Nov 21 Flat Shoals Mountain

"Tombstone Rocks"

The mountain has not changed since I last visited two years ago. Today, I parked alongside the park boundary on Young Road and walked up the mountain from memory. I attained the top of the ridge at exactly the same spot as before, by the "Tombstone Rocks". On the way up, look for a faint trail into the scrubby pines by the utility pole in the road bend. Head straight up along a faint spine. Eventually a draw will develop and then two draws, side by side. Then head for the top just to the right of a patch of pines. Once on top of the ridge, a manway goes in either direction along the ridge. To the left, there will be a couple open views of the rest of the Sauratown range, from Sheeprock to Pilot Mountain. When the leaves are on the trees, there may not be any views. The best views are where the ridge begins to drop off more steadily. Near here, you can head down the north side of the mountain and hit an old road. It is best to look for open forest on the way down, as Mountain Laurel can grow thickly on the north facing side of the mountain.

Following the manway to the right of Tombstone Rocks, you will within a minute or two, see a major rock outcrop. From the rim you can easily spot one of the caves here. Carefully pick your way down the rock jumble and explore along the base. Several of the exposed rock cliffs are devoid of lichen as seen in the photos, above and below. There are 3 caves in this area. One of which has a tight entrance but once inside, several people can stand and move around. None appear to be more than 15 feet in depth. This area is full of holes and unstable footing. It is a slow go around here. Further along the ridge are a few more rock outcrops but smaller in size. There are two basins before the ridge drops off. Walking down from the ridge you will again hit the old road, perhaps a mile from where I described the other access.

Sedimentary layers of Quartzite rock  

Old road on north side of Flat Shoals Mtn

I followed this old road for over a mile. There were a number of tagged trees like the one below. They were all dead trees. There was an area which looked like it might have been a staging area for timber cut. Huge vines ran up the trees in this area including one large hickory in the center of this possible staging area. Saw dust inhibits growth for some time and I have often seen vines growing in these areas. 

Killer Trees are labeled for your safety

The road continued onto private property which I walked a short distance to an abandoned cabin. I believe this property is off Harris Road and marked by purple paint by the road.

Heading back to my car on Young Road, I exited the ridge manway by the Tombstone Rocks and headed straight down, exiting the woods exactly where I started.