North Carolina Hiking

Just found out that I am moving to NC (Chapel Hill area) in early June. I realize there is some excellent backcountry and hiking in the NC/Tennessee area. Anyone know is there are:

1) some good websites for hiking down there
2) any hiking groups like the amc
3) any hiking books/guides worth picking up rather than just guesstimating on amazon.
4) any hikes I need to make sure I do when I move...

Thanks for any assistance.

I am gonna miss the Whites as my playground, but will still be up for Fot48 and a few other times a year.

Guide book

The AMC has a trail book for NC.

Dundare,

I beat you down here- I'm now in Virginia Beach. Like you, I'll probably return to New England to finish out the 67.

But as you said, there's plenty of great peaks to bag down here, even if the cold isn't as intense down here. Let me know if you'd like a partner to bag peaks like Mt. Rogers (5,000+) in VA, any of the 6,000+'ers in the Great Smokies in NC/TN, etc.

-Matt

dundare said:

Just found out that I am moving to NC (Chapel Hill area) in early June. I realize there is some excellent backcountry and hiking in the NC/Tennessee area. Anyone know is there are:

1) some good websites for hiking down there
2) any hiking groups like the amc
3) any hiking books/guides worth picking up rather than just guesstimating on amazon.
4) any hikes I need to make sure I do when I move...

Thanks for any assistance.

I am gonna miss the Whites as my playground, but will still be up for Fot48 and a few other times a year.

Click to expand...

We were down there for a week, two summers ago. While there, we hooked up with the Carolina Mountain Club, based in Asheville:

http://carolinamtnclub.org/

It was a nice, friendly group of people.

Here's another site that should be helpful:

http://www.northcarolinaoutdoors.com/pastimes/hiking/hiking.html#anchor_hiking_trails

Thanks for the quick replies.

I was down in Asheville two summers ago for an intense academic conference and didnt get to any hiking during my time there. That being said, I was itching to given the views from town and UNCA where the conference was. I look forward to heading back.

Lx93, I would definately be interested and will drop you a line once settled down there

Dun

Random places to not miss, from school in Durham in the late '80s:

Linville Gorge Wilderness- best foliage outside NE in my opinion
Shining Rock Wilderness, southwestern NC- FAR! But great. Bushwhacking in rhododendrons is completely impossible.
Grandfather Mtn- if you can avoid the tourist traps, it's great.
Mt Mitchell area- hike it from the non-road side!
A place just northwest of Mt Airy- relatively close- rock climbing etc- what the heck is it called??? Pilot Mtn I think?
And in VA, definitely Mt Rogers.
Really, a million places off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

All are 3-5.5 hrs each way from Chapel Hill, but it's worth it.

-Weatherman

Mitchell & Craig from Toe River
LeConte

I've only spent a few days down there, when planning my Mitchell trip, I did not have time to get to an outdoor retailer when I arreived in Asheville. The folks at Black Dome Sports let me charge the map over teh phone & delivered it to my hotel so when I arrived that evening, it was there waiting for me.

That's pretty good customer service for a $5.00 map for someone they likely knew was not going to be a repeat customer.

The Happy Hiker in Gatlinburg is a Thru-Hiker's mecca, all the hikers for many years that have stopped in have their picture taken & put on the wall. There are 100's maybe 1000's of them.

There's a good forum for info on the Backpacker.com site. It's http://forums.backpacker.com/forum.jspa?forumID=12&start=0
It's a good place to get questions answered. It's not as active as VFTT, nor as wide-ranging in topics.

There are several good books re: the trails in the Smokies, etc. The AMC book will be a disappointment in comparison to the White Mountain AMC guide, but it does cover all trails in NC. It's also good to get a book that covers the area that you're interested in. There's a good book re: the Great Smoky Mtns, but I don't have the name available right now. It's nickname is "the Brown Book", and the forum above will have more info if you do a search.

I'm in Raleigh, but just now getting into the western mountains. There are some different things to be aware of here, and the AMC book does do a good overview. For example, in the Great Smoky National Park, permits are required for backcountry travel, and some tentsites and all shelters require reservations. Linville Gorge Wilderness area requires permits for weekends from May to October. Also, there are things to be aware of regarding bears and rodents that aren't as much of a factor in the Whites.

Let me know when you're down, and maybe we can hook up for a trip.

Dundare:

I have lived and worked in the Raleigh area for 13 years (STILL an aspiring ADK 46er!) and I am an assistant coordinator for a local meetup.com hiking group. The URL is
http://hiking.meetup.com/7/

Group membership grew explosively last Summer and Fall, and so posted hikes (esp local trips) tend to fill up fast. But we also 1) have a large monthly local group hike (Usually local) and 2) are planning regional hiking, camping and other trips, such as Linville Gorge, Smokies, Mount Mitchell (highest eastern US) and Virginia trips. Most members seem to be from Durham and Chapel Hil, but some from Raleigh. GREAT bunch of folks !

Because of the growth factor, you would need to "apply" for membership
(mainly to ensure that you share a bit about yourself - including your outdoor experiences and interests). That should be obvious from the website, but our peerless leader, Chris C, is the go-to guy.

MY community webshots site contains photos from several recent trips. I plan to add Pilot Mountain (near Mount Airy, aka "Mayberry NC") shortly:

http://community.webshots.com/user/anorthosite420

Enjoy!

Moonrock/Anorthosite/StuartFP

Those travel times from Chapel Hill sound right. Though Pilot Mtn and nearby Hanging Rock are less than 2 hours. Some Blue Ridge Parkway spots
(like Cumberland Knob) in VA are closer too. Forbes or Money Mag described the RDU/Triangle area as "nestled between the beach and the mountains", or something comparably inaccurate.

I personally find the Piedmont (central NC) landscape boring compared to the northeast, mainly because I appreciate 1) dramatic, recently-glaciated landscapes, and 2) "fresh" rock exposures. But here you don't need snowshoes or skiis to get outdoors, on the occasional 70 degree February afternoon. The other side of the coin is that it is oppressive in July and August, tho less so in the mountains.

Mount Rogers is overrated - a mere spur trail off the AT. And even though it's about Marcy's summit elevation, the top is densely forested (latitude). However, the surrounding area (Grayson Highlands) is much more open, and unique.

Smokies NP is the most visited in the US. Also suffers from regional air pollution. Backpacking is good, though, and often quite strenuous.

Mitchell is a tough hike up to the top. But once there you can continue along the Black Mountain Crest trail, which is described as one of the most rugged east of the Mississippi ! But especially beware of T-storms there in Summer.

Another hiking link: Local (or Charlotte NC) Sierra Club http://www.nc.sierraclub.org/capital/outings.html

Moonrock

I've only been there once for a family wedding, but we took a couople of days afterwards to do some hiking in NC.

Mt. Mitchell (take the long way, not from the parking lot at the top) was first on our list and was a wonderful hike. Very pleasant and easy compared to hiking here in the Whites - lots of switchbacks, well graded footpath, etc.

The other hike we did was to Max Patch Bald. Also a great hike and so different from anything around here. Very deceiving, though, as you get out of your car at the parking lot, it doesn't look very far (no trees, just a grassy mountain top). Not difficult, but the views were outstanding.

Try this link for more info try this website: Hiking in the Carolinas

I also purchased this book: 50 Hikes in North Carolina: Walks and Hikes from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Great Smokies

Once you get out there you will notice that there are HUNDREDS of mountains just begging to be hiked!!!

If you are into group bushwhacks year round, Smoky Mountain Hiking Club runs events every month.

Lists

So there's the Black Mt. list, what other lists are popular down here in Dixie?

I really want to know, so that I can finish another list and then procrastinate in sending off my application just like I have when I finished the 48 on Wildcat D back in December. Just like there's a Winter 48 club, maybe I can create a Procrastinator 48 club.

Just kidding about the P 48 club, I'm not serious!!!! I would like to know, though, about any other lists down South.

The Beyond 6,000 is the Southern Equivalent to the Northeast list. (I've got 6 of those myself! , all solo ) Mitchell, Craig, Clingman's (the highest 3) Collins, Kephart & LeConte Now I just have to manufacture a reason to go back. Lots of lush vegetation on these peaks, even up high.

hiking in the south

The Black Mountain Range is awesome and offers up some really amazing views and alpine scenery. One thing I love about North Carolina is that you can go from Palm Trees to Alpine in the same state. It's probably the only state in the east that can boast that. In the south above 6400 feet, you're starting to get pretty close to treeline. If Mt. Mitchell were 500 feet higher, it would probably be above tree line. There are several open peaks in the south. Mt. LeConte has two peaks on it where the trees are tiny and mangled, Mytle Point and Cliff Top. Both of those peaks have amazing views too. Mt. LeConte is an awesome mountain and I think it is the 5th highest in the east, 3rd highest in the Smokies. The shelter near the summit is the highest lean-to east of the Rockies at 6400 feet. There is a sign on the top of Leconte that says something like Mt. LeConte is one of the only areas in the south that has arctic tundra on it. I think one of the other areas in Mt. Craig in the Blacks.

There is a peakbagging group in the south for the sixers called the southern sixers and there are 40 peaks in all. The Blacks are the most rugged. The Black Mountain Crest Trail is very difficult, with steep climbs and descents and rock scrambling. I recommend starting at the northern end and hiking south to Mitchell. The fun doesn't end at Mitchell though. If you traverse the entire Black Mountain Range, you can get 10-12 of the Sixers. From Mitchell, there is a trail that descends into Steppes Gap, but between Mitchell and Steppes Gap is Mt. Hallback, which has an amazing view to the east. From Steppes Gap, the remainder of the traverse is on herdpaths (down south they call them manways) and you cross several more peaks over 6000. Potato Knob is a false Peak to Mt. Gibbs and it's out of the way, but I recommend going there because the peak is completely open and there is an amazing 360 degree view.

Another cool area is the Roans.
Grandfather Mtn., although not a sixer, is supposed to be awesome. I've not been there though.

The trails in the south are not as hard as up north, but 3-4000 foot climbs are not uncommon. Mt. LeConte has the highest mountain face east of the Rockies. The base of LeConte is Gatlinburg and it's 1000 feet, but the summit is 6,593 feet. If you were to start hiking in Gatlinburg and climb to the top of LeConte, you'd easily gain over a mile. A lot of the trails in the south use old railroad grades, or were built by the CCC and they are well built trails. Instead of going straight up the side of a mountain, they blasted a trail into the mountain that winds its way up. Many of the trails are steep and gain 600-700 feet a mile, but they're not like the trails up north. But if you were to bushwack up the mountains, you can find a hike that is as rugged as anything in the north. There are plenty of hikes that require all fours. LeConte has some herdpaths up it that are scarey steep, gaining 2000 feet in a mile. There are a few slides in the Blacks that look like they'd be fun to climb.

Here is a cool forum for hiking in the south, some of the guys on this site are pretty hard core and do really hard bushwacks. There is one guy on there that is working on bagging all the peaks in the south over 5,000, he already has all the sixers and he hopes to finish the fivers. I bet no one has ever done all the 5ers down south yet. Most of them are trailess. IF he succeeds, he could be the first one to do it and then he plans to head north and get all the fivers up here.

Here are some photo albums of mine for hiking trips that I have taken down south:
Fall traverse of the entire black mountain range.

more black mountain range

smokies, leconte and clingmans dome

more leconte, one of my first backpacking trips, hence the acient external frame backpack

EarthnSky,

Lots of good beta there.

For about how much of the year do you need crampons, etc., down here? I.e., as compared to the ADK, White Mts., etc? Or is the ice so isolated that you don't even bring them even in February down here?

you could need crampons anytime between October and April in the heights. Mt. Mitchell has recorded snowfall in every month of the year. The mountains about 6,000 feet receive fierce weather. I've heard that Mt. LeConte is the coldest place in the south. Snow shoes, you'd probably only need from December until March. Unless you're bushwacking, you'd probably rarely need an iceaxe, maybe just on the Black Mountain Crest Trail or Grandfather Mountain.

When you get above 5,000 feet you start seeing Spruce, Fir and Balsams. When you get above 6,000 you start seeing sub-alpine and alpine conditions. There is some places with arctic tundra above 6500 (Mt. Craig, Mt. Mitchell, Mt. Guyot and Mt. LeConte all have some tundra. Mt. Craig has an awesome open summit with an amazing view.

There are forty southern sixers. I have around 14 of them.
Blacks:
Mitchell
Craig
Balsam Cone
Potato Hill
Winterstar
Gibbs Mtn
Celo Knob
Mt. Hallback
Mt. Gibbs
Blackstock Knob

Smokies:
LeConte
Kephart
Collins
Clingmans Dome

If you do a traverse of the Blacks, start at Bolens Creek on the Black Mtn Crest Trail, hike up to Celo Knob and then camp at Deep Gap (really nice campspot, but it gets windy and cold) and then take the BMCT to Mitchell. That will get you Celo Knob, Gibbs Mtn, Winterstar, Potato Hill, Balsam Cone, Craig and Mitchell. From there take the Mitchell trail to Steppes Gap and bushwack up to Mt. Hallback. From Steppes Gap bushwack up the ridge to Mt. Gibbs, over the lesser peaks of Clingmans Peak and Potato Knob (amazing 360* view) and then bushwack to the Mountains to Sea Trail and climb up to Blackstock Knob, the sothern most peak of the blacks. Then drop down into Balsam Gap and then hike up to Craggy Dome, which is not one of the Blacks, but is not far from the Blacks and is another one of the sixers.

That would be an awesome Traverse. Hiking the Blacks is amazing. It's definately one of my favorite hikes anywhere. I love the views. You're so high above everything.

Mt. Mitchell is kind of touresty, it has a restaurant, museum, observation tower, snackshop and road leading up to it. But, the restaurant has good food and is a good place to eat lunch while in the midst of a tough hike.

Climbing up to Celo Knob from Bolens Creek is a long tough grind that climbs around 3600 feet. You have to bushwack to Celo Knob and Gibbs Mountain from the BMCT. The openess of the ridge line is really cool. If you manage to get good weather, which is a rarety in those mountains, the views are amazing. The trees are very mangled, stunted and sparse up on the ridge. The trail doesn't get much maintenance since it's so high up and far from roads, so it's almost a bushwack itself, once you're south of Deep Gap, the trail recvs more traffic. Most people only hike from Mitchell to Mt. Craig.

this is a cool picture of the Black Mountain Range

While Mitchell may be a bit touristy, it is ia remote isolated location compared to Washington. While it has more tourist comforts than Clingmans, the parking lot is smaller.

I was on Mitchell in early October (96) & it was pretty quiet on a Sunday, Clingmans is in the National Park , I was there in the 2nd week of July (05) on a weekday & while I saw maybe two hikers from Newfound Gap, I walked the road back to my car at the Gap & they get lots of tourist, cars from all over the country & Canada.

Clingmans Dome is the most visited mountain in the world. It gets an estimated 10 million visitors a year. Hiking up to Clingmans Dome from Newfound Gap is a pretty tough hike.

Last year in early May I did a cool backpacking trip in the Smokies. I started at Alum Cave Trailhead at 3600 feet and hiked the Alum Cave Trail up to the Summit of LeConte. When I started hiking it was 65 degrees. When I got to the Clifftop Peak, the wind was blowing 40 mph and it was snowing and very cold. The clouds were coming up one side of the mountain and rushing down the otherside. Cliff Top is very exposed and it started thundering and lightnightning as well. So I got off and then Hiked the Boulevard Trail over the true summit, skipped Myrtle Point, since that is very exposed too and dropped down into the long saddle between LeConte and the main ridge of the Smokies and Got Mt. Kephart (another sixer) along the way. The BLVD is an amazing trail that follows a really narrow ridge with lots of awesome views. At the bottom of the saddle it got back up to 50 degrees. We then took the AT to the Icewater Spring Shelter and camped. Met a bunch of through hikers. The shelter is almost 6,000 feet high and it was pretty cold. That night one of the craziest storms moved through the mountains. I thought the shelter was going to explode. When we woke up, there were several inches on snow on the ground. It continued to snow during the day as we hiked down to Newfound Gap. It was only 30 degrees and very windy. We had the other vehicle parked at Clingmans Dome and that was next days destination. We hoped to camp at the Mt. Collins shelter that night which is a few miles north of Clingmans Dome. They close the roads through the park in bad weather though. We got to the shelter around 2pm and we were pretty tired and took a nap. When we woke up there were about 10 inches of snow on the ground and some dayhikers that were hiking up from Newfound Gap told us they heard there was talk of closing the roads. So we had to pack up and finish the climb to Clingmans Dome.

While at Icewater Springs shelter, there was a thru-hiker from New Hampshire. She said she was sick of snow and thought that by hiking in the south she would be missing all the snow. People under estimate the high mountains in the south a lot and people get into trouble a lot. A guy once told me about how he was having a family picnic on Mt. Mitchell in July and it seemed like a nice day when all the sudden the temperature plummeted and an ice storm moved in.

I was on Mt. Mitchell in October a year and a half ago and it was snowwing pretty good and very windy. A lot of tourists wearing shorts were getting out of their cars and stepping out into the wind and snow and frigid temps and got right back into their cars and drove away.

Mt. Rogers in VA gets some wild weather too. Another cool southern mountain is Spruce Knob in West Virginia. West Virginia has a lot of 4,000 footers. Spruce Knob is 4,863 feet. The Allegheny Plateau in West Virginia is the highest Plateau east of the Rockies. Monongahela National Forest is an amazing place to hike.

Just to add my 2 cents to the Mountains of the South.

Last year we did a section hike on the AT from Damascus to Pearisburg which started on April 23. We figured that late April should provide us with some pretty nice weather in the South. We had camped a couple miles North of Damascus. The following morning we awoke to a lite snow falling.

The snow continued throughout the day until our arrival at Lost Mountain Shelter (3360') were we decided to stop for the night along with about 10 other hikers. By evening we had about 6" to 8" of snow with temp down to about 25 deg. I personally rather enjoyed the hiking in the fresh fallen snow.

The next morning we headed North to Whitetop Mountain (5520') about 5 miles up the trail. Whitetop is basicly a treeless summitt. The snow depth was a solid 12" - 18" with snow drifts of up to 3 FEET. We had stayed up in the 5000 ft elevations for the rest of the day passing by Mount Rogers (5729') and camping at the Wise Shelter (5440').

That day the temperature had warmed up th about 60 deg., but we had quite a haul thru the snow. We had never expected to experience that kind of weather in late April in the South, but I loved every step.

By the way I am heading back down there for an AT section, Davenport Gap to Erwin on 3/25/06. Going to be crossing some more 4000 and 5000 footers.

I grew up in the Catskills but since I've been hiking the AT I have grown very fond of the Southern peaks as well.