Hike #62: Big East Fork
I saw a few things on my hike of Big East Fork I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. There was the family of campers who carried folding aluminum chairs into their backcountry campsite. There was the guy hiking with what appeared to be a 12-inch long ivory handled knife. And there was a guy who hid behind a tree when I hiked by.
Strange place. At least the scenery is nice. This hike leaves from the same general area as hikes 37 and 48, the Big East Fork Trailhead, which is on U.S. 276 south of Cruso. Actually, I called hike 37 Big East Fork because it leaves from that trailhead. But that hike was actually along Shining Creek. This hike is properly called Big East Fork Trail by the Forest Service.
Like other hikes in this part of the Pisgah, most of this hike and its junctions are not signed.
This trail leaves about 100 yards uphill on U.S. 276 from the big trailhead. It follows the uppermost part of East Fork of the Pigeon River. The bottom portion of this trail is deep in a gorge sandwiched between the Blue Ridge on the left and Raven Cliff and Grassy Cove ridges on the right.
If you can put up with the occasional weirdos that seem to use this trail — and the ever present roar of bikers using nearby U.S. 276 — this is prime overnight camping. More than a dozen campsites, many of them big and grassy and secluded, lie just off the trail.
This trail has a fairly mellow grade, though in two spots it climbs a tad to go around some cliffs.
Several trails lead off to the right to pretty beaches, sliding rocks and swimming holes. After about a mile, Bennett Branch comes in from the left (old USGS maps show a trail headed up this drainage but I have never seen it) while Shining Creek comes in from the right. Further on, Little Buckeye Cove Creek joins the river in a small waterfall.
The trail makes a big swing around Nobreeches Ridge and at 3.4 miles meets Greasy Cove Prong. The trail splits here (no sign) and unless you’re prepared for some steep hiking and a very long day this is a good place to turn around.
Greasy Cove Trail climbs 3.2 to the right to meet the Art Loeb Trail near Ivestor Gap.
The Big East Fork Trail continues .4 miles on to the boundary leaving Shining Rock Wilderness, where it becomes Bridges Camp Gap makes a somewhat steep climb to the Blue Ridge Parkway before continuing on to Graveyard Ridge.
If you go....
Big East Fork
•6.8 miles round trip — or longer, if you’ve got the gumption •trailhead: 100 yards uphill from Big East Fork Trailhead, on U.S. 276 a few miles north of the Blue Ridge Parkway •maps: Trails Illustrated Pisgah Ranger District, USGS Shining Rock
