Part Two Black Balsam or Bust: A Quest to Capture and Witness the 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse, a Juxtaposed Tides Aperture Abenteuer
- Juxtaposed Tides
- Mar 18
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 19
Continuing from the last post; the night before the main event, the celestial showdown, we simply held onto the slim hope that the clouds potentially called for would clear.
The day of the eclipse finally arrive, as all days do. And with fingers crossed and a workday wrapped up at warp speed, we pointed our wheels westward, straight into Carolina's mountain wilds. It had been a while since we'd ventured that far out on I-40 - since well before the great floods, actually - and we had a mix of emotions fueling our drive. Heavy hearts and an even heavier shoe on the gas, we soared toward the mountains like we had a score to settle. The drive itself? Flawless. Nearly traffic-free, making it in great time. However, the damage left in the wake of Helene was everywhere, a grim reminder of nature's merciless hand. And yet, even that interstate-side damage was nothing compared to what so many had endured in that great storm's intense wrath.
Then came the real hitch along the ride: the clouds above, rather than begin to dissipate actually had thickened like an overzealous chef dumping flower into a pot of roux. And they weren't just there for ambience either! They started spitting drizzle at us - not even called for (literally). Still, we didn't let a little mist shake our spirits. We peeled off I-40 after a three-and-a-half-hour smooth ride from Winston Salem, knowing full well that, for us, the journey always outranks the destination, no matter the destination or the situation as it unfolded.
Stopping to stock up on our favorite camp provisions, we also secured one particularly essential tool - so essential it deserved its own moment of reverence. Fully geared up and grins firmly in place, we hit one of our favorite roads, NC-215, cruising southward toward its intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway. As always, we kept our contingency plans in mind - plans B, C, and even D, E, and F!
We also made time to pay homage to one of NC's finest and wildest waterfalls: Sunburst Falls. While the old bridge seemed to have weathered the storm fine, surrounding road repairs nearby bore testament to nature's handiwork, and just to the north side of the falls a major landslide left its signature scar on the now ever-changed landscape. Before this was simply a small trickle with a trail that led up to some rocks above Sunburst Falls. It even seemed the view up Sunburst Falls had changed dramatically.
Even looking down the falls, an area we had so many times before climbed, played, sat and pondered, we noticed missing pieces that had long stood the tests of time and many a great flood - until Helene... We made sure to fill up some water jugs from a nearby spring that was long ago tapped into the mountainside nearby. While it was still semi drizzling, we could see the sky was breaking up.
Back in the car, and as we got nearer to our desired destination, we began pre-scouting a few trailheads and pull-offs along 215, though still banking on our initial research holding water. But lo and behold - the parkway was closed. No problem. Back to plan B. One trailhead in particular caught our attention: Flat Laurel Creek, around the NC Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest and Little Sam Knob into the Shining Rock Wilderness of The Pisgah National Forest (now that is a mouthful that I probably got more than half wrong...I hope not!). A Solid parking area (equipped with a couple decent campsites, if you don't mind constant company due to the trailhead), and a promising route into our favorite Balsam patch? Sold! We parked the 'Runner and proceeded to set up our base camp just as the sun dipped low, washing the sky in a painter's dream of colors. With our parking secured and everything laid out to prepare dinner, we explored the first half mile of the trail, feeling out the terrain before dark set in. Not too bad! And from our research, we knew the first crossing and the second were the two most challenging, though neither proved too difficult.
Back at camp, dinner was served under a rising moon that blazed with a luminescence only the mountains could enhance. That moon...it was something else. As it ascended, it burned away the lingering clouds, setting a brilliant stage for the main event. But of course, we had no clue what awaited us!
Armed with half-researched knowledge and full confidence, we estimated our hike to the viewing spot would be about 3-3.5 miles - unless, of course, we felt it necessary to scale Sam Knob or Black Balsam for a better vantage, which would put it closer to 6 or 7. Fully packed and ready, we set off, my pAl's trusty headlamp guiding the way. The trail, bathed in bright moonlight, was eerily serene. We hit the trailhead at 9:30 pm, taking our time over stream-crossings - most of them easy, some requiring some finesse. The route, despite the government warning at the trailhead, was in surprisingly good shape (more than likely thanks to some brave and daring souls who came through trail tending), save for one washed-out section that was easily bypassed, even in the dark.
Thanks to some forethought we had downloaded the AllTrails map of the local trails, keeping us aware of crossing and waterfalls along the way. And those waterfalls at night? Unreal. Then came one of the good ones: Wildcat Falls, even featuring a cool old concrete bridge. This marked the mile and half point, so we knew we were making good progress. No wildcats in sight - or sound - which in our blissfully ignorant minds, meant there weren't any. Onward we hiked.
At 11:30 pm, after a continuous uphill grind, we finally emerged the forest into Sam Knob Meadow, now an old friend of ours. The full moon's light transformed the landscape into something out of a dream. Packs down - backs down! We had to simply sit after that hike in and let the sold, folded winter grasses cradle us as we soaked it all in. We were beyond ready, with time to spare in case a last-minute repositioning was needed. But thanks to PhotoPills AR (augmented reality), we tracked the moon's trajectory and confirmed we were exactly where we needed to be. Perfect!
As we settled in, set up our meager temporary camp consisting simply of two dead sticks from nearby, a tarp tied and staked, two cots under, and two cozy sleeping bags, a lone coyote howled in the distance; he, like us, felt something great coming. Using the Merlin bird identifier app, we found ourselves also listening to an American Woodcock fluttering nearby through the otherwise silent meadow. We watched a handful of shooting stars streak across the sky - fewer than during last years peak Persieds night (link to that adventure here), but still, enough to remind us of the vastness we were standing beneath.
Then it finally began. The 2025 total lunar eclipse was finally starting! The shadow crept into plain view. We'd had a bet going on its starting point. AL won! It started in the lower lefthand corner. The sky was absolutely clear and the moon was still so bright it drowned out most of the lesser stars, but the progressing shadow was clear to the eye. Then, the real work began - capturing the celestial performance with our gear. The temperature had dropped below what was expected, likely due to the disappearing clouds, but we had packed wisely.
As totality neared, the stars suddenly began bursting into view like a painter flicking white specks across a great black canvas. The eclipse held us spellbound, its deepening orange hue growing evermore intense. And then, around 15 minutes into totality, disaster struck. The batteries started dying. Screens blank. No shots. But unlike past misadventures, this time we were prepared. That special tool that we had been so careful to acquire (which we'd even made sure to charge fully along the drive in, as well as place in the pack the warmest possible spot) - a battery pack. And so, my pAl fished out the thoughtfully packed charging cable, I connected power to device - and...nothing. No charge. The pack was lit, the phone powered on momentarily, and then - dead again. WTF, mate? It was plain and simple. It wasn't going to work. No matter the malfunction, it would not charge.
But then, the realization hit. The "Ah-So" moment became so clear. Recently, it had been remarked to me, that God often laughs in the face of plans. Now, in that moment we could have either cursed the gods or embraced the moment. We chose the latter. Without screens we were fully present, fully immersed in the cosmic happening unfolding above us. The eclipse bathed us in something more than just shadow and light - it washed us clean, anew; stripped us down to our raw, unfiltered awe. And sometimes, that's better than any photo.
The rest of the night in Sam Knob Meadow was purely magical, to say the very least. The sound of the Waterfalls of Laurel Creek, one final howl at the fully red eclipsed moon (courtesy of yours truly), and the occasional rustle of the tarp in the breeze were our lullabies. It got colder than expected, but the thrill of it all kept us warm enough to stay out until dawn.
As the sun began its slow ascent in the east, far below and beyond the great surrounding peaks, painting the sky in soft reds and oranges, we watched the moon, massive on the horizon, disappear behind Sam Knob. Its grand performance had ended. The sun took its cue and without hesitation began truly illuminating the landscape - from the top of Sam Knob to the bottom. We squeezed thirty more minutes of mummy-bag snoozing before finally folding up camp as the sun itself finally peaked up over Balck Balsam Knob. The hike back? Stunning in the daylight, save for a little trail trash and having to pass by someone's middle of the trail "emergency" bathroom situation remnants (that were not there the night before...), which we'd rather forget about...
All in all, this was one aperture abenteuer for the books - etched into memory, soul and spirit. And always remember, when God laughs in the face of your plans, learn to find the joy in the moment, and simply laugh along!
For more on how to plan your own wicked awesome aperture abenteuer, or at least to see how we here at Juxtaposed Tides go about it, check out these articles:
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