I recently backpacked 200+ miles of the Mountains To Sea trail here in North Carolina.
I was drawn to the Mountain section in particular as it connects a number of areas I frequent here in NC -GSMNP, Shining Rock, Mt Mitchell, Linville Gorge, Grandfather Mtn, Doughton Park. I'm not sure how much I will do in the Piedmont or coastal area, as a lot of that is road walking (or biking or canoeing) but we will see. I still have some sections in the Mountains to do & plan to hit those at some point,but it'll probably be a bit more peace meal.
Below is a video from the Grandfather Mountain section of the trail. If you want to see more, check out my channel - I created a MST playlist. I've still got a few videos to upload from the trip, including a 4 day romp thru Linville Gorge (from US-221 to US-181).
HIGHLIGHTS
Great Smoky Mountain National Park - 5 days, 53 miles
I hiked segment 1A from Clingmans Dome to Balsam Mountain campground. I had intended to keep hiking east, but hurricane Florence had different ideas. They shut down the Blue Ridge Parkway and parts of the park as I got a lift from my wife back to Charlotte. I'll remember this section as being wet - seems I was damp from day 1 and my clothes/shoes/gear never really dried out. And there were no crowds - in fact, all the nights I camped in the park I was by myself, and one stretch I went 48 hours without seeing anybody.
US-74/Waynesville to French Broad/Asheville (5 days, 62 miles hiking + 8 mile car ride)
This section starts off following close to the Blue Ridge parkway, and since it was a Sunday during leaf season, it sounded a bit like Charlotte Motor Speedway. Not that I minded - i figured all those folks were out there trying to enjoy nature, just not at 2 mph like me. I was happily surprised that the trail does veer away from the parkway quite often, so you don't hear the road noise. This section also offered a fair amount of solitude. In fact, during this whole trip, I only shared camp with another person on one night.
The biggest excitement in this section was while night hiking thru Graveyard Fields, I ran into 3 lost hikers that had called 911. They were starting to deploy search and rescue. They were pretty happy to see me & my GPS app on the phone to take them back to their car. They also drove me 8 miles down the road to get me past the section where bear canisters are required. It was pretty surreal to them that I showed up in the dark, and they dropped me off in the dark.. all while helping them just when they needed it.
North of Asheville - Cravens Gap to Craggy Gardens; Mt Mitchell; Black Mountain campground (32 miles, 3 days)
This was a beautiful section. The trail gains elevation to eventually summit Mt Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, but it also pops out on a fair number of knobs/mountains with views of the valley. One highlight was watching the sun set from the Craggy Gardens visitor center. A couple next to me was celebrating their 5th anniversary and shared some cheese and nuts - I was happy to partake. I didn't get any views on Mt Mitchell, but nature was out in full force as I summited the peak in clouds, mist and wind. I made a bee line for Black Mountain campground to beat the weather & enjoyed spending time around the fire with a couple guys from Indiana. Later that night it poured rain - Hurricane Mitchell was arriving the next day.
Grandfather Mountain to the Park Vista Inn (4 days, 52 miles)
Avoiding the swollen rivers/streams in Linville Gorge & Wilson creek seemed prudent, so I skipped ahead to the next section. This one was a ball - lots to see on the section around Grandfather mountain & Blowing Rock - the views from Beacon Heights & Rough Ridge; the interesting geography & historical areas of Linn Cove Viaduct, Stacked Rocks and Moses Cone; and then the highland pastures once past US-321. I wasn't expecting much in this section and was pleasantly surprised.
Linville Gorge - from US-221/Marion to US-181 (4 days, 33 miles)
I slowed my mileage per day down considerably to enjoy this section. I thought why enjoy 2 days of pie when you can have 4 days of pie. Obviously food was starting to impact my thinking, even if it was metaphorical pie. The hike up past Bald and Dobson Knob had portions that reminded me of the gorge - rocky outcroppings and trails that went mostly straight uphill. There was some (gravel) road walking but I kinda welcomed something flat at that point. The skies opened up & I hiked most of the day in the rain - my shoes were wet pretty much every day on my whole MST journey. Then it was into Linville Gorge and crossing the river - so exciting - my first time. And no problem - it was mostly knee high with some thigh high along the banks. Camped above Piano Rock on Shortoff - fantastic views - and then the wind tossed me around like a pinata that night as I alternated between worry and thankfulness that our cottage vendors make gear that stands up to the wind gusts. The next day was a short one over to the top of Little Table rock, for another great campsite. Enjoyed sunset from Table Rock that night. Then hiked out thru Steels Creek area the next day.
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Originally Posted by Two Tents
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