Nov 11 Deep Creek/Sunkota Ridge

Tom Branch Falls

I'm adding some 6.5 miles of S900 miles today with this loop hike out of Deep Creek in the GSMNP. Deep Creek is a relatively large creek draining a huge chunk of the NC side of the Smokys. My route follows the creek about 8 miles and then returns along a ridge.

Campsites along Deep Creek appear to be used frequently. Improvements such as makeshift tables and benches are seen in almost every campsite. The trail hugs the creek for several miles but as the gorge steepens and narrows, the trail moves higher, well away from the creek. It does return near the junction with Martins Gap Trail. At this spot was the last camp of Horace Kephart. My guidebook says there is memorial placed here in 1933 by a boy scout troop. I could not locate it. I continued on the Deep Creek Trail another .7 mile to a junction, turned around and headed back. 

Bridge at terminus of Pole Road Creek Trail

Now it was time to hike 1.5 miles on Martin's Gap Trail to Sunkota Ridge. I was not prepared for all this uphill. That short trail took a long time as I labored up it. Finally, reaching Sunkota Ridge Trail I thought I had done all the climbing for the day but a quick glance up and a quick review of the guidebook said otherwise. I had another 1.5 miles of uphill to go. Once I had done that, I sat down for lunch. A boomer watched from a safe distance. As I left, the boomer checked out my lunch spot but probably found nothing.

The walk down the ridge went well and I was glad to see my progress meant I would make it out before sunset. At the next junction, I saw two packs hanging on the signpost. I had not seen anyone all day. Looking around, I still saw no one. I headed on my way and in 5 minutes I ran into my first hikers of the day. We stopped to talk briefly and one guy said he recognized me and as he said that I recognized him as Steve from Big Stone Gap Virginia. They were doing 16.5 miles and adding S900 miles as well.

I continued on to the Deep Creek Trail and parking area. There were dozens of people out in the late afternoon on this easy section of the trail. I finished up at 3:30 having done 18 miles today.

Nov 9 Greenbrier Off Trail

My hike today is to scout an area I'll be leading in January 2017. I wanted to look at a couple creek crossings and get GPS waypoints for some of the places I want to visit. The route begins at a tiny parking area 1.8 miles in on the Greenbrier Rd. The trail is unmaintained and not marked but is well used. It follows Rhododendron Creek from the road to the Grapeyard Ridge Trail. What makes this a special hike right from the start are the beautiful waterfalls you face while hiking up alongside the creek. they are small but very scenic.

Once you have reached the Grapeyard Ridge Trail, turn right and walk through a wonderful Rhododendron tunnel. Very shortly, my first side trip is a faint trail on the left leading to the "Stone Cube of Greenbrier". That is my name for it. It is a solid cube of drystack stones.

The Stone Cube of Greenbrier

After retracing back to the trail, we head on our way until a another side trail to the left. This one is marked by a carved arrow on a tree and a few quartz rocks placed at the start. As you follow the faint trail a couple trees have a cross carved in them, indicating this is the way to the cemetery.

After eating lunch here, I retraced my route back to Grapeyard Ridge Trail. Instead of continuing on to the Injun Creek Trail which is my Jan plan, I walked out the Grapeyard Ridge Trail to the Greenbrier Road at the junction with Ramsey Cascade Rd. Along the way I met a couple with a GSMA History Hikes book. They were looking for the cemetery I had visited. In the book, I saw the map they were using and noticed another cemetery near the Greenbrier Rd and Grapeyard Ridge Trailhead. Another cemetery was located near the spot where I began my hike. I managed to find both these places. the latter was a steep climb. I decided to bushwhack back to my car as it looked very close on my GPS. However, it may have been close but so steep, I could hardly head down at all. Finally, after falling once, I slide down on my butt, after taking everything out of my pockets and securing them in my pack.

Nov 5 Black Mountain House

The Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain NC has several hiking series throughout the year. They are most known for presenting a series of Swannanoa Valley rim hikes. The rim of the valley is over 50 miles. The series encompasses the entire rim each year. Today's hike was not in that series. The ruins of Mountain House are located on Asheville Watershed property. The watershed is tightly controlled and access is granted vary sparingly. The museum has been allowed to access other areas within the watershed on occasion, but this is a special hike not offered previously. In celebration of Mt Mitchell State Park's centennial, permission to bushwhack up the old route was granted this year.

To begin, we carpooled from the museum to the watershed property. From here we jammed into 4 wheel drive vehicles for the several mile drive on gravel and dirt roads. There was not enough room in all the vehicles so 4 of us sat in the bed of a pickup for the bumpy ride.  

The Black Mountains have been a tourist destination for over 150 years. Dr Elisha Mitchell began his wanderings and barometric elevation measurements in the 1930's. Once the mountains obtained the reputation as the highest peaks in the east, tourists began to visit. Traveling by train or coach to the area, tourists would make their way to the town of Black Mountain for the ascent up the Blacks. The spot at which we disembarked from the 4 wheel drive vehicles was in the vicinity of a cabin owned by William Patton, known as "The Depot" built in 1850. From here visitors would hike or go on mule or horse back up to visit the mountains, often spending the night before returning. Patton built a cabin further up at 5200' in 1851. By 1854, he opened it to the public. It is our destination today; the Mountain House. A few years later, Patton dies and the Mountain House closed. Eventually, it was purchased by Alf Tyson and opened again. The tourist house was rustic as you can see from the sketch lower on this page. It was supplied by mules and featured fine foods in a rustic atmosphere. 

Visitors would stay in the structure prior to heading up higher. A rough trail from here went on to Clingman's Peak which was thought to be the highest peak. When Mt Mitchell (known then as Black Dome) began being thought of as the highest point, a trail was extended to it.

The trail from the Depot to the Mountain House has not been in use for over 100 years. Finding it was difficult. One of the watershed employees, using old maps, reconstructed the route as best as possible. It was quite clear to me, we were on an old trail at times but most of the time it was impossible to tell. The pace was slow as there were 28 of us and we had to remain as a group. Finally, we arrived at the ruins of the Mountain House. The remains are in the photos below. We were supposed to meet Wendell Begley here. He was to hike down from the Blue Ridge Parkway and give a presentation but we never saw him. Attempts to call via cell phone were made to no avail.

After lunch among the ruins, leader, Van Burnette told some stories. Some I believe to be true. Van's Great Great Grandfather guided Dr Mitchell on his trips to the area in the 1930's and 1940's. Mitchell and Thomas Clingman had a falling out which began in the mid 1850's. Using barometric pressure to come up with elevation was an inexact science at that time. Measurements varied by several hundred feet for the same peak, at different times. Clingman asserted his measurement was for the true tallest peak and Mitchell had measured another peak. In June of 1857, Dr Mitchell returned to the area to put the controversy to rest. He left the Mountain House with his son Charles for a day of exploration. They split up later in the day with Dr Mitchell heading to Big Tom Wilson's home. That evening he, apparently, slipped and fell into a pool of water and died. His watch had stopped at 8:20pm. It would have after sunset and it had rained during the day. When he did not return a search party was formed. It was not for 10 days until his body was found by Big Tom Wilson,

As an added bonus on our hike, one of the participants revealed that he was the great great grandson of Big Tom Wilson. He gave an interesting account of the search and Big Tom's life. Big Tom is credited with tracking the route of Dr Mitchell and finding his body. As his G.G.Grandson tells it, he tracked Mitchell's route to a small creek. There they noticed claw marks in the moss on a rock. Big Tom identified them as human finger marks, not claw marks as someone else suggested. After, searching the area below, his body was found in the plunge pool for a 40 foot waterfall. His body was tied to a pole like a bear's would have been, and he was carried off the mountain and eventually to Asheville. His body was initially buried in Asheville but later interred and re-buried on top of the peak which became know as Mount Mitchell. 

Back on the mountainside, we retraced our route down. Through the trees we could clearly make out Potato Knob, almost directly above us, then Pinnacle, Greybeard and finally the Seven Sisters.

The route up measured 3.2 miles. A long day for 6.5 mile hike.

Nov 4 Montreat Loop

There are many loops which can be hiked in the Montreat area. This one begins at the parking lot for Lookout Trail. Instead of heading out on that, continue walking up the road a short way until a faint unmarked trail heads up in the woods on the right. This trail connects with the Trestle Road. From here we took the short Buck Gap Trail and came to intersection of Mount Mitchell Toll Road and East Ridge Trail. Turning right on East Ridge Trail we ascended to some great views to the east.  

After a brief stop, we continued to the Lookout Trail and the top of Lookout Mountain with is great views of Montreat Conference Center and west. Of course the very large roof of the Ingles distribution center is in that view too.

Descending on the steep Lookout Trail is tempered by wood staircases. Of course the Montreat purists eschew these in favor of the original rocky scramble route.

Oct 16 Haw River Trail

The Haw River Land Trail is a proposed 70 mile trail from Haw River State Park to Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. Several sections are completed but it will be years before the proposed trail is completed. Today, I hiked from Glencoe paddle access to Stony Creek Marina. This is just outside the Burlington city limits in the Glencoe community. Abandoned mills dot the sides of the river. there were two on this short section. The dam for the first is shown above and below. 

This section is maintained by Alamance County Parks. There is ample parking at several spots. Near the dam is a side trail on the strip of land between the mill sluice and the river. A number of picnic tables and benches are found here. Briefly, you follow a road as you pass the mill and the mill house community.

Soon, another mill is encountered. There was a family engaged in a photo shoot here. After crossing and road and then another, you hike by the one "bad neighbor" of the trail. The maintainer of this section told me this guy piles his yard waste and debris adjacent to the trail. He does his target practice deliberately to scare off hikers. There were some other issues too. It sounded as though attempts to rein this guy in have failed and a feud has ensued. No sign of him as I passed by twice.