Very busy parking lot. Started the hike a bit later than usual, around 1:30. Still had plenty of time to do the trail to Black Balsam Knob. Beautiful views even though clouds rolled in during the hike. Quite a few rocky climbs but not too strenuous.
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Actually a 3-mile hike (2.95 on Garmin and iPhone). First two mikes a moderate climb. Then a bit more rocky and rigorous. Nothing too bad. I’m 65 with an arthritic knee. View is tremendous!
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Great hike, close to town, easy to navigate, with a rewarding view. There are toilets and hand washing in the camp right past the bridge just beyond the trail head. Not great for running, since it's covered, moderately rocky, slick, steep, and with downed trees. Many streams en route, bring a steri-pen. Glad we used Gaia- we got a few hundred feet down a trail offshoot on the way down and had to backtrack. Some bushwhacking near the summit but underneath a clear path. Is the view to the SE an old volcano crater?
★
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It was much harder than I realized! It was beautiful out, flowers blooming and birds flitting about. We saw a nest with two chicks and eggs, with the momma bird screaming around us to leave. We climbed Lower Mt. Cammerer trail forever, had lunch at the junction of the AT and then proceeded up to the Mt. Cammerer trail junction. After that it’s all a blur...
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The Scales are a magical place. An enclosed fenced area and well taken of. The AT goes thru the Scales and there is also a rough 4-wheel road, about 4 miles in length that provides access.
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This trail was seriously tough with the high elevation change, and actually its 3 miles in 3 miles out not 2.7. However this trail was also very cool. I did it on a cool, wet and foggy day and it made for some spectacular views of the mountains in the fog. The higher up the mountains i got, the foggier it got! Near zero visibility at the top! Made trying to look out off of looking glass rock at the top impossible but thats also what made it cool! Sloughed my cooler up the mountain with me and had lunch as i stared out into the foggy abyss. 10/10 would do it again, just on a dryer day. Since it was so wet, it was a mudhole going up the mountain and made some of the fallen trees difficult to navigate without slipping off the face of the trail. I was pretty muddy by the time i got down.
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I'm starting Physical Therapy for my knee so this is a great hike which doesn't stress the knee. Walking along an old logging rail track the gentle uphill from the trailhead to Walnut Bottoms provide great views of the creek. The Midnight Hole is 1.5 miles from the trailhead and, in warm weather, is a great (very cold) refresher. I rated the walk, 11 miles round trip, as a four. And that's only because I prefer being higher up and getting the great views.
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10.8 miles, 3000 foot elevation gain, very steep climbs/descents, tough terrain, very remote - no cell service, beautiful scenery and views of river and gorge. Recommend counter-clockwise route. Take GPS map, free download availabe from Avenza maps app. Can be occassionally easy to lose trail if not careful and have GPS.
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stars
A nice, short hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The entire way is on a gravel carriage road that is closed to vehicles. The woods have grown up around the summit tower, but there are still distant views over the treetops. The trail passes through large open fields which reminded me of England. Rated three stars because of crowds.
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Hiked on 10-7-18. Was hoping for more fall color but it is a little later this year. Hiked this same hike a few years back on first Friday of October and colors were at peak. Easy hike. Mostly flat. Very muddy after any rain at all. A lot of secondary trails have been made by hikers to go around the bigger mud holes. Falls had much less water on this trip compared to a few years back. Can get crowded on weekends. I hiked out to falls about 4:30 PM and passed more people than I could even count who were returning from the falls. When I arrived there were only two couples at the base and a few people above the falls. Within 10 minutes they were all gone and I had it to myself.
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stars
This is a very pretty waterfall, and a nice, short walk from the parking area. On this trip, we went at too busy of a time, and it was nearly impossible to get a photo without other people in it. Still, make a point to take the user trail over to Little Moore Cove Falls, which is much less crowded.
★
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