Bolens Creek up to Celo's Knob

[Pipsissewa]

Mr. Pips and I scored a trifecta today: no bugs, no people and no SNOW! We hiked the Deep Gap trail from the northern trailhead at Bolens Creek in Burnsville NC. The trail followed the picturesque Bolens Creek as it tumbled down the western shoulder of Celo's Knob--the northern-most of the Black Mountains. The water volume was impressive but the trail was--for the most part--dry.

We stopped at a lovely waterfall and hung the hammocks for lunch. I tried out the Grand Trunk Ultralite with my dual-purpose ridgeline/footline and my new toggles made from a red coat hanger:

DSCN0028.jpg

After a few miles, the trail left the creek and headed up in earnest up to Celo's Knob. It was a steady climb up to the top of Celo (6,327 feet). There was still plenty of trail left--it continues over the Blacks all the way to Mount Mitchell, 12 miles south. We've tackled the southern end of the this trail a few times. Coming from Mt. Mitchell, it's known as the Black Mountain Crest Trail. This end--the northern end--is extremely picturesque and pleasant. A steady climb, but not the boulder scramble and rope-assisted ups and downs of the other end.

This was the first hike with my new camera--a Nikon Coolpix AW100 with the GPS marking. I'm still trying to plow through the CD owner's manual that came with it! I have a lot to learn about it. The Bolens Creek section of this trail would be a wonderful place to practice with a new camera!

I love these new toggles--very compact, easy to pull out and easy to spot if dropped. I'm definitely making more sets for my other hammocks. I'll add a loop of mason's line on the end of each toggle to lark's head on to my straps so I'll never lose them.

Thanks for reading.

[BigA]

Great report and love that part of NC. I have fished around there several times. I need to check out the northern part. I usually am south of Mt. Mitchell.