View Full Version : Black Mountain to Mt Mitchell
Earl Grey
11-11-2007, 11:00
Has anyone done this hike before on the old toll road? Looking at maps it looks through a variety of trails to be able to hike to the summit of Mitchell.
Has anyone done this hike before on the old toll road? Looking at maps it looks through a variety of trails to be able to hike to the summit of Mitchell.
I've done part of it. The Carolina Mountain Club leads hikes there. Check out their website.
Earl Grey
11-12-2007, 13:42
Cool thanks. Im thinking about starting at Black Mountain Campsite, summit mitchell and look for a place to camp on the way up. Then come down from mitchell to a campsite and then the next day go south on BRP to the old logging road and take that to Montreat and then into Black Mountain town. How about that? How far is that?
Coming south on the toll road I believe you'd intersect the Greybeard Trail which takes you to Montreat.
sherrill
11-12-2007, 13:59
I did it with a couple of friends on New Years Eve (night) during a full moon. We were young and crazy, decided we didn't want to be camped on Mitchell while everyone else partied. That was 83/84. As a can recall, it was about 18 miles from Mitchell to Black Mountain.
sherrill
11-12-2007, 14:02
Meant to add, call John McFerrin at Take a Hike Outfitters in Black Mountain. He was with me and maybe can give you directions.
Earl Grey
11-12-2007, 14:30
Cool I might give him a call. For a 2 night trip I decided thats not enough mileage and would have significant downtime so now I will start at hemlocks campground and go south to mitchell. http://www.math.uncc.edu/~droyster/vtec/blkmtnct.jpg
This map shows the route in great detail. I will stay at either the deep gap shelter or keep going past mitchell down commissary trail to the shelter there at the intersection. Thoughts?
Deep Gap Shelter? I don't think there's a Deep Gap Shelter on the Black Mountain Crest Trail. None that I remember anyway.
If you hike up from Black Mountain campground and hike the MST/Toll Road/Greybeard Trail to Montreat it's 25 miles or so.
I have Mount Mitchell to Montreat listed as 15 miles. The Montreat Trail Club led that hike during the Great Southeastern Hiking Festival last May.
I have Mount Mitchell to Montreat listed as 15 miles. The Montreat Trail Club led that hike during the Great Southeastern Hiking Festival last May.
Then that would make it 21 miles or so. BMC to MM is 6 miles or about a mile less than Hemlock Campground to MM.
sherrill
11-12-2007, 14:45
We had actually camped on Mitchell the night before and were on a mountain (name I can't recall) across when we decided to break camp and hike.
We hiked Craig's parent's summer house that was in a subdivision above Black Mountain on the Ridgecrest side. Don't recall any other trail names besides the old toll road but I remember close to the end Craig was warning us to watch out for old mine shafts.
I don't think there's a shelter at Commissary Ridge either. That map is outdated as far as shelters go. There is one on the Greybeard Trail but it's only a couple miles from the end of the trail.
I agree with Sly.
I do not recall seeing any shelters, just camp sites.
You may consider starting at Bolins Creek trailhead at the North end of the ridge. 12 miles + 6k feet climbs to Mitchell
Have fun
Egads
hillsidedigger
11-12-2007, 21:26
Yeh. I walked from the Parkway down to the Montreat gate and back one day back in 1978.
sourwood
11-13-2007, 08:42
I don't think there are any shelters up high. There are spots to camp though. When hiking through Montreat I would recommend picking up the East Ridge Trail off of the Toll Road. It's a gorgeous trail and you will end up at the southern end of the town of Montreat near the stone gate. I can give you details if you like.
Julie
those shelters were torn down years ago.
i was just up there guiding a trip. we started at the black mtn campground, hiked up the mt. mitchell trail to the top, then the deep gap/ black mtn crest trail to big tom gap, then down to the buncombe horse trail via the big tom gap trail out to maple camp bald for the night. beautiful camp site with a spring not to far away. then backtracked back to the crest trail to deep gap, where we took the colbert ridge trail down. about 2/3 of the way down you have an awsome view of shortoff, table rock, hawksbill, grandfather, beech and sugar, and the whole roan area, hump, grassy ridge, and roan!!!!!