Normal may still be a ways off in some cases, but the recovery has been remarkably swift. From what I’d seen of Hot Springs, a town that I’ve been leading hiking trips to for years, I was certain it could be years before we would return to hike on the Appalachian Trail, which runs through downtown.

And yet come May, just seven months after Helene, I found myself in Hot Springs at the town’s reopening, a reopening that included a hike on a favorite stretch of the AT, from Tanyard Gap into downtown. Two weeks later I was back in the mountains, for a weekend of hiking in Panthertown Valley. And next weekend this celebration of mountain towns and trails will continue, with a weekend of hiking in Ashe County.

This will be the third of our Return to Western NC events, and by “our,” I mean the communities involved working with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong unit. Hometown Strong works to help communities in the state’s 78 rural counties in a variety of ways, including helping them promote their recreational assets. My day job is with Hometown Strong, and helping to organize these events is how I spend part of my time. Enough about that. Let’s talk about our next Return to Western NC hiking weekend, in Ashe County.

Ashe County, for the unaware, is in the far northwest corner of the state. The mountainous area is unique in that it’s home to the Amphibolite Mountains, steep and rugged mountains covered in dense forests of northern hardwoods, including a type of aspen and sugar maples that blaze orange come fall. It’s a different experience than you’ll get in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests to the south. And because there’s significantly less public land in these mountains, the opportunities to hike here are limited. Which makes an event like this one on June 27 and 28 that much more special.

Three hikes are planned for the weekend:

Friday, June 27

Return to Western NC: Hike Paddy Mountain, 2:30 p.m., West Jefferson. Last year, the first segment of the nascent 40-mile Northern Peaks State Trail opened in West Jefferson. It was promptly closed by Hurricane Helene. But thanks to volunteer-led efforts, the trail has reopened, and we’ll get to hike it as part of our Return to Western NC weekend in Ashe County. Jordan Sellers with the BRC will lead this 3.6-mile loop hike, which utilizes long switchbacks to ease its way up Paddy Mountain, gaining nearly 350 feet in its first 1.3 miles. Passage is through a Rich Cove Forest. What’s that mean? Join us to find out. Learn more and sign up here.

Saturday, June 28

Return to Western NC: Hike Elk Knob State Park, 9 a.m., Todd. On this 4-mile out-and-back hike we top out on 5,520-foot Elk Knob, which offers incredible views to the north, of the Southern Appalachians in northern North Carolina and southern Virginia. And the 2-mile hike to the summit, gaining nearly 1,000 vertical feet, relies on well-designed trail to ease the impact of that elevation gain and to usher you safely through some of the mountain’s rockier sections. Learn more and sign up here.

Return to Western NC: Hike Pond Mountain, 2 p.m., Pond Mountain is a 2,900-acre game land made possible by the Blue Ridge Conservancy and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Stunning views dominate the 5,000-foot summit plateau, but so does water. According to the Blue Ridge Conservancy, the area got its name from surveyor Peter Jefferson (Thomas’s son), “…because of the many natural ponds that dotted the mountain’s high ridgeline. The historic ponds point to the mountain’s special significance as an important water resource. Several important streams and creeks originate on Pond Mountain, including Big Laurel, Ripshin and Big Horse Creeks, all of which flow into the New River, a National Heritage River and one of the oldest rivers in the world.” Learn more and sign up here.

In addition, there’s an outdoor concert Friday evening in downtown West Jefferson featuring the Whitetop Mountain Band, a popular family-based band with deep roots in mountain music. All the more reason to come up for Friday’s Paddy Mountain hike and make a weekend of it.

Learn more about these hikes, the concert, lodging/camping and more by going here.

See you in West Jefferson!

The post Return to Western NC with an Ashe Co. Hiking Weekend appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Look at a map of public lands in the North Carolina mountains and those lands pretty much end south of Boone. There are two small state parks in the region (Elk Knob and New River) and a state natural area (Mount Jefferson), but by-and-large these unique mountains offer few opportunities for true exploration. A shame, too, since these northern Southern Appalachians differ from their southern counterparts. According to The Nature Conservancy, which helped spare Three Top, these mountains are “part of the amphibolite mountain group, an unusual mountain chain containing a calcium-rich rock rare in the southern Blue Ridge.”

Translation? The acidic soil combined with the elevation yields a northern hardwood forest similar to that found in New England. And that results in more of the types of trees that give the Northeast it’s reputation for fabulous fall color. The sugar maple, for instance, which explodes in vivid orange in autumn, and the yellow aspen, though here of the big-tooth variety, not the more brilliant quaking aspen whose dense groves paint mountain hillsides solid yellow in the West. Still, the big-tooth puts on a pretty good show. 

In short, these Southern Appalachians aren’t like the ones you are used to exploring. And that’s why you should plan to be a part of the Year of the Trail Weekend Festival in West Jefferson the weekend of Aug. 4-6.

We spoke in detail about plans for the festival back in June; you can check that post out here. Today, we return to reiterate what a great opportunity this is to explore lands you might not know and lands you might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit — in part because it’s not easy to find the trailheads to some of them. For the hike I’m leading at Pond Mountain, for instance, we’re meeting in West Jefferson and carpooling because directions are near impossible. (That’s Pond Mountain pictured at top.)

Today, we simply share photographic evidence of why you should be a part of the West Jefferson event, which is sponsored by the towns of West Jefferson and Lansing, Ashe County, the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the Blue Ridge Conservancy, the New River Conservancy and the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative. 

Again, check out our June post here, and register to participate here. And hopefully we’ll see you in West Jefferson.

The post YOTT Weekend Trail Festival: A Bit of New England in the Southern Apps appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

• Elk Knob State Park, for instance, located between Boone and West Jefferson, has one of the best mountaintop views in the state (see photo at top) from its 5,520-foot summit, a sweeping look east, north and west into Virginia and Tennessee. (And the 2-mile climb to get there is swell as well.)
• Mount Jefferson State Natural Area towers above the town of Jefferson, and if you’re not up for the 1,000-foot vertical climb to the top, you can drive to the top and hike around this 4,465-foot mountaintop.
• Pond Mountain. Love Mount Rogers in Virginia but aren’t crazy about the crowds? Pond Mountain, a joint venture by the Blue Ridge Conservancy and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, is a similarly open and exposed mountain that also has that wide-lonesome feel of the West.
• New River. One of the oldest rivers in the world and one of the most relaxing to paddle (you can even hike along its banks).

That’s just a taste of the adventure to be had at the Year of the Trail Weekend Festival in West Jefferson Aug. 4-6. The event is sponsored by the towns of West Jefferson, Lansing and Jefferson; Ashe County; the Blue Ridge Conservancy; the New River Conservancy; and, the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong initiative. 

A quick rundown of events follows. Go here for details on each event and to sign up. And did we mention there’s also a festival — Friday night in West Jefferson, Saturday night in Lansing. And snorkeling in a mountain stream? Read on.

Friday August 4

1-3 p.m. — Snorkel the Roaring River., part of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s new Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail.

3 p.m. — Paddy Mountain/Northern Peaks State Trail celebration for North Carolina’s 40-mile Northern Peaks State Trail eventually linking West Jefferson, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, Elk Knob State Park and Boone.

4-8 p.m. – Live music downtown West Jefferson.

5 p.m. – Guided hike on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway at Jumping Off Rocks, Glendale Springs. 2 miles.

Saturday August 5

8-5 p.m. — Registration and information table at Farmer’s Market.

8-4 p.m. – Vendors featuring outdoors gear and crafts behind Farmer’s Market. Hourly outdoor skill and equipment demos.

9 a.m. – Elk Knob State Park, Todd. Summit Trail Hike, 4 miles. Moderate/strenuous.

9 a.m. – New River State Park 5-mile paddle.

10 a.m. – Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, Jefferson. Summit and Rhododendron trails, 1.5 miles. Easy/moderate.

1 p.m. – New River State Park, Wagoner Access, 3- and 7-mile hikes on Riverbend Trail. Easy/moderate.

2 p.m. – Pond Mountain, Creston, 1-4 mile hike, Easy/moderate..

3:30 p.m. – Lansing Creeper Trail Park, Lansing. Guided mountain-bike ride, 3-4 miles.

4 p.m. – Jennifer McGaha, author of “Bushwhacked,” reads from her book at the Old Orchard Creek General Store in Lansing.

Sunday August 6

Self-guided hikes suggested for Sunday:

• Pond Mountain, easy/moderate: 4 miles.
• Three Top Mountain, strenuous: 4.2 miles.
• Elk Knob State Park, moderate/strenuous: Summit Trail, 4 miles.
• Mount Jefferson State Natural Area: Summit, Rhododendron, Lost Province trails, easy/moderate, 2.5 miles.

Information on each hike will be available at the registration/information table in West Jefferson.

The post YOTT Festival celebrates NC’s northern mountains appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

On Saturday’s final hike of our 2018-2019 Winter Wild hike series, we decided to add an extra mile or so. It was a mile of trail I hadn’t hiked.

This past weekend I hiked 4.8 miles on three trails with a combined elevation gain of nearly 4,000 vertical feet. That’s an average grade of about 14 percent.

The crazy thing?

These were trails I’d known about, but had never given much thought to when it comes to training for a trip out West or for alpine adventure abroad. In part, that’s because none of the three are particularly long: Pond Mountain was the clear winner at three and a half miles. 

The experience made me realize that there are lots of good options for big mountain training in our Southern Appalachians. Here are a few favorites.

Pond Mountain/Three Top/China Creek-Thunderhole

See locations below 

4.8 miles, about 4,000 feet of vertical

These are the three from my weekend adventure; I’m including them because they can be done in a day, and that 4.8 miles/4,000 feet beats anything on my list. Start with China Creek/Thunderhole in Blowing Rock. I associate the hiking around Blowing Rock — the carriage trails at Moses Cone, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the Tanawha Trail — as scenically stunning but not physically challenging. This made the descent down to China Creek all the more impressive. Down, down, down more than 1,320 feet in less than 2 miles, followed by up, up, up on the return. Well-crafted switchbacks take the sting out of this 13 percent average grade climb.

Next, it’s less than an hour to Three Top Mountain, where the trail piggybacks on an old logging road on a no-nonsense beeline to the top: about 1,200 feet of elevation gain in 1.6 miles. From there, it’s a half hour or so up to Pond Mountain near the Virginia Border in Ashe County. Park at the kiosk and hike the gravel road to the summit. You’re entitled — in fact, you’re compelled — to stop frequently along the way because the views get better the higher you go (and they’re pretty great to start): think Mount Rogers. The average grade on the first half of this climb is 14 percent; it mellows to around 8 percent after that.

Mount Mitchell Trail

Mount Mitchell State Park 

5.5 miles (11 round trip), 3,700 feet of elevation gain 

This has long been our go-to hike for mountain training. For one, it’s accessible, with the trailhead at the Black Mountain Campground. It’s challenging throughout, punishing maybe twice, and both times for less than a half mile. And you can’t beat the payoff: you start in a southern hardwood forest and end in a northern boreal forest where the temperature may be 15 degrees cooler. 

Doughton Park 

Blue Ridge Parkway

4.5-mile climb, 2,400 feet (17-mile roundtrip loop)

While the 18-mile loop we recommend is part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, you don’t start on the parkway. Rather, you begin at the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment and gain nearly 2,400 vertical feet on the 4.5-mile climb up Cedar Ridge Trail. From there, hang a left on the Bluff Mountain Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which rolls gently until you reach Bluff Mountain; then, you drop into Grassy Gap and climb back up to Flat Rock Ridge, where one more climb awaits before the Flat Rock Ridge Trail takes you down to your car. About 3,500 feet of elevation gain overall in 14 miles. 

Clingmans Dome Approach 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

10 miles (one way), 4,000 vertical feet

For this one, we recommend backpacking up the Noland Creek Trail to campsite 64, establishing base camp, then rising early the next day for the 10-mile assault (and 10-mile return) up the Springhouse Branch and Forney Ridge trails. Another hike where you’ll get to end in a northern boreal forest. We recommend this hike in the winter, when you’ll have Clingmans Dome to yourself, an eerily quiet experience.

Standing Indian Campground to Standing Indian Mountain

Nantahala National Forest near Franklin

5.5 miles, 2,500 feet

The Standing Indian Campground is a great basecamp for training hikes. The campground sits in a horseshoe-shapped valley rimmed by the ridge-running Appalachian Trail. Numerous trails lead up from the valley, mostly from the Nantahala River, to the AT; our favorite, however, heads up Kimsey Creek to 5,499-foot Standing Indian Mountain, gaining about 2,500 vertical feet in the process.

Happy trails,

Joe

Getting there

Interested in trying the climbs mentioned above? Here’s where to find more information:

• Pond Mountain/Three Top/China Creek-Thunderhole. This threesome was part of a fact-checking mission for a book I’m writing about recreational opportunities on land trust properties in North Carolina. Alas, the book isn’t available yet. But what I can do is email you the specifics on how to find these trails. Email: joe@getgoingnc.com, subject line: Pond Mountain/Three Top/China Creek.
• Mount Mitchell Trail. alltrails.com probably has the best information on this particular hike. Find it here.
• Doughton Park. Check the National Park Service site for Doughton Park for a map and trail descriptions.
• Clingmans Dome Approach. This one is detailed in my “Backpacking North Carolina” (2011, UNC Press), Trip No. 19, page 118.
• Standing Indian Campground to Standing Indian Mountain. Join us in August for a first-hand look at the mountain training opportunities as part of our GetHiking! Classic Escape to Standing Indian and the AT. Three days of hiking, including two ridgeline assaults on on the Appalachian Trail. Learn more here.

Looking for training hikes closer to home? Check out this post from last year.

The post 5 mountain hikes with altitude, attitude appeared first on GetGoing NC!.