AGAINST ALL ODDS
Sometimes
getting to the trailhead is the hardest part of the hike.
I
had Friday off, so I decided to take advantage of the free time and a beautiful
weather forecast. Bob and Dave were also
free, and they agreed to join me for a hike.
As usual, we debated a number of possible options. Originally we thought we might try to do
something in the Black Mountains near Mount Mitchell. Snow was expected on Thursday, and everyone
was looking forward to a walk through fresh powder. However, we were concerned about road
conditions. Getting to the trailhead at
Black Mountain campground would require a long drive up narrow, winding highway
80, as well as several miles on a gravel forest road. If those roads were snowy or icy, we might
not ever make it to the trail. In the
end, we decided to play it safe and do a hike starting in Montreat,
which is easily accessible.
Somehow,
I was able to convince Dave to get an early start. We planned to meet at the Wal-Mart in Belmont
at 7:30 Friday morning. That morning, I
was heading out the door, when I leaned down to pick up my boots. I heard a dreadful ripping sound, and a bit
of groping confirmed my fears – I had ripped the ass right out of my
pants. Sigh. Apparently there is a penalty for eating too
many Christmas cookies. Fortunately, I
was a few minutes ahead of schedule, so I went in search of another pair of
pants. I pulled them on, and the button
popped off. Are you kidding me?? I hiked for three weeks on the John Muir
Trail last summer in a single pair of pants, but I’d managed to ruin two pair
without even leaving the house!
I
was out of clean pants, and frankly I would’ve been afraid to try a third pair,
anyway. I spent a few minutes hunting
for my belt, which didn’t turn up. A few
more minutes of searching did uncover a safety pin. I used it to rig up my pants, and headed out
the door 10 minutes behind schedule.
I
found Dave waiting for me at Wal-Mart.
He was in his truck, with the engine running, when I pulled in next to
him. He got out to help
me move my gear and manage the dogs. He
had his dog, Sasha, and I brought my puppy, Boone. Putting both dogs in the back seat of my car
was out of the question, so we had to take his truck. He had just gotten out of the car, when Sasha
began jumping around inside the cab of the truck. Then her paw came down on the door lock, and
we both heard an audible “click” over the noise of his engine. Uh oh.
A
quick check verified that all of the truck’s doors were locked. At this point, I was beginning to suspect
that this hike just wasn’t meant to be.
How long would it take to get a locksmith out there?
There
was one shred of hope. When Dave got
out, the door hadn’t closed all the way.
There was a bit of gap between the door and frame. We searched the back of his truck and my car
for something that might fit through the gap.
The only possibility was a tire tool.
Somehow, Dave was able to squeeze it through the top of the frame. A moment later, the door was open, and we
were ready to roll!
We
were only a little late meeting Bob in Icard, despite
our morning challenges. From there, we
made the easy drive to Black Mountain and on to Montreat. The drive was mostly pleasant, except that
Boone had a horrific case of dog farts. Apparently
we’d put the wrong dog in the back of the truck.
Once
in Montreat, we drove past Lake Susan and up to the Graybeard
Mountain Trailhead. There is a new
trailhead parking area here, and the lower part of the trail has been
re-routed. In addition, a new nature
trail has been built. I thought we might
have time to walk the nature trail at the end of the hike, but we were ready to
get going up the mountain. It was a
sunny but chilly morning, and we were all eager to start generating some heat.
We
left the trailhead at 10am, and crossed a new bridge over Flat Creek. We followed the new trail upstream, before
eventually joining the original route.
This led us to the first of 5 creek crossings. These crossings are normally insignificant,
but after several days of rain, the creek was raging. As a result, what are normally effortless
crossings required some care. Despite
this, we all managed to hop across without incident. After the fourth crossing, we climbed steeply
away from the cascading creek. A few
minutes later, we crossed an old railroad grade and then reached the Old Toll
Road at Pot Cove Gap.
The
railroad grade we had crossed was the original route of the logging and
passenger railroad that had run from Black Mountain to Camp Alice on Mount Mitchell. Construction on the railroad began in 1911,
and it was opened to passenger service in 1915.
However, the railroad didn’t last long.
By 1919, passenger service was halted, and the logging was completed in
1921. The Old Toll Road was built shortly
thereafter, and was completed in 1922.
The Old Toll Road follows the original railroad grade for most of its
distance. However, Montreat
had prevented the Toll Road from being routed through their property. As a result, a new grade for the road was
constructed on the east side of the ridge from Black Mountain to Slaty Branch, near Graybeard Mountain.
The
Old Toll Road was opened to private automobiles in 1922. Because the road was narrow, only one-way
traffic was allowed. It was open to
uphill traffic in the morning, and downhill traffic in
the afternoon. The cost was $1 per
adult, and $.50 per child.
Like
the railroad, the toll road didn’t last long.
By 1940, the Blue Ridge Parkway was completed from Buck Creek Gap to
Black Mountain Gap. Since the Parkway
was free, the toll road was rendered obsolete.
Today,
most of the original railroad and toll road are located on private
property. However, it appears that public
access is allowed. Both grades are
popular with hikers and mountain bikers, and the route of the Old Toll Road is
used by the Mount Mitchell Marathon and the Mount Mitchell Challenge. Both races are held annually in February:
http://www.blackmountainmarathon.com/
We
walked north on the Toll Road for a short distance, and managed to miss the
turn for the Graybeard Mountain Trail. We
realized our error after a short distance, and doubled-back. From there, we climbed steeply, once again
along Flat Creek. Although there are no
official waterfalls on Flat Creek, this part of the creek is a long run of
slides and cascades. This area was quite
scenic, thanks to the high water levels and a light dusting of snow. We hadn’t seen any snow at the trailhead or
during the first part of the hike, but we still held out hope for some
significant accumulations higher up.
This
part of the hike was a bit steep; and muddy, wet, and icy areas kept us staring
at our feet. After a fair climb, we
arrived at the old railroad grade again.
We turned left here, and rock hopped the creek a final time. At this point, the old railroad grade follows
a gradual, switchbacking descent to Pot Cove Gap. This route provides a longer but more gradual
ascent to this point. We turned away
from the railroad grade though, and continued to climb along the stream.
Before
long, we left the creek, and climbed a few switchbacks. We arrived at the Walker Knob shelter right
at noon. The last time we had been
there, we had found the shelter in a sorry state of disrepair. Sometime in the last couple of years, the
shelter had been completely re-built. It
looks really nice now, and I’m already thinking about returning there for an
overnight trip.
Bob
signed the shelter register, and we strolled out to the Walker Knob overlook
for lunch. Walker Knob provides a great
view on a clear day, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Even better, there wasn’t a hint of the haze
that is so common in the warmer months.
We relaxed on the cliffs in the sun, and took in views that stretched as
far as the Smokies.
To the south, wave after wave of mountains marched off towards Hickory Nut
Gorge.
After
lunch, we resumed the ascent of Graybeard.
This was probably the toughest part of the climb, although that may be
partially due to having full bellies! It
was a relief when we finally reached the crest of Seven Sisters Ridge. From that point, we only had to make a
gradual climb to the summit. There was a
bit more snow through here, but it still wasn’t much. However, it was enough to cover the ground,
which is really all that is needed to make a pretty scene. Plus, the lack of snow made for an easier
climb.
From
the summit of Graybeard, we were treated to more fine views. This time, we had a clear view of Mount
Mitchell, Mount Gibbes, Clingmans Peak, Potato Knob,
and The Pinnacle. To the east, we gazed
out over Mackey Mountain, Woods Mountain, and Green Knob. In the distance, we could make out Hawksbill
Mountain, looming over Linville Gorge, and we could see part of Grandfather
Mountain. Beyond the Black Mountains, we
could see the snowy peaks along the Tennessee state line.
From
Graybeard, the real adventure began. We
followed a primitive, unofficial trail down the north side of the mountain,
bound for the Rocky Knobs. The north
side of the peak had more snow, and the descent was steep. We slipped and slid our way down, holding on
to the many Rhododendrons as we descended.
We finally reached a saddle, and continued following the ridge north,
along the boundary of the Asheville Watershed.
We had to dodge a few fallen trees along here, but for the most part,
the route was easy to follow. Finally we
began to climb again, and after a few minutes, we reached the base of the
cliffs of the Rocky Knobs.
Bob
started up the rock face, scrambling upwards.
The dogs followed him, and before long, he was on a narrow spine of
rock. I didn’t recall any rock climbing
on my previous visits to Rocky Knobs, but for some reason, I followed him. This was a little dicey, as there were some
icy spots on the rocks. Eventually he
chose to traverse to the right, but he seemed to be extremely uncomfortable
with his chosen route. After a bit of
consideration, I decided to continue directly up the ridge. Meanwhile, Dave took a third route, circling
around to the right. I reached the top,
despite a few awkward moments, shortly after Dave. He had chosen the best route, as his approach
had required no real scrambling. Bob
caught up with us a minute later, and we paused to enjoy the reward for our
efforts.
The
Rocky Knobs provided the third viewpoint of the day, and in my mind, it was the
best. We were on a narrow, rocky perch
on the Seven Sisters Ridge, midway between Graybeard and The Pinnacle. From there, we had a breathtaking view of the
Black Mountains, the Craggy Mountains, and the Asheville Watershed. Waves of blue mountains
washed away from us in nearly every direction.
It was an amazing spot, and we took a lengthy break there despite the advancing
hour.
It
was after 3pm when we left. We didn’t
have nearly enough time to return by the same route, so we were committed to
completing our loop. After a bit of
hunting, we found a faint path heading east in the snow. We descended through snow-covered Galax, with
a couple of steep spots requiring caution.
The snow slowed us down, and the descent took longer than I
anticipated. We finally reached the Old
Toll Road a bit later.
We
headed back on the Old Toll Road, contouring below Graybeard Mountain. I had expected this to be fast, easy walking,
but wet and icy areas slowed us down. By
the time we reached the junction where the old railroad grade (aka Trestle
Road) diverges from the Old Toll Road, it was already after 4pm. Initially we continued down the Old Toll
Road, but in this area, it drops through long, sweeping switchbacks. Initially, it seemed to be heading in the
wrong direction, and we all began to wonder if we had missed a turn. I thought we were still on course, but I was
concerned about how long it was taking.
After a brief debate, we headed back to the railroad grade. We followed it short distance, before
reaching a junction with the Graybeard Trail, which we had hiked in on. Everyone was relieved to be back on familiar
ground.
We
headed back down rapidly, despite having two tired dogs. Boone was so worn out,
he would sit down every time someone paused.
Fortunately he hung in there, and Dave was able to keep Sasha moving,
too. We made it through the four creek
crossings once again, and soon the final bridge over Flat Creek loomed. We passed a solo hiker near there, at the
very end of the trip. He was the only
other person we saw on a beautiful winter day.
We
made it to the car by 5:20, which was a bit before dark. From there, we headed into Black Mountain,
and we made it to My Father’s Pizza just in time for the dinner rush. Although we had to wait, it was a fine ending
to a great winter day in the woods. The
trails surrounding Montreat are some of our
favorites, so we’ll definitely be back soon.
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