Our fifteenth hike of the year ... June 15, 2024
Mom, Sally, and I
I'll be honest - I hadn't really planned on this hike - but a friend who was camping in the area told me the azaleas were some of the best he'd seen.
So, of course, we had to go see it for ourselves.
We got an early start since we were self-shuttling ourselves. So, we dropped the first car off at 19E then made our way to Carvers Gap - the parking area at 19 is on the small side and you might want to watch It if you're in a low clearance vehicle. It was already very busy - with people who'd gotten up to see the sunrise or had camped overnight - so the paved lot was full along with most of the roadside spots. So, we continued to the larger gravel parking area just over in NC that's on the right side of the road. We got our gear on and hit the road back up to the gap to start our hike to 19E! We got here a little after 6am - so the morning light was just starting to illuminate the mountain behind us.
Making our way through the forest ... we eventually make our way out of the treeline to see the valleys below and the mountains beyond.
Finally reaching the top of Round Bald - we enjoyed the new signboards that showed the mountains you could see (both to the south & north). This was really cool - because 1 never realized you could see Hawksbill & Table Rock mountains in Linville from here! We came to the top of Jane Bald and looked around and watching the clouds continue to come and go over Grassy Ridge Bald - our next summit!
Continuing our northward approach - we split from the Appalachian Trail to get to the summit of Grassy Ridge Bald! This is definitely worth the little bit of effort to get up here .. and the trail itself is probably in the best shape I've seen It! We get to the top - where my friend was camped out - and we stood awhile chit-chatting. Then, I decided since the wind had calmed and the sun had come out - to fly the drone and got some great aerial footage - especially of the rhododendron blooming and fiying in the clouds looking back at Round & Jane balds. After enjoying the visit... we decided it was time to get going - we still had a long way to go! We made our way back down to the junction with the Appalachian Trall and turned right to stay on our northbound approach.
From this point, you have a nice downhill section - enjoy this because after this you've got a lot of climbing! On our way down, we passed by the Stan Murray shelter - very descent looking shelter but small. Not long after, we hit Yellow Gap and started our climb - this part is honestly the hardest part of this section - it was very exposed. We tried to take plenty of breaks in any shaded area. You then re-enter in the woods - but not too long after you re-emerge above the treeline to make the climb up Little Hump. This climb isn't as steep as the one coming out of Yellow Gap - but it does seem to go on for awhile!
The views from the top of Little Hump are awesome! And looking ahead - we saw our last BIG climb of the day - but of course we had to descend back through the forest to make our way to Bradley Gap. We re-emerged above treeline in the gap ... and looked ahead to Big Hump. This is a climb is tough - but honestly I found it more enjoyable than the climb from Yellow Gap. We finally made it ... passed by a group of campers - and honestly wished we were staying out too! But we had a plan ... and no backpacking gear - so onward we had to go. But the descent off of Big Hump - it's the prettiest section of trail in this area - I just couldn't quit taking pictures or stopping to soak it all in (after all we'd worked hard - we needed to enjoy it!). But daylight was getting short ... and well I knew once we re-entered the treeline that the trail got rocky and we didn't want to do that in the dark! Thankfully, once in the trees - we started making better time (well mostly until we hit another rocky stretch!). But, mercifully, the trail gets easier as you get past Doll Flatts - and we ended up only needing our headlamps for the last ¾ mile of the hike!
Things to note... this is a moderate hike (hard if you're not used to the distance or the elevation). The trail is pretty rocky in several places - but the views more than make up for any struggles. You can park at Mountain Harbor - this is a popular hostel that also offers parking for day hikers and shuttle services (parking isn't free). Typically, the most people you see is the first part from Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge
- but on this day there were several people all along the trail! There's plenty of camping options as well.
And the hike up to Round Bald is an easy hike for most anyone. Overall, we had a great day on trail and thoroughly enjoyed all the scenery!
23 июл 2024
