GOODPEOPLE

 

“Here are your waters

So drink, and be whole again

We are the good people
The ones they told you about
One kiss of mother nature
Her spirit waits in light”

 

From “Goodpeople”, by Widespread Panic

 

 

Montreat is a small community a few miles east of Asheville, NC.  The community includes a college, a conference center (associated with the Presbyterian Church), and residential areas.  The community includes 2500 acres of protected wilderness.  It’s refreshing that the community chose to protect such a significant portion of its surroundings.  The entire valley and its surrounding ridges easily could’ve become overrun with vacation homes.

 

The entire area, including the protected wilderness, is private property.  However, the people of Montreat are generous enough to allow public access.  The wilderness includes an extensive trail network.  In fact, some of the most scenic hikes in the Black Mountains are on Montreat property. 

 

A lull in my work schedule left me with last week off.  In fact, my only work obligations consisted of short conference calls on Thursday morning and Friday afternoon.  This provided me with the perfect opportunity for my first backpacking trip since October.  Unfortunately, the weather last week was largely hostile to outdoor recreation.  By early in the week, it was apparent that I had only a narrow window of opportunity for backpacking in dry weather.  That window was Wednesday & Thursday.  Regrettably, that window of opportunity conflicted with my Thursday morning conference call.

 

I decided to go backpacking anyway.  I spent a good bit of time trying to come up with a place where I could backpack and still get a cell signal on Thursday morning.  It just so happens that the Montreat area was the ideal choice.  There is a campsite and shelter on Walker Knob, a minor sub-peak of Greybeard Mountain.  A few minutes of walking beyond the shelter leads to a great view of the Swannanoa River Valley and East Asheville.  I was confident I’d be able to get a strong cell signal there.

 

I drove up to Black Mountain and on to Montreat on Wednesday morning.  I went straight on the Greybeard Mountain Trailhead near the upper end of the Flat Creek Valley.  I was surprised to find a couple of other cars and a van from Warren Wilson College there.  Even though it was a mid-week trip in February, it looked like I might have some company on the trail.

 

I got Boone’s pack on him and leashed him for the initial walk down the road.  I shouldered my own pack, and we headed back down to the Montreat Campground to start our hike.  The campground is closed in the winter, but we found our way to campsite 21 and the beginning of the Rocky Head Trail.  We started up this trail around 10am under sunny skies.

 

I’d hiked the Rocky Head Trail once before, many years ago.  Before this hike, I couldn’t remember why I hadn’t hiked it again.  Now my memory was refreshed.  The Rocky Head Trail is rocky, steep, and tedious.  Unfortunately my heels were still raw from the previous weekend’s 14 mile hike in the South Mountains.  I applied Second Skin to both heels that morning, but the steep trail was still painful to hike.

 

I reached the summit of Rocky Head around 11am.  The views are limited here, but I still stopped for a brief snack.  From there I headed north on the East Ridge Trail.  At Long Gap I continued ahead on the Old Trestle Road, which is the grade of the original railroad from Black Mountain to Mount Mitchell.  Easy walking brought me to Pot Cove Gap, where I had a decision to make.  My original plan was to follow the Greybeard Trail briefly before regaining the old railroad grade farther up the mountain.  That would take me out to the Old Toll Road, which I would follow to the base of Rocky Knob.  From there I’d summit Rocky Knob, and then follow the ridgeline south to Greybeard.  After Greybeard I’d descend to Walker Knob and camp. 

 

However, when I arrived at the trailhead I discovered that the Greybeard Mountain Trail had been re-routed.  The segment I’d planned to hike above Pot Cove Gap is now closed.  The trail has been re-routed to follow the old railroad grade on gentle, sweeping switchbacks.  Since I would return that way the next morning, I decided on an alternate ascent route.  Instead I’d take the Old Toll Road from Pot Cove Gap all the way to the base of Rocky Knob.

 

I followed the Old Toll Road on a long contour on the east slopes of Greybeard.  Much of the road was covered in snow or ice.  The remainder was a mixture of rocks, water, and mud.  Eventually I reached a cliff just off the road that provided a nice view north and east.  It was almost noon, so I stopped there for lunch.

 

After eating I continued on.  Along here I began passing numerous spur roads leading off in a variety of directions.  Apparently I wandered off the main road at one of the junctions, but I didn’t realize it at the time.  A bit later I passed a few hunter camps, consisting of trailers scattered along the road.  I saw a guy splitting firewood at one of them, but otherwise the area was quiet.  He would be the only person I’d see during the entire trip.

 

A few minutes later I passed another spur trail leading steeply up the mountain on my left.  I was beginning to get impatient with the gentle grade of the road, and thought this spur might provide a more direct route to the road higher up on the mountain.  I headed that way, and after a steep climb I regained the road.  Essentially I had cut a switchback, meaning that I needed to turn left to continue the climb towards Rocky Knob.  However, the road to the left seemed to be heading gradually downhill.  This was puzzling, but I stuck with my instincts.  I turned left, and walked about 10 minutes down the snow-covered road.  I finally realized that I had erred when I reached the old railroad grade leading back down towards Montreat.  Somehow I had headed back the way I’d come.

 

I puzzled over this for a few minutes before I figured out what had happened.  I had missed a turn earlier, and continued out a spur road.  In doing so, I’d completely missed the switchback heading back to the south.  When I finally climbed steeply up to my left, I’d come out farther up the road, beyond the last of the switchbacks.

 

At that point I could’ve continued ahead to Walker Knob.  It was only 1:30 though, and the shelter was only 30 minutes away.  I didn’t want to spend all afternoon lounging around camp.  So I doubled-back the way I’d come.  The dog was baffled at this turn of events, but followed me dutifully.  Eventually I passed the spur road I’d climbed and continued on.  Sometime later I finally reached the side trail leading up Rocky Knob.  The trail was hidden under a deep blanket of unbroken snow.  I hesitated, but I hadn’t come this far to stop short of the summit. 

 

I climbed up into the snow, which was knee-deep in places.  The climb was arduous, thanks to the deep, wet snow.  The footing was slippery, and I relied on trees to help me climb.  Reaching the summit was a huge relief.  I strolled out onto the cliffs, where I was rewarded with spectacular views of Greybeard, the Craggy Mountains, The Pinnacle, Mount Mitchell, and more high peaks in the Black Mountains.  I took a break to enjoy the view, but I couldn’t linger long.  The wind was brutal there, and it eventually chased me off the peak.

 

Originally I had planned to follow the ridge south to Greybeard.  However, I recalled that the trail along the ridge is quite primitive.  The final ascent up the north side of Greybeard is extremely steep.  If the snow was knee-deep on the east side of Rocky Knob, how much more would there be higher up on the north side of Greybeard?  I could see a lot of white from my perch on Rocky Knob.  What if I got most of the way up Greybeard but couldn’t reach the summit?  I could easily get myself in trouble.  It was already mid-afternoon, and the short days of winter didn’t leave me with much room for error.

 

Reluctantly I turned back.  I headed back down to the Old Toll Road, slipping and sliding in the snow.  I regained the road, dumped the snow out of my boots, and headed back the way I’d come.  Before long I passed the spur road I’d ascended earlier and traversed the same stretch of road for the third time that day.  I finally reached the old railroad grade and followed it down to a crossing of Flat Creek.  I rock hopped without any trouble before negotiating an icy stretch of the Greybeard Mountain Trail.  I followed it carefully up to Walker Knob, and reached the shelter around 4:30.  I set up camp, fetched water from Flat Creek, and filtered water.  While filtering, I spilled a few drops on the wooden steps leading up to the shelter.  The spilled water turned to ice in only a couple of minutes.  The temperature had been dropping throughout the afternoon, and the instant ice I’d made was an indication of a cold night ahead.

 

I finished my chores in time to catch sunset.  I walked out to the cliffs of Walker Knob only to discover that building clouds in the west had obscured the sun.  Despite this, I was still treated to some fine colors as the sun dropped.  The views to the south and west were as spectacular as always, and I managed a few photos despite the icy wind.  Boone was worn out and not amused with my attempts at photography.  While I took pictures, he made himself a bed in a Rhododendron thicket.

 

I headed back to the shelter after dark.  I made dinner there, heating up the last of the pasta we had dehydrated for last summer’s trip to Peru.  The rest of the evening was spent trying to keep Boone and myself warm.  I’d brought him two blankets, and that sufficed for awhile.  Eventually though Boone got restless.  He was intent on getting into my sleeping bag, despite the physical improbability of actually accomplishing this.  Somehow he managed to weasel himself most of the way inside, and he spent a good bit of the night with his head on top of my feet.  Later he stirred, and I couldn’t coax him back in.  I ultimately unzipped the bag and pulled it over both of us, using the blankets for extra warmth.  I even added a chemical hand warmer, knowing it would generate some extra heat to help us through the night.

 

My alarm went off at 6:30, but I barely flinched.  It was way too cold to go back out on those cliffs for sunrise.  The dog got me up an hour later.  My water was frozen, which was not a good sign.  Despite the cold I did walk back out to the cliff to see what I had missed.  Last night’s clouds were hanging on stubbornly, and sunrise was a no-show.  For once I was actually glad I’d stayed in bed.

 

I returned to the shelter and eventually got my icewater to boil for breakfast.  By the time I finished my oatmeal it was 8:30.  I decided to make a quick run up to Greybeard before my conference call. 

 

The climb was a bit of a grunt.  I wore my Yaktrax, as much of the trail was icy.  Despite the cold, I was sweating by the time I reached the crest of Seven Sisters Ridge.  From there, a few more minutes of climbing brought me to the summit of Greybeard.  There I was treated to more fine views of the Black and Craggy Mountains.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to linger long though.  I hurried back down the mountain, and reached the cliffs of Walker Knob just in time for my call.  The call wasn’t exciting, but at least it came with a great view.  Cell phone or not, sitting on the cliffs of Walker Knob is a great way to spend some time.

 

I returned to camp and packed up.  I had a quick lunch and then headed back down the Greybeard Mountain Trail.  I took the new section of trail on the way back.  This part of the trail follows the old railroad grade through several long, sweeping switchbacks.  I passed several interesting rock formations, as well as one bonus viewpoint to the south.  Part of the way down I arrived at a junction and a sign announcing Greybeard Falls.  Intrigued, I made a short side trip over to Flat Creek to check it out.

 

Flat Creek goes on a long run of slides and cascades on its way down from Greybeard to Montreat.  However, I’d never heard of an official waterfall along its course.  Sometime in the last few years a notable cascade along this run was named Greybeard Falls.  I’d passed this cascade many times previously, on the old trail on the other side of the creek.  From that vantage point, well above the creek, the cascade doesn’t look particularly significant.  However, the new spur trail ends at the base of the falls.  From that vantage point, the cascade appears much more substantial.  It’s an attractive 20’ drop framed by Rhododendron.  I took a few photos before resuming the descent.

 

A couple of additional switchbacks led to a rock hop crossing of Flat Creek.  Beyond I joined the old trail and descended a steep, eroded gully.  Several more creek crossings followed.  I managed each without difficulty.  Shortly before reaching the trailhead I arrived at a junction with another new trail.  This path, the Harry Bryan Trail, makes a short loop with the first part of the Greybeard Trail and the Julia Woodward Trail along Little Slaty Branch.  Since it was early and I hadn’t hiked these trails, I decided to take the long way out.

 

The Harry Bryan Trail led through the woods, rolling through frequent climbs and descents.  This was a bit tedious, and I was relieved when I reached the Julia Woodward Trail.  At the junction, the trail heading upstream had a sign that simply said “falls”.  I wasn’t in a hurry to head home, so I turned upstream along Little Slaty Branch.

 

A few minutes later I reached the end of the trail at a small but picturesque cascade.  The creek squeezes between two boulders here, and the beauty of the spot makes up for the waterfall’s small stature.  It only drops 8’ or so, and probably doesn’t even qualify as a legitimate waterfall, but I was glad I’d hiked to it anyway.  I loitered there for a few minutes before heading back.

 

The hike ended with several minutes of walking on a gravel road past the construction sites for several new homes.  I reached the car a few minutes later and hit the road.  I’ll definitely be back for more hiking in and around Montreat, as it is one of my favorite areas.  For more information and trail maps, see the Montreat Wilderness website at: 

 

http://montreat.org/programs/wilderness




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