Beginning at the Beartrail Ridge Overlook on the BRP, we began our trek for the day. Our targets were Reinhart Knob (6080') and Richland Balsam (6410'). A short walk on the parkway was necessary to get us to the entry point, a nondescript and tiny gap in the trees. It felt good to get out of the stinging wind. The climb was in soft pine needles but quite steep. With so many downed trees, we picked our way, this way and that. As we neared the summit, we did pick up a manway which led us to the tree with this sign.
From the top, we began a long bushwhack through the forest, down to the MST. It was over a mile, so we needed to stay focused on our route. After some searching, we did locate a drainage with a faint manway. It was tough going but downhill. As planned, we ended the offtrail route right at the exact point we needed to find the MST.
The MST followed an old railroad bed, slabbing along the side of a long ridge. There was one spot where we did get a view to the south but otherwise, we were in a delightful forest.
Bottle Gentian grew in a few sunny spots along the trail.
At one spot, we saw numerous Beech Drops for a few hundred feet in the trail. Although, I did not see one Beech Tree here. There must have been some, since these parasites only grow off the roots of Beech Trees.
Our walk on the MST was smooth and enjoyable but we needed to get to Richland Balsam and the MST didn't go there. We knew if we headed north we'd hit the BRP. After a 30 minute bushwhack, we made it.
Instead of walking along the parkway to a curated trail up Richland Balsam, we wanted to get up the shortest route possible. A bushwhack through a thick and dark forest. It started out fairly easy, but turned into an arduous uphill slug through a spruce/fir thicket so dense you could barely pass between trees. It was a relief to pop out on a curated trail which we followed to the top. At 6410', one would think there would be a great view but that was not the case.
We sat right in the trail to eat lunch and began to see the first hikers of the day, followed by many more.
Once we had descended to the parkway, we had a road walk to complete the hike. The views on the way back to the car were stunning.
6.34 miles, 1411' TEG
Reinhard Knob
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