Hiking - Trail Journal

Black Balsam Knob September 2025

M and I recently escaped with Hemingway for an overnight backpacking trip in Western North Carolina. The leaves have just barely started to turn, there’s goldenrod and gentian everywhere, and it was a much needed break for both of us. Black Balsam Knob is a popular spot on the Art Loeb trail.

This trip took us along part of the Art Loeb trail (vistas for daaays) and into the Shining Rock Wilderness.

I’m a nature photographer as well as blogger, so a lot of my time on our trips is spent behind the camera. You can read about our adventure over on the Pink Dandelion Outdoor Substack. (Where I keep my trail journal.)

Prints from the trip are available over on my shop at Studio Noveille.