Jan18 L.O.S.T. Tour

Will in entrance to Conley Cave

Our outing today is in Linville Gorge. A route known as Lower Old Scramblers' Trail still exists as a faint manway below the western gorge rim. Armed with a new Etrex 20, loaded with tracks and waypoints from linvillegorge.net's website and some guidance on the off trail portion from Gorge Rat Marshall Weatherman, Will and I were ready to tackle a tour of the northern portion of L.O.S.T.

Beginning at Conley Cove trail head in 17 degree temperature, we descended Conley Cove trail for about 10 minutes. At that point we veered off trail to the right by a large outcrop. Rounding one side of the outcrop, we could see the huge opening to Conley Cave. The photo above gives an idea of the size of this cave. 

Blue Jay Falls along Rock Jock Trail

After a brief inspection of the cave, we continue to follow the base of the wall. My Etrex 20 alerts me to the fact, we are at Petreaus Point. The GPS doesn't realize the Point is actually well above us but still at roughly the same coordinates. There appears a possible scramble route up between two rocks but we press on further until we realize we have to go up and choose a less desirable but still fairly easy scramble route up. Now we get our first look at the gorge and the iconic mountains which make up the eastern rim. As we progress further during the day, Tablerock and Hawksbill will appear differently when viewed from other angles.

Petreaus Point is named for David Petreaus, former CIA director and four star general. Previously this spot had been named Osama Point to honor Osama Bin Laden, the mujaheddin leader fighting the Soviets from 1979 into the 1980's.

Will in the Keyhole by Little Seneca

Leaving Petreaus Point on a faint trail, we make our way to the Lost Dog Loop Trail. Here we see Lost Dog Camp with its spectacular viewing spot. Continuing on the loop, we make our way to Rock Jock Trail and walk south about 4/10th of a mile to begin a series of viewing points; Fern Point, Hackers Point and Blue Jay Point. Before reaching Blue Jay Point, we pass Blue Jay Falls. Today, this weeping wall is a series of icicles and dripping water. The wet wall continues about 100 feet trailside. Just beyond here is Blue Jay Canyon. An aluminum sign tacked to a tree indicates this.

Now we are faced with some confusion as to how to drop down to One Bat Cave. We find a faint trail out to Blue Jay Point or what we think is Blue Jay Point. There is a scramble route down just to the right. We lower ourselves down and then move to the left along the wall's base until we find the recessed entrance to One Bat Cave, hidden in Rhododendron. One Bat is a narrow cave, perhaps 6 to 8 feet wide and about 80 deep. We need a flashlight to see to the back of the cave. Here we find hundreds of crickets scurrying all over the cave's ceiling.

Leaving One Bat, we again have some confusion as to where to head but figure the route out. Going down from the entrance to One Bat, we use the GPS to locate Marshall's track and follow it. The two landmarks to look for are designated as waypoints: Rock1 and Rock2. These are large outcrops. The second is the entrance to the chute which lowers up about 40-50 feet. Now it is a simple stroll over to the Balcony, complete with a set of wind chimes.

The Keyhole

Possibly, the most interesting geological feature of this route, is the Keyhole above. It offers a passage through what would otherwise be a virtually impassible spot. Once through the Keyhole, Little Seneca appears immediately on our left. It is a perch surrounded on 3 1/2 sides by sheer drops. It is too windy today to eat lunch out there. We find a place out of the wind to eat nearby.

Linville River looking South from Little Seneca

Leaving Little Seneca, the route follows the base of the wall for about 15 minutes before Zen Canyon opens up to the right. This intimating climb out, narrows as you go higher, as the photo below shows. When you reach Zen Falls on the right, look for a scramble route up between rock walls on the left. You'll be glad you find this route since the route continuing up the canyon doesn't look easy.

Looking up Zen Canyon. Zen Falls on right.

There is a very faint trail out to Zen Point. The views south are spectacular. Below, you can see Razor's Edge, the rectangular rock jutting out, our next stop.

We find a trail back to Rock Jock Trail and after some confusion, locate the trail out to Razors Edge and finally to Razor Point. Now we have completed out tour and head back to the parking area via Rock Jock Trail. Our route ended up being 5.6 miles and took about 6 hours.

Icicles on route to Razor Point