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| Black Mountain Crest Trail |
May 4, 2014
This hike, though painful, was one of my favorites. After we summited
Cold Mountain, we picked up the rental car and drove along
Blue Ridge Parkway to Mount Mitchell. Our hike the next day would be a one way hike from Bolens Creek to Mount Mitchell, going over 8 mountains over 6,000 ft. This would be our first peak bagging trip. We slept for 6 hours, resting our blistered feet as much as we could. In the morning, we drove to the trailhead and started hiking at 7 AM.
We didn't have a high clearance vehicle so we had to hike the washed out rocky road up to the trailhead. At the trailhead, we crossed the wooden bridge over Bolens Creek and started the 3.5 mile 3000+ ft ascent to the Black Mountain Crest. This part of the hike was through varied forests on a well maintained but steep trail. After a few switchbacks and stream crossings, we rounded a bend and were treated to the most spectacular sight: the entire mountain range laid out before us. With sun shining high in the cloudless sky, we forgot about the gruesome hike up and were now re-energized and excited for the next 8 miles of ascent and descent over 8 mountains.
The mountain climbs were a big blur. The hike was more about how far we could push our already blistered feet and how far we could persuade ourselves to keep going. Trails were maintained even if there were areas that had plenty of fallen trees and loose footing. Though it seemed like a blur going up and down eight mountains, the views from each summit, the search for GIS markers, and the exhilaration of reaching the summits made this hike memorable. Many people climb up from Bolens Creek and camp overnight at Deep Gap. M and I would have done that if we had more time but we did this hike as a long day hike. In total, it took us 10.5 hours to do the 11.5 mile hike. We were tired but elated to summit Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi. From this hike alone, we bagged 8 peaks out of the 53
Southern Sixers. I highly recommend doing the hike this way and it is worth the effort to climb up from Bolens Creek.
Total elevation gain for the hike: 6,235 ft.
Mileage from Bolens Creek to Mt. Mitchell: 12 miles
Time of hike: 10.5 hours
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| Old trail map from National Geographic. |
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| At the trailhead off Water Shed Rd |
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| Start of our hike on the rocky washed out road to trailhead |
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| The better part of the road |
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| Start of the hike at Bolens Creek |
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| 3.5 miles up 3000+ ft on Black Mountain Crest Trail (BMCT) |
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| Less muddy the higher we went |
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| BMCT |
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| Still 2 more miles to go |
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| We passed what looked like a campsite on the old logging road/trail |
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| Forest changed to conifers, still steep ascent |
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| Creek crossing on BMCT |
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| Straight up |
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| Closer to the top and getting rockier |
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| Rounded this bend to the left, at the end of the 3.5 mile ascent |
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| Greeted with the spectacular view of the Black Mountain Crest. We traversed these mountains up to Mt. Mitchell |
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| Hiking onwards. We passed by Celo Knob |
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| Trail less maintained but still easy to follow |
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| BMCT going straight up to Horse Rock |
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| BMCT on the way to Gibbs Mt |
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| BMCT on the way to Gibbs Mt |
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| BMCT on the way to Gibbs Mt |
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| View from Gibbs Mt |
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| Bad picture of the knife's edge on BMCT |
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| Descent to Winter Star to BMCT |
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| Going up to Winter Star. Trail was recently worked on. |
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| Double checking where we might be along BMCT to Winter Star |
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| BMCT to Winter Star |
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| Summit of Winter Star. We found the GIS marker too |
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| Descended Winter Star and arrived at Deep Gap. Didn't find any campers |
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| Leaving Deep Gap |
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| Hiking the long ascent out of Deep Gap |
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| Hiking out of Deep Gap and up to Potato Hill |
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| BMCT from Deep Gap to Potato Hill |
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| On top of Potato Hill looking back at the BMCT |
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| Descended Potato Hill and hiked along BMCT to Cattail Peak |
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| Going down from Potato Hill to Cattail Peak |
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| Ascending to Cattail Peak |
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| Summit of Cattail Peak |
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| Heading on to Balasm Cone from Cattail Peak |
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| View of Big Tom and Mt Craig from Balsam Cone |
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| Going from Balsam Cone to Big Tom |
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| Scrambling up ropes section going up to Big Tom |
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| Another ropes section going up to Big Tom |
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| BMCT going to Big Tom |
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| Big Tom summit! |
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| Descent from Big Tom towards Mt. Craig |
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| Looking back at the BMCT. Mountains from R to L: Big Tom, Balsam Cone, Cattail Peak |
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| Nearing Mt. Craig, there's a sign warning to stay off the cliff edge in order to protect the plant/wildlife |
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| Mount Craig! |
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| Mount Craig on BMCT, stay behind the logs in order to protect the area |
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| Tired with knee and feet pain but so close to Mt. Mitchell! |
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| On BMCT from Mt. Craig to Mt. Mitchell |
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| The trail climbs up again! |
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| BMCT Mt Craig to Mt Mitchell |
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| Mt. Mitchell picnic area |
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| Mt. Mitchell picnic area |
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| Looking at the Black Mountain Crest on top of Mt. Mitchell |
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| We made it on top of Mt. Mitchell! |
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| Mount Mitchell |
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| View from Mt. Mitchell |
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| One last photo of the BMCT |
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