July 2023 - Grassy Cove Top loop

David and I headed out on our last full kid-free day to tackle a 12-mile loop beginning and ending at Looking Glass Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We hiked in on the Mountains-to-Sea trail, forded Yellowstone Prong, caught the Greasy Cove Trail (during which we gained 2,000’ in elevation) to the Art Loeb Trail to summit Grassy Cove Top (6,050’ peak in Shining Rock Wilderness). We came back via Graveyard Ridge Trail and the MST. This was a challenging loop on a hot day, but there were plenty of rewards via incredible views, beautiful streams, Skinny Dip Falls, and an array of different trail compositions.