Thanks for the compliments

I'm not sure what you're referring to

It doesn't. There are a series of very old roads that connect the trail to the maintained FS near Locust Creek.

No, manmade structures are never included in geographical elevation. Then you would have to include skyscrapers as county and state high points.

Yeah you can, pretty easy to see traveling west as the highway passes through a gap in the Brushy Mtns. You can basically pick out every peak in the northwest corner from there.

@@bigzach322 oh no, I told him it was grandfather

@@bigzach322 it’s very prominent in the pic. And by itself. I thought Jefferson would be among others. And it looks like hawksbill and table rock to the left

I do not know the direction of the picture, but if you're traveling west on 421 you can see Grandfather, Elk Knob, Snake, and Jefferson all from the same spot on the highway.

@@bigzach322 I wish you tube would let us load pics

There are probably some on Peakbagger.

Thanks

Thanks!

Plenty of camping spots. There are small springs I think within third a mile below, but none around Deep Gap.

No problem

That is a designated BRP nature trail, they're almost always pretty easy or even handicap accessible.

A few years ago the tower was renovated, should look much better than in this video.

I prefer long hikes, plus I'm driving from long distance so might as well get my money's worth on foot.

It's not well-known, probably won't see many people there

At least half a mile off the west side, maybe closer to 0.75, depends if there's a drought. The east side spring is almost nonexistent at this point.

I carry pepper gel for loose dogs, but never carry bear spray or a gun in the Southeast. I'm not particularly concerned with black bear encounters.

There is nothing dangerous about this hike

I am, just backlogged on many videos from the last few years.

They may be old but these are officially documented as the oldest longleaf pines

If you leave at the hairpin turn you will have quite a bit upstream creekwalking to reach it. It's much closer to the river crossing and the side road that leads to Big Bearcamp Branch.

I have at least 50 or so I haven't made yet, backlog of 3 years and counting.

This video is from 2016. I've since been back a few times and explored more of the summit, including the manways you're referring to.

My Halo videos had a bunch of music copyright infringements so instead of taking them down I just clicked yes to removing audio from those sections. So there may be large blocks of zero noise.

No problem, I remember you from back in the day

No, I gave it a half-hearted attempt on another hike and couldn't find the route.

@@bigzach322 thank you anyway!

In terms of old growth it's not even close. You can start at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and see some of the largest and oldest hardwood trees in the East. I don't think there is anything close to this in all of Shining Rock. The only comparable old growth is in the Smokies in a few locations and in the Black Mountains. The Hangover is also a better view in my opinion, and you'll likely have more solitude on that hike. Naked Ground is an excellent site with water nearby, The Hangover has excellent sites but you'll have to travel down the Hangover Lead Trail a few hundred yards to find a spring. Cold Mountain has a spring below the summit on the trail, but that'll be low in the summer as well. I think the Cold Mountain-Shining Rock loop is better for views because you hit The Narrows and could hit Shining Rock, but Joyce Kilmer feels more like real hiking.

@bigzach322 thanks so much. I appreciate it.

No problem, I bet it was lot more adventurous 50 years ago

Thanks!

Thanks!

That's great, winter views from up there are the best.

I wouldn't do it during the summer, it is slammed. Cars line the road for hundreds of yards every weekend.

@@bigzach322 thanks for the advice, one thing about going when I did there’s was very little traffic. How are week days traffic wise?

@@maxgomez2832 Weekdays are probably fine except Fridays

Thanks Max