Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map
Chris’ turned ankle was going to slow her down for at least a few days but I was given permission to go solo hiking. We already had a long list of other hikes we wanted to do in this area before heading out at the end of the month. The problem was most of them were supposed to be quite scenic and I felt bad not bringing Chris along. So I searched for some other hikes that weren’t on our list but might be good. That is a pretty easy task around here given the plethora of hikes. The first one I picked was the Green Knob Loop. It’s only 2.3 miles with just over 500 feet of elevation gain and right along the BRP. There are two possible starting points: a large pullout right next to Sims Pond or a smaller pullout about a quarter mile further north. I find plenty of room at the pond so I start there.
|
Sims Pond |
By going counterclockwise around the loop, the first three quarter mile will be on the south side of the parkway. After the pond, the trail follows along Sims Creek. Several past hikers had complained on AllTrails about how overgrown the rhododendrons were along this part of the trail. Apparently that problem was recently fixed as there were lots of freshly cut limbs removed all along the trail. Given the size of the cuts, it would appear that the missing branches had been quite large. The trail crosses the creek but water levels aren’t a problem. |
Approaching Sims Creek |
|
Small Cascade on Creek |
I had assumed the trail would cross the BRP at the road but instead the trail goes under the parkway - about 30 feet or so under - with a bridge taking the road over the creek and small valley associated with it. The trail continues thru the wooded area for another quarter mile past the BRP before opening up onto a large meadow area. There is a barb wire fence with a pedestrian crossing so I assume this section might have range cattle but I don’t come across any. There is a bit of a climb in this area as it approaches Green Knob. |
Under the Blue Ridge Parkway |
|
Coming Out of the Woods |
|
No Cows in Sight |
For the rest of the trail, there are concrete trail signs with a large arrow stamped into them. They seem to be just a bit overkill to mark the trail and given their size, they likely weigh close to 100 pounds each. The trail doesn’t quite go up to the top of the knob so there weren’t great distance views. After passing the knob, the rest of the hike is all downhill to the BRP and the pond. It was a pleasant hike and reasonably scenic.
|
Trail Marker Near Green Knob |
|
Slight Distance View |
We have really been enjoying this part of North Carolina. The elevation makes for pleasant temperatures in the summer and as I’ve mentioned, there are lots of hiking trails! Just a few miles from our campground is a community called Linville Land Harbor. It’s a 750 acre community with just over 1400 developed properties. It is situated around a lake formed from damming the Linville River and was started back in the late 1960’s. So it’s pretty well established fifty-some years later. Many of the properties have homes, cabins or small manufactured buildings but some are setup with RVs in mind. We had actually tried to get a rental spot in Land Harbor when we were scheduling our summer in the mountains but wasn’t able to get one for the two months we wanted. We knew of a couple lots that were either for sale or for rent and since we hadn’t driven around the properties, we spent a few hours exploring.
There was one lot for sale that was configured for a large trailer or motorhome like ours. It had a gravel pad with all the utilities and a small building and covered porch. There is a $4500 initiation fee as well as a $2500 annual HOA fee but that covers water, sewer, cable, high speed internet and trash pickup as well as access to many of the amenities within the community. We pulled into the driveway to check it out a bit more in depth. The guy living across the street saw us and came over to see if we were going to be his new neighbor. He gave us good background on Land Harbor and what it’s like living there. This was the first time in 5 years where we actually started to consider getting something like this. Not that we are thinking of coming off the road any time soon but having a place to come back to from time to time might be a good option. In this case, the asking price was way higher than it was worth. Somebody had bought it 6 months earlier, slapped a coat of paint on the building and hoped to sell it for a big profit. |
Lot for Sale at Linville Land Harbor |
We came back a couple days later to take a closer look at a different site that was for rent. We weren’t positive that our rig would fit so we took measurements of our motorhome and then measured the rental lot. I won’t guarantee our rig wouldn’t fit, but we would only have inches to spare when our slides were out. That’s just a little too close for comfort. Oh well, we still haven’t even considered what we might be doing after our upcoming winter in Florida.
We continued to take it easy in order to rest Chris’ ankle. We did manage to drive to the town of Lenoir NC in order to find some caches in more counties in the state. We did a short walk off the Lenoir Greenway on the Zack's Fork mountain biking trail that actually looked to be quite good. Too bad this place isn’t a bit closer or I might be tempted to come back with the bike. We took a different way back to camp and came across Silvervale Falls that was rather impressive and right next to a backcountry road which allowed us to get the nearby geocache in another county. |
Bright Mushroom |
|
Silvervale Falls |
|
Different View of Falls |
Chris was starting to move around a little bit better, so we headed to a short hike recommended by the people we met doing the Dark Side Cliffs hike. The Beacon Heights Trail starts at a pullout right along the BRP. It’s a short hike (0.6 miles round trip and about 150 feet of elevation gain) out to a couple of overlooks. We hoped this would be easy enough for Chris to test her ankle. The trail turned out to be quite rocky and had plenty of rocks but we slowly made it to the two different rock outcroppings. |
One View from Beacon Heights |
|
Second View from Beacon Heights |
Being the middle of September, some trees were just starting to change colors. The views were great although the clouds hadn’t quite lifted this early in the morning. One viewpoint had a good view of Grandfather Mountain. As we were enjoying the view, I noticed something blue sticking out of a crevice in the rocks. After a minute out came a really neat looking lizard with a very bright blue tail. |
Some Autumn Colors |
|
A Glimpse of Grandfather Mountain |
|
Another Beacon Heights View |
|
Blue-Tailed Skink |
I had hoped to continue on to a place called Stack Rock but Chris decided this hike was enough for her but suggested I continue. I gave her the car key so she could head back at her leisure as I continued out the Tanawha Trail. Beacon Heights to Stack Rock was around 1.3 miles one way and expected it to be a quick hike without a hobbled Chris along. But the trail was a bit more technical and overgrown than I was expecting so it was slow going. One section of the trail was right next to the BRP but 15 feet below it next to a large stone wall. As I got to the Stack Rock parking area, I still had a tenth of a mile or more to get to Stack Rock and realized Chris would be waiting for a long time if I still planned meet her all the way back at Beacon Heights. I asked her to drive down to this closer parking lot and pick me up there. |
Wall Along Tanawha Trail |
As I approached what was apparently Stack Rock there was a wooden staircase and platform to get up to and around the rock. It is a very BIG rock, but the trail brings you right to the rock so it was hard to get a picture showing the scale. I went a bit beyond the rock to see if I could get a different perspective. By now, Chris had the Jeep back at the closer pullout so I headed back and we called it a day. |
Stairs at Stack Rock |
|
Stack Rock |
|
Stairs Behind Stack Rock |
The following day Chris opted to take it easy again so I hit my second solo hike. This time I picked the Nuwati Trail. This trail also starts right off the BRP. We’ve driven by the pullout many times and the place always seems quite busy. Probably because it is also the starting point for hikes up to Calloway Peak at Grandfather Mountain. I realized a long hike with several thousand feet of elevation gain was not a good choice on my own but the Nuwati Trail was only a 3 mile out and back with 550 feet of elevation gain, so it should be just about right. Within the first quarter mile of the hike there are several intersecting trails so it’s important to pay attention.
|
Trail Intersection on Nuwati |
|
Mushrooms and Moss |
One thing I wasn’t expecting was the requirement to have a permit to hike this trail. I guess that was because this trail and the others off of it will cross into Grandfather Mountain State Park. Fortunately there is a large sign with all the information and there is no charge for hikers - just a form to fill out. One copy stays with me so I can prove I filled it out if stopped by a ranger and the other copy goes into the metal drop box. I suppose it is a safety thing in case they find my car left in the parking lot when I get eaten by a bear along the trail! |
Fill Out Your Permit |
For the first mile, I would come across occasional hikers heading back to the parking lot although they all seemed to have loaded backpacks so I assume they had been camping over the weekend and were heading back on this Sunday morning. But once I pass the intersection with the Cragway Trail that leads up to Calloway Peak, I don’t see another person. There are several primitive camping spots along the Nuwati Trail which need to be reserved online in advance. I suppose if I were into tent camping, these might be some nice secluded spots to chill for a weekend. |
Primitive Campsite |
|
Creek Crossing |
At the 1.4 mile point on the trail which is close to the end, there was a split. I continue straight to check out a place called The Refuge. Turns out it was just another of the primitive camping spots. This one had an actual wooden platform that might serve as a comfortable place to pitch the tent especially in inclement weather. There was a small viewpoint nearby that was so overgrown with trees, it wasn’t possible to get a good view of anything. |
Trail Split |
Back to the split in the trail and headed past Storyteller Rock camping area. This one actually had a tent although nobody seemed to be present when I passed by. I knew there was an overlook called Storyteller Rock but the blazes on the trees seemed to be missing. I passed by a huge rock towering above me and I suspected this might be what I wanted other than I needed to figure out a safe and easy way to get up there. |
Base of Storyteller Rock |
After following what didn’t seem like much more than deer trails up, I finally found a path out to the top of the large rock outcropping. There were a couple different options I was able to get to safely. A third one might have had a better view but looked rather dangerous to climb and being out by myself, I didn’t feel obligated to push my limits. Unfortunately there wasn’t a storyteller up there - maybe because it was a Sunday? Looking over the valley is the towering Grandfather Mountain. I plopped down on the rock, enjoyed the views and had a snack before heading back down the trail. |
Storyteller Rock |
|
Grandfather Mountain in Distance |
|
Selfie Time |
|
Another Storyteller Rock View |
I managed to find a slightly better descent from Storyteller Rock that followed a gap between some rocks. I must have missed this on the way up probably thinking it was just a dead end. The nice part about this hike is the whole return trip is downhill with nothing incredibly steep. It made for a relatively quick and easy hike back to the car. |
Passage in Rocks |
We had a few rainy days in a row which worked out well to let Chris’ ankle recuperate a bit more. The next pleasant day we headed back to Cone Park. We like this park because the trails are actually well maintained carriage roads. They are less prone to water issues, plus the footing should be better for somebody’s twisted ankle. We had hiked nearly all the trails here but for one called Rich Mountain. We had done a portion of this hike the day after TS Fred had passed thru the area. It starts near Trout Lake and should be in the 4 to 4.5 mile range with almost 550 feet of elevation gain. We parked in the small area right off Shells Mill Road. The first half mile is a repeat of our Trout Lake hike but at the first intersection we veer left to continue up to Rich Mountain. Several hundred feet beyond the first trail split is another one. We bear to the left again and continue our ascent. The road continues up in a spiral pattern as it rises to the summit. |
View Along Rich Mountain Trail |
About a mile and a half into the hike we run into a large herd of cattle. They were just munching away at the grass and didn’t seem to mind our presence although they did notice us and kept a watchful eye on us. As we approach the summit, the views are quite nice with some poofy white clouds scattered here and there. |
Cows on the Trail |
At the very top is some sort of short stone circular wall. Obviously man made but not at all clear what it’s function was. We took a break and had a snack before heading back down. |
Circular Wall on Rich Mountain |
|
View from Rich Mountain Summit |
At the point we had noticed the cows, we had realized there was another trail so we decided to see where it went. A few hundred feet down this trail, we came upon 4 cows right in the middle of the carriage road. They weren’t threatening but also didn’t show any indication they would be willing to get out of our way. Since the road is on the side of a hill, we would need to pick a low or high detour around these guys. The low route looked a bit easier so we headed down and around our obstacles without incident. It turned out this trail intersects with the main trail and then continued back to our car. It was a pretty and pretty easy hike and Chris managed to do the 4.2 miles without problems. |
A Distance View along Trail |
|
Cows Blocking the Trail |
No comments:
Post a Comment