Last Sunday's hike was excellent. We arrived at the trailhead in a cloud, but it cleared as we reached the top of The Pinnacle. As the mist cleared, bright fall colors appeared in the valley below. From the summit, we could look out across the ridge to Greybeard Mountain. I had been to The Pinnacle once before, and Greybeard captured my imagination. "Let's see if we can get over there", I said at the time. On this Sunday, that's what we set out to do.
We searched for a route to the southwest, but found only a steep dropoff hidden by thick undergrowth. With some help from another hiker, we found another route down to the east. We reached the Old Toll Road and worked our way back around to a nameless gap. I had spotted this gap on the map as a place to rejoin the ridgecrest. Luckily, we found a lightly used 2 track running from the gap up the ridge. However it petered out near the top of Rocky Knob.
We enjoyed a quick lunch on one of the peaks of Rocky Knob under sunny skies. In our traditional fashion, we stumbled upon a rock outcrop with spectacular views shortly after resuming our hike. Getting down from the outcrop was tricky, but we found a faint path below the peak. We followed it for awhile, although it disappeared into tangles of thorns on occasion. I am, however, pleased to report that I still have some skin on my legs.
After a final climb, we reached the summit of Greybeard. To the north and west were the peaks of the Black and Craggy mountains. To the south were waves of mountains extending to the horizon. It took us 3 hours, but we had reached our destination.
On the return hike, we found another trail down from Rocky Knob to the Old Toll Road. We bypassed The Pinnacle on the way out. This was an easier route, though not as spectacular.
Afterwards, Bob, Laura, and I (and even the dog) agreed that it was a place worth visiting again - even with the thorns.
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