Standing Indian Loop (Macon County, North Carolina)

A couple of years back, I took my eldest nephew camping at Tallulah Gorge State Park. He seemed to have really enjoyed and ever since has been talking to me about doing an actual backpacking trip. Though we tried to organize it last year, schedules just didn't work out. This year though, we discussed it early in the year and landed on a weekend - this weekend - to get together for a little adventure.

For our trail, I chose to hike the Standing Indian Loop near Franklin, NC. I chose this particular trail for a number of reasons. First, it's about equidistant between where he lives and where I live, meaning that we could meet at the trailhead (he turned 16 a few months ago). Second, it's a moderate route. I expect it will be mildly challenging for me and perhaps a bit more challenging for him. That said though, I didn't want to give him anything too easy. I want him to get a real taste of what backpacking can be. And finally, our 22-mile planned loop includes approximately 15 miles of the Appalachian Trail. That will give him something noteworthy to talk about with his friends and allow me to complete another section, in my goal to complete the whole trail.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, we discussed gear, food, and other things to expect. I was planning to loan him several of my old pieces of gear, including a tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and camp chair. I was also bringing a bear cannister to store our food, camp stove, and water filter. Really all he needed to bring was his backpack, a hand me down from a friend of mine a few years ago, his food, and clothes. 

Meeting at the trailhead near the Standing Indian Campground around 10:00 am, I helped him pack his backpack, though it was a bit of unusual setup. His backpack didn't accept a water bladder and so, he was intending to wear a bare-bones water bladder backpack underneath his main pack. I recommend against this, but really didn't see a lot of other options. This is what he chose to do. I loaded the gear he would be utilizing into his pack and some basic packing principles. He listened intently. Before too long, we were off. 

Every review of this loop trail I had read in preparation for this weekend's hike suggested doing the loop in a clockwise direction (southbound on the AT) in order to minimize the challenge of the ascents up Albert and Standing Indian Mountains. Apparently, they are very steep going the other direction. So, that's the direction we went. 

As we entered the woods, we began a slow climb along the Long Branch Trail, which we would follow for a couple of miles, until we joined the AT and climbed a bit more steeply towards the summit of Albert Mountain, which reaches an elevation of 5,200 ft. I think he was struggling just a little bit, but he has youth on his side. As for me, I was feeling great. Having just come off a 13-day hike of the Camino de Santiago Portuguese de la Costa, I'm in fantastic shape and not even really sweating or breathing hard during the ascent.

Once we reach the top, I tell him we should take a break. A steel lattice tower a the summit supports a fire watch tower and provides an excellent place for a short break. We drop our packs and each enjoy an energy bar and some nuts. The view from here is fantastic, but I tell him that it's likely even better from the tower. After resting a few minutes, we carefully climb the stairs of the tower and while we're not able to actually get to the structure at the top due to a locked hatch, we're still able to climb up some fifty or so feet to some breathtaking views of the southern Appalachians. 

Throwing our packs back on, we hit the trail again and I tell him that we'll start looking for a good place to pitch our tents after mile nine. I don't want to stop too early and leave us a beast of a hike to get out tomorrow. The climb down the mountain is pretty rugged and climbing up this way instead would have not have been a very enjoyable experience. Clockwise was definitely the way to go. 

As we make our way along the undulating trail, we encounter a large number of other groups, most of whom are section hiking the AT. All are incredibly friendly and we chat with many of them. I tell my nephew that the vast majority of folks he will meet out here are nice like the ones we've met. 

Around 11.5 miles, we see an empty campsite - complete with a couple of logs rolled around a stone fire pit. I look it over and not seeing any widow-makers (I explain to him that is a dead tree or limb that could likely fall on our tents), I suggest we pitch our tents here. He agrees and we drop our packs. Before pitching our tents, we pull out our camp chairs and just relax for a bit. It's only about 3:00 pm and so, we have lots of time. Turns out there are more backpackers in a neighboring campsite and I ask them about water sources. Apparently, it's just ahead and down the hill. While we probably won't need to refill tonight, we definitely will in the morning before we leave.

I help him get his tent set up and then set my own up. He listens well and follows my instructions carefully. Once set up, he decides to rest inside for a little bit. I just sit min my chair and after a bit start getting ready to prepare dinner. We're just going to have freeze-dried backpackers meals, reheated with boiling water. I'm having a vegetarian pad thai and I brought chili mac for him. Once he crawls out of the tent, I show him the basics of preparing a meal out here and then we wait for the boiling water to do its work on our respective meals. 

A few minutes later, we dig in. I warn him that if we didn't add enough water or didn't let it sit long enough, the noodles could be a little crunchy, but it seems I 'guesstimated' everything reasonably well. I have been doing this for a long time. He eats the entire bag, just as I eat my entire bag of pad thai. Not bad at all.

It's starting to get a little cool and before long, he decides he's going to crawl into his sleeping bag. I sit out for a bit longer after carrying the sealed bear cannister with all of our items that have an odor a couple of dozen yards away from our tents. I wedge in between the limbs of a fallen tree in the hopes that it will prevent a bear from batting it around too much. I'm not worried about them getting into it, but batting it around and making us look for it in the morning is a completely different proposition. With that, I crawl into my own tent and try to fall asleep. It doesn't take long.

The next morning, I awake around sunrise to birds singing overhead. It's cool outside, but not cold. My backpacking quilt kept me warm through the night, but now I must leave it to prepare for the new day. I crawl out and then out of my tent and fetch the bear cannister. It seems we were not visited by any of the freeloaders last night, as the can is right where I put it. I pull out the stove and begin preparing some tea for myself. Soon, my nephew begins to stir and I start getting our breakfasts ready. I'm having a new one - gravy and biscuits, while I brought a cinnamon-apple quinoa and oat porridge for him. He seems to like it okay.

After we eat, I begin showing him some tricks for breaking down his sleeping pad and tent. Before long, we're packed and ready to go. As we begin hiking out, I realize that we were camped within just a hundred yards or so of one of the AT shelters and there are a number of other backpackers (probably 20 in total) camped all around us. I ask a couple how to get to the water source and they point downhill to a dribble of a stream coming out of the mountain. We hike down and I show him the basics of filtering water. I don't fill our bottles all of the way, as we don't need any more water to cook and why carry the extra weight if we don't need it. I do take a little more than I think I will need just in case, he estimates too little.

The second half of the our loop is pretty overgrown, though it follows the AT for another several miles. Eventually, we begin to climb up towards the high point of the trail, Standing Indian Mountain, which rises to 5,499 feet above sea level. It's a pretty good climb and my nephew has to stop a couple of times to rest his shoulders. I imagine the double-pack set up he's wearing is not very comfortable. I'm happy to give him all of the breaks he needs. 

Before too long though, we're moving again and soon reach the summit, which requires us to take a spur trail. A white arrow clearly points the way. Once we get up there, we find a middle-aged couple enjoying the view magnificent view from the mountaintop bald. I tell them it's my nephews first trip and we begin discussing other trips we've taken. It seems our resumes are pretty similar. The depart after a few minutes, but we linger a bit longer to get some pictures. 

As we hike down from the summit, we leave the AT and begin hiking on the Lower Trail Ridge Way, which will eventually take us back to our cars. Again, this section is quite overgrown and I'm on the lookout for poison ivy, though luckily, I never see any. We do stumble across the single largest mushroom I've ever seen. It's cap has to be more than two feet across. I stop for a picture of this behemoth.

After a few more miles, we finally begin seeing camp sites with cars parked at them and begin making our way back to the trailhead where we parked. The trail intersections are a little confusing here, but eventually we find our way. In total, we hiked about 22.3 miles. Not bad for his first trip. As we unload our gear and start preparing to leave, he thanks me for taking him on this trip. To be honest, I really had a great time as well and I'm grateful to have had the chance to share one of my great passions with him.