down to the river and back up again on rugged terrain, without signage or trail blazes, and minimal use of switchbacks. This can make for some challenging hiking, that I personally believe to be some of the toughest on the east coast. The pay off is a heavy sense of adventure compared to traditional trails and some amazing mountain top views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains.

My mid-May temperature range for this trip was between 45° and 85° with no rain in the forecast until the end of the third day. This allowed me to get my backpack’s base weight down to around 9 lbs by leaving my puffy jacket and extra base layers at home. I simply packed a long sleeve shirt and my ultralight rain jacket for supplemental warmth at camp if needed.

I went with a minimalist hammock camping setup for this trip. There are plenty of trees and fun unofficial campsites in the Gorge that make it ideal for hammocks. Water is plentiful in the lower regions of the gorge. For the ridge sections, you’ll have to be more careful, but I was able to take advantage of several springs on the ridge that were still flowing at the time of my trip.

For an easier read and GPS info, check out my full blog post
https://www.sintax77.com/hammock-camp...

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Trailhead: Linville Falls Visitor Center , 35°57’16.9″N 81°55’40.2″W
Warrior Ln, Marion, NC 28752

Trails Used, Day 1

Erwin’s View Trail
Marion Wright Trail
Linville Gorge Trail
Camp along LG Trail on the Linville River near Chimney Run
There are a ton of campsites along the river in this area.

Day 1 Mileage: 11.5 miles
Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,936′
Day 1 Gross Descent: 3,602′

Trails Used, Day 2

Linville Gorge Trail
Mountains to Sea Trail (MST)
Cross the Linville River
Continue on the MST towards Shortoff Mountain
Jeep Trail (has a spring for water along it)
Rejoin MST
Refill Water at the spring by Saddle Camp
Camp in Chimney Gap

Day 2 Mileage: 11.8 miles
Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 3,297′
Day 2 Gross Descent: 2,185′

Trails Used, Day 3

MST
Little Table Rock Trail
Spence Ridge Trail
Ledge Connector Trail
Ledge Trail
Hawksbill Mountain Trail
Jonas Ridge Trail
Devil’s Cliff Trail
Red South Trail
Brushy Ridge Trail
Red North Trail
Hill 3065 Trail
Gulf Ridge Trail
Gulf Contour Trail

Day 3 Mileage: 15.7 miles
Day 3 Gross Elevation Gain: 5,621 feet
Day 3 Gross Descent: 5,063′

Total Mileage: 39 Miles
Total Gross Elevation Gain: 10,850′

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through some of my links.

Notable Backpacking Gear

ULA Ohm 2.0 Backpack http://bit.ly/2Sq1FPH
Dutchware Pack Cover http://bit.ly/2O8N7AL
Dutchware Gear Half-Wit Hammock https://bit.ly/3yShE0I
Hammock Gear Phoenix 30 Underquilt https://bit.ly/3LzBPDv
Hammock Gear Burrow 40 Top Quilt http://bit.ly/2qlZgJn
Hammock Gear Dyneema Hex Tarp https://bit.ly/3GadwLh
DIY Cat Can Alcohol Stove
Vargo Windscreen Pot Stand https://amzn.to/2M3uRuG
Toaks 750ml Titanium Pot https://amzn.to/2GR7AJX
Sea to Summit Long Handled Spork https://amzn.to/39NcNmR
Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets with PA Plus https://amzn.to/3uYZ1TP
Outdoor Research Helium III Rain Jacket https://amzn.to/2BiSnB1
Outdoor Vitals Satu Adventure Pants https://bit.ly/3r4nhDI
La Sportiva Wildcat Trail Running Shoes https://amzn.to/3hyKrMi
Wright Socks (great for blister prevention in wet conditions). https://amzn.to/2XqbOSP
Nitecore NU25 Headlamp https://amzn.to/2YVsp0A
Spot X Satellite Messenger https://amzn.to/3adSjBr
Casio ProTrek FR-30 Smartwatch https://amzn.to/3dtY7Xj
Benchmade Bugout EDC Folding Knife https://amzn.to/2JVfBS5
Mountain House Backpacking Meals https://amzn.to/3lBAgdv
Packit Gourmet Backpacking Meals https://www.packitgourmet.com/
Korean Coffee Sticks https://amzn.to/2VXijcS

GoPro Hero 8 Black https://amzn.to/2D8n6lL
GoPro Shorty Tripod Grip https://amzn.to/2MPhGOM