Christy, Saucony, Bob, Laura, and I ventured to Montreat, NC last weekend for a much anticipated backpacking trip. We had originally planned the trip for the prior weekend, but Christy and I had both gotten sick. It was torture looking out the window at the beautiful weather. How come it never rains when you’re sick?
This trip to Montreat had special significance for me. While growing up, I had attended church conferences there almost every year. Each time, it was a pilgrimage to hike to the top of Lookout Mountain. As a child we practically ran to the top each day. Today, however, we weren’t running. Carrying a heavy pack as an adult was much different than the carefree hikes in my youth.
Our route started up the Lookout Mountain Trail. I was distressed at how much I didn’t remember. I had hiked Lookout Mountain dozens of times, but it had been years since my last visit. Nothing looked familiar. We followed a number of switchbacks before ascending a steep rocky section that required a little scrambling. This I did remember – as kids we loved climbing up the rocks. Now though, it was a hassle climbing up with heavy packs. Luckily, 2 of the more difficult sections now had stairs built over them.
We reached Lookout Rock in a little over 30 minutes. From the outcrop, we could look down on Montreat valley and up to our destination at Greybeard Mountain. We stopped here for a late morning snack. We also checked out the former route of "suicide". This route was an exceptionally steep, narrow ledge dropping from the summit. As a kid, I was always terrified as I scooted along the ledge. As an adult, it looked even worse. However, some time in the last few years this dangerous route had been closed. To tell the truth, I had no intention of exploring much of it, anyway.
I examined the map during our break, and discovered that we had not reached the summit of Lookout Mountain. That was still ahead of us. All those times we had climbed up here and we had never reached the top! We had always stopped at Lookout Rock. Soon though, I found out why. We continued up the ridge to Lookout Mountain, but the summit was totally wooded. Along the way, the trail totally changed character. The path to Lookout Rock had seen millions of footsteps. However, the route beyond appeared to be almost untraveled.
We reached the crest of the east ridge and followed it through the woods. We descended to a clearing, which turned out to be a helicopter landing area maintained for the fire department. From there, we stayed on the ridge, climbing to the summit of Brushy Mountain. From the top there was a good view to the east of Mackey Mountain, Table Rock, and Hawksbill. We were hoping to find a lunch spot, but the summit was very narrow, and the wind was strong. Instead, we descended to Sourwood Gap where we enjoyed lunch in the sun.
After lunch we tackled another big climb to the top of Rocky Head Mountain. The trail didn’t switchback at all – it went straight up the mountain. We enjoyed a good view of Greybeard Mountain from the summit before descending again to meet the old railroad grade at Long Gap. The trail ended here, but we followed the railroad grade along the west side of the ridge until we reached the Greybeard Trail. We followed this new trail up to the Old Toll Road, which used to be the only route for autos up to Mt. Mitchell. Now it’s a popular mountain bike route that is also still used by the occasional 4WD vehicle. As luck would have it, 2 big trucks were working their way down the mountain when we arrived. They were moving slowly though, and their passing didn’t disturb us too much.
We were only on the old road for a few yards before we returned to the footpath. Soon we began to climb again, switchbacking our way up along Flat Creek. After a hearty climb we crossed the creek and ascended some more. Not long after that we arrived at the Walker Knob shelter. We were relieved that we didn’t find anyone there. We set about making camp, while Bob and Laura selected a tent site nearby.
3 dayhikers passed through on the way to Walker Knob. Later, another backpacking couple came, but they were also tenting. As it turned out Christy, Saucony, and I had the shelter to ourselves. I returned to the creek to fetch water, and we all gathered some firewood. That evening, we all hiked out to Walker Knob for sunset. From the top, the view to the south was of waves of blue mountains to the horizon. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and the sunset was spectacular. By dusk, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping. We hurried back to camp, where we enjoyed a nice fire and an elaborate stir-fry dinner.
Later, Bob and I hiked back out to Walker Knob. We were able to look out on a sea of lights, stretching from Hickory to Asheville. The view was highlighted by a huge orange moon. I returned solo, but the batteries on my headlamp died on the way back. It was an adventure hiking back in total darkness, since the moon had disappeared behind a cloud. That night, our sleep was only interrupted by the dog barking at something running around under the shelter. It never really got cold that night, with temperatures only in the lower 30’s.
Christy and I didn’t wake up until almost 9AM Sunday morning. It was dark in the shelter, and even the dog didn’t wake up. Once I got moving I walked back out to Walker Knob. I was hoping for some fog in the valleys, but instead I looked out on a crystal clear day. I returned in time for eggs and bacon that Christy cooked. Our only setback that morning was the pot of water that wouldn’t boil. We were hoping for hot chocolate, but my stove seemed to be dying. The water didn’t boil despite 30+ minutes of heating. I guess it’s time for a replacement.
We left camp late that morning, thanks to the late start and my stove. We left the shelter at 11AM and climbed up to meet the Seven Sisters Ridge. Christy and I dropped our packs there and hiked on to the summit of Greybeard. I’ve been here several times, but it’s still one of my favorite views. There still wasn’t a cloud in the sky, even up at Mt. Mitchell. The tower on the summit there was clearly visible from our viewpoint.
We descended to the junction and found that Bob and Laura had gone ahead of us. We hiked down Seven Sisters Ridge, passing a warning sign that the trail is "very difficult". We soon found out why. We came to a nasty ledge where we had to descend a chute between boulders. We moved slowly though, and didn’t have any trouble getting down. After that, we continued to follow the ridge, which was only a few feet wide in places. As we reached the lower end of the ridge, we enjoyed some nice views to the west of Burnette Reservoir. By early afternoon we reached a junction with the Piney Ridge Trail. We met two dayhikers here, which were the first people we had seen all day. Afterwards, we stopped at Rattlesnake Rock for a quick snack and more views of Black Mountain. We didn’t linger long though, since the wind was picking up and it felt like snow was coming. We hurried the rest of the way down Piney Ridge, only slowing to negotiate a couple of hazardous ledges. This route didn’t have any switchbacks to speak of, and our knees were screaming at us. We reached the car around 3pm. From there it was on to Black Mountain and My Father’s Pizza for a well-deserved feast.
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