Feb. 26, 2014. Todd Bush recently “did a little overnighter” backpack trip in the Linville Gorge last weekend with his backpack pal Bruce, a former U.S. Marine from Clemmons.
With his phone, Bush took some photos of the area known as Devil’s Hole, which has several quality campsites along a cascading stream and the rushing Linville River. Along with mentioning the great weather for a February trek, here’s what Bush had to say about his trip and Devil’s Hole:
“All the trails were in great shape and we really appreciated the folks who dedicate to trail maintenance in the gorge which these days is primarily volunteer.
“We got a bit of a late start Saturday afternoon and were concerned about crowds and campsites after stashing our take-out care at the way-overflowing Hawksbill Parking area. Wow a lot of folks were enjoying the Gorge for February as the weekend weather was superb! After shuttling our put-in car to the old forest service parking above the water-tank in Gingercake, we headed out the gentle Jonas Ridge trail to Sitting Bear for great views and met 4 day hikers from Hickory who flip-flopped at SB. The view looking south from SB is among the best of the gorge, as it reveals the scope of the gorge north to south like nowhere else. We walked the crazy steep section down to SB rock with the Hickory folks and continued together to the Devils Hole trailhead where they split off to their car and we descended toward the river. About 1/3 in, we heard a spring then followed that beautiful cascading stream all the way down to DH. Plenty of great water! Approaching the Linville River it was exciting to hear the sounds of the rushing stream overlapped then dominated by the roar of the mighty Linville River. A day hiking family of 4 was heading out of DH and we wound up with the entire area to ourselves. One hiker we met earlier that day described DH as a Party City, but it was in good shape and beautiful nonetheless. Found a nice tent-site between a couple giant trees to test out my new Big Sky Evolution 1 person tent that weighs in at 2lbs – Loved it!!! Bruce was trying out a new Neo Air sleeping pad and Kelty 2 person dome, and was equally satisfied. The bright stars against a clear dark sky overhead that night were like christmas lights!
“I greeted Sunday morning riverside with a round of sun salutations beside the torrents, then made some photos in the low morning light before the sun hit the river and was surprised the camera-phone was able to record that slow shutter speed streaming effect to the water. Back at camp, breakfast take-down, some more photos, then back up Devil’s Hole trail heading out to HB parking lot skipping the summit this round as Bruce had to get back to fix a leaky toilet ring.”
See more photos of the camping trip below or click here.
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