View Full Version : Panthertown valley?
Howdy...
Looks like I have a chance to go to Panthertown this weekend for one night (Saturday ill be in Charlotte for the allman brothers)---and I'm looking for a suggestion for a nice, maybe a loop of 10 miles, with a bitchin campsite...
Surely someone can suggest a route or two in this area...
I do have the Burt kornegay map so I can follow along..
Thanks...
Mr. Bumpy
08-28-2013, 22:28
Panthertown is amazing. There is no such thing as a bad loop there unless you count the time I was off trail and wound up in some rhododendron thicket near the fire tower. I suggest going in from the west trailhead near Cashiers--Salt Rock--I think it is called. Panthertown is dense with trails and you can criss cross them all day but never have the feeling that you are walking over the same ground twice. For a one time shot I would suggest camping on top of Little Green. There is no water up there but there are great spots and there is no better place to watch the sun go down. The Kornegay map is all you need.
Thanks....
My plan is to go in there this weekend just to check it out and then late winter/early spring to spend most every weekend down there checking out all the trails based on the kornegay map....
Mr. Bumpy
08-29-2013, 06:55
I've gone on average two time per year over the past 4-5 years and have never gotten bored of it. There is so much variety for a relatively small area. The "unofficial" trails on the map are sometimes just fine and sometimes you find yourself busting through a dense thicket or having to go hand over foot up the side of a ravine. Its a great place that on busy weekends can tend towards being over used.
Bonas Defeat is a great fall or warm winter day hike that is more of a creek scramble. Try it out.
Train Wreck
08-29-2013, 08:43
I've gone on average two time per year over the past 4-5 years and have never gotten bored of it. There is so much variety for a relatively small area. The "unofficial" trails on the map are sometimes just fine and sometimes you find yourself busting through a dense thicket or having to go hand over foot up the side of a ravine. Its a great place that on busy weekends can tend towards being over used.
Bonas Defeat is a great fall or warm winter day hike that is more of a creek scramble. Try it out.
I hiked the Bonas Defeat gorge many years ago and it's a wonderful but dangerous hike. You need to be aware of the potential danger for sudden releases of water from the upstream dam OR flooding from sudden thunderbursts. When I hiked it, it was a dry stream most of the year, but I understand the dam release schedule may have significantly changed in the last year or so. You can get in serious trouble down in there, with no way out, if the water rises. Please check the note on following site and also do additional research (call the local USFS office, etc.) before attempting this hike.
http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/bonas1.htm
How did the trip go?
I love panther town. Even in the rain.
http://theosus1.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/panthertown-aka-backpacking-401/
I ended up not going.....
I was beat after seeing the sun rise after the Allman brothers show Saturday night...
I also had to pack for the next weekend (last weekend) where I'd be spending 4 nights at a music festival....
Soooooo......I hope to get down there in weekends to come...
Go if you ever get the chance again!! :)