Middle Prong Wilderness

The Middle Prong Wilderness is a true wilderness area. Therefore there are no signs, no trail blazes, no kiosks, and no other human structures. As a result there are also very few people. I highly recommend it but only if you're good with navigation because even the best maps don't show all the trails that you'll come across. Most of the area is located at an elevation of 5500' or higher so even in the dead of summer the temperature is quite pleasant.

 


 

 

 

The area is covered in an abundance of wild edibles and wild flowers including blueberries, blackberries, queen Anne's lace, Daisy's, rhododendron, mountain laurel, flame azalea's, etc. Much of the trail is covered in a highland peat bog with hemlocks and spruce towering above, often reminiscent of the pacific northwest and smelling of Christmas.

There are also plenty of places to camp but water is sometimes scarce.

Watch out for snakes.



Distance from downtown Greenville: 65 miles

Park here and take the trail across the creek and up the hill to the right.

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Douglas Falls in Big Ivy is worth a visit. There are two ways to get there. The easy drive/tough-walk way or the tough-drive/easy walk way. I'd suggest the former but both have their benefits.

The easy drive involves driving to the Craggy Garden parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's definitely more scenic. From there you take the Mountains to Sea Trail about a mile to the Douglas Falls trail. Then travel another couple miles to the falls. The trail to the falls is beautiful with lots of lush greenery. It is rugged and a steep climb back up. There is also another waterfall that you'll cross on the trail that's pretty interesting as it's basically a long shoot. It almost looks like the log flume ride at Dollywood. 

The other way is to drive directly to the area known as Big Ivy in Barnardsville. The map below will take you to the entrance, which is about an hour and forty-five minutes from downtown Greenville. But from there you'll travel on a forestry road for another thirty minutes or so assuming you're driving as fast you can possibly drive safely. The road does hug a very steep cliff so you might want to take it a bit slower.  The road dead ends at the trail head which you can't miss. It's blazed in yellow and the falls are about a half mile further. There is a great campsite just above the falls and a few others on the way to Craggy Gardens should you feel inclined to head that way. 

You can find more information about the area here.

Table Rock and The Chimneys - Linville Gorge

The Chimneys are a grouping of rock formations located at the top of Linville Gorge, NC. They can be accessed easily via the Mountains to Sea Trail.

One of my sons, Lance.

  

Cave on the Mountains to Sea Trail

Close to the Chimneys is Table Rock Mountain which can be seen here from the parking area. From the parking area go right on the MST about a mile to reach the summit. Then go back the way you came past the parking area about another mile to reach the area known as the Chimneys. There are a number of camp sites near the parking lot but others along the trail as well, including in the cave seen above. 

Table Rock Parking Area

Summit of Table Rock, NC

Grandfather Mountain Trails

One of the best hikes I've ever experienced occurred recently at Grandfather Mountain in Linville, NC.

I started on a trail called the Profile Trail. The image to the left demonstrates why it's called that. Near the top there is this view that looks like the profile of an old man.

The Profile Trail is beautifully constructed with lots of large boulders, moss covered stones, a couple of creek crossings, and some great views.

This trail goes up hill to the Grandfather Trail which is where it really gets great.

The Grandfather Trail is a ridge trail that requires the use of several ladders, some cables and in some spots crawling on hands and knees.

 There's a short spur trail that leads to a large cave. 

This is not a view from the trail. This is the actual trail.

This is the same section of trail looking the other direction. 

The trail goes all the way to the swinging bridge, so you either have to turn around or catch a ride back down the mountain. If you want to do this same hike, travel through Linville toward Boon on HWY 105 and park at the area labelled "Profile Trail Parking."

Distance from downtown Greenville: 125 Miles



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Appalachian Trail Journals

Overmountain Shelter

If you like quirky stories and tall tales, then you probably enjoy, as I do, reading the kind of travel journals you might find at a Bed and Breakfast or in a room at a nice inn. Without a doubt though, the most interesting ones I've found are the trail journals I've found located in Appalachian Trail shelters.  If you find yourself at one, I highly recommend taking the time to read it.  A couple I came across recently had the following entries.

• One from a guy claiming he had a two hour staring contest with a deer.

• Another claiming a bear had just entered the campsite.

• One by a guy claiming he was in a hurry because the "anti-sin" crew was on his heels trying to save him from eternal damnation.

• The next one was from a group that simply wrote, "damn sinners!"

• Another was from a group from the north. The writer spoke over and over about how many spiders and insects there were in the shelter. I thought that was funny. Yep, in the South there are bugs in the wilderness, and in the cities, and in our homes.  That's just the way it is.

• Another from a guy claiming that he and his pals had encountered a mountain lion in a pine tree that had bitten one of his friends. 

• Another entry was from an Amish family who claimed they had so much trouble finding fresh water that they had resorted to drinking their own urine. 

Double Springs Shelter

There were lots of other interesting ones, most of them describing their encounters with wildlife and commenting on the peacefulness of the trail. Some regarding the weather and lots of advice on which springs were dry and which were not. There were several quoting Bible verses and just as many extolling the virtues of bonfires and liquor.

Silers Bald Shelter

Stan Murray Shelter

The Remains of Runion

In the early 1900's Runion, NC was established as a logging town located between the Laurel and French Broad rivers.

Today, a 3 1/2 mile hike along the Laurel will bring you to the remains of the town.  The trail runs along the former rail line so it's very flat. The Laurel, is a beautiful river and there are several campsites along the way.

Directions

 

Distance from downtown Greenville: 92 miles.  

How to Get to the Blue Ridge Parkway from Greenville

Parkway in the distance as seen from Mountains to Sea Trail - Oct, 2008

I keep getting hits from people Googling something to the effect of "how to get to the Blue Ridge Parkway from Greenville" so I thought I'd put a post up about the various ways to get there. 


The quickest and easiest is to take Hwy 25 to I26N to exit 37 and then follow the signs. It takes about an hour. 



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If you're going north on the parkway you may want to keep going past that exit to I40E and take exit 44.  That way you'll bypass the section that runs through Asheville which isn't that interesting (plus it's the only section I've ever seen anyone get pulled over for speeding on the Parkway - and yes I was the one pulled over).



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Another option is to go through Brevard via 276. That's a nicer drive but takes about an hour and a half. It puts you near the Pisgah Inn. An even nicer drive to get to this entrance would be to head up HWY 25 through Flat Rock. 



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A fourth option if you want to get to a section further south is take 276 to Hwy 11 to Hwy 176 to Hwy 215. This puts you near the Middle Prong Wilderness and Shining Rock Wilderness, not far from the Devil's Court House.



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Waterrock Knob

Waterrock Knob is one of the highest points on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's the 16th highest point east of the Mississippi. From the parking lot, it's a short but steep hike to the top. Even if you're not a hiker, it's worth the stop. Once while there I was standing above the clouds.

There are 40 peaks in the southern Appalachians over 6000 feet. There is a club designed to honor those who hike all of them.  If you're inclined to do so you can reach several of them from this location.  

If you are a hiker and you're good with navigation and don't mind serious bushwhacking, you can have quite an adventure hiking to Mount Lyn Lowery, another 6000 footer where a 50' cross has been erected. There's also an amazing homesite for sale there, which would probably be the highest residential site on the east coast. To get there, when you get to the top of Waterrock, look to your left and you will see a faint little overgrown trail. Follow that trail a couple miles to Lyn Lowry and you'll have some great views along the way, assuming you don't get lost. Even if you do, you'll still have some great views. To say the trail is overgrown is an understatement. Below is a shot of one of the clearest parts of the trail. See that light green area, that's the trail. It gets much worse and you will get turned around and you will get cut up from all the blackberry bushes you have to trudge through. I ripped my pack and my pants.

There are no printed maps of the "trail" and there are no blazes or signs. Other people have left ribbons marking the way and they're fairly accurate but the bushwhacking makes for slow going.

You can find more details and download on-line maps here.


Distance from downtown Greenville: 98 miles

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