(Click on the links in the text for more photos)
(Click on the links in the text for more photos)
Pictures by Barbara Allen, Text by Beverly Smith
The Grandfather Mountain backpack was rescheduled from best weekend of the
summer to the worst weekend and what a difference the week made in the
weather conditions. Will Skelton, Barbara Allen, John Dunlap and I hiked the 6.6
miles of trail across Grandfather Mountain amidst a technically challenging
terrain exacerbated by thick fog, rain and wet rocks.
We started hiking on the Tanawha Trail out of the Boone Fork Parking Area,
picked up the Nu-wa-ti Trail to the Cragway Trail, crossed the mountain ridge on
the Daniel Boone Scout Trail and down the Grandfather Trail. Grandfather
Mountain boasts a very diverse ecosystem and within the first few miles of the
trail we had hiked through rhododendron thickets, hardwood forest, beds of ferns
and open grassy areas.
We were experiencing light rain and moderate winds when we reached the first
set of cables and ladders that led to the highest peak on the mountain, Calloway
Peak (5964'). The exposed rock covered peak was not a place we lingered
especially since the spectacular 365-degree view of the western North Carolina
Mountains was blanketed in fog. We stopped for the night at the Cliffside
backcountry campground and Will volunteered to hike the very steep, rocky 0.6
miles round trip to Shanty Springs for group water.
The most challenging part of the backpack was the last 2.4 miles that we hiked
on Sunday. We were enclosed by thick fog and facing some of the toughest
backpacking that any of us had experienced in the southeast. We hugged rock
ledges, climbed down ladders, scrambled over large boulders and negotiated
our way down the rockwall called "The
Chute". We were forced to take our packs
off on occasion to work around tight areas and narrow ledges, all the while
dealing with wet, slick rocks and endless amounts of mud. The only thing we did
not get to experience on this hike was the great views and vistas that never
materialized through rain and
fog.
Several members of the HBG have discussed this hike since July, trying to
determine what we consider to be the most difficult backpacking trail in the
southeast. We decided that Grandfather Mountain and Mt. Mitchell's Black
Mountain Crest Trail rank as the top two most difficult with Grandfather Mountain
winning the most technically difficult title and the Black Mountain Crest Trail the
most physically demanding.
