Devil's Courthouse, Transylvania County (12-19-13)
Read MoreMy quarry for the day rises above the valley of Courthouse Creek. This view was taken from alongside NC-215 just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Recent cold weather had forced a temporary closure of the Parkway allowing me a 'hike' to Devil's Courthouse that would definitely be devoid of crowds...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The Blue Ridge Parkway crosses NC-215 at an elevation of 5,334'. Here I'm overlooking NC-215 as it continues north from the Parkway...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The Blue Ridge Parkway crosses NC-215 at an elevation of 5,334'. Here I'm overlooking NC-215 as it heads south from the Parkway, the direction I arrived from...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Beech Gap (5,334') on the Blue Ridge Parkway with Mt. Hardy rising above to 6,110'...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Even though I knew the Parkway was closed the sound of the wind through the trees, which sounds deceptively like an oncoming car, occasionally tricked me into looking over my shoulder...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
469 of these little Mileposts mark your progress as you travel the Parkway. Mileages increase heading south meaning right here I was standing 423 miles from the Parkway's north terminus at Shenandoah National Park, VA and 46 miles north of its southern terminus at Great Smoky Mountains National Park...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Just about every shaded rock face up here had a nice thick sheet of ice covering it...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Less than a half mile north of Beech Gap the Parkway, halfway to Devils Courthouse, passes the Mount Hardy overlook...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Someone may want to consider renaming this 'overlook' as the view has been long overgrown by a thick spruce forest...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
I'd been by this spot dozens upon dozens of times and never knew this...what an incredible tribute...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Stepping inside the memorial forest is like stepping into a dark closet...the light abruptly turns off...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Heading north out of the Mt. Hardy Overlook I glanced over my shoulder and...surprise!...Mt. Hardy peeked out from between the trees...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Perhaps its a bit too early to call it but this year is shaping up to be as big a snowfall disappointment as last year...my snowshoes are getting pretty dusty...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
This pic didn't turn out quite as nice as I'd hoped...the groundwater seeping through the moss above this rock outcrop was painting some beautiful colors...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Just about a mile north of Beech Gap I arrived at the Devils Courthouse parking area...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The pesky sun was sitting right over the summit of the Courthouse making for some frustrating picture taking...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Regardless of the season there always seems to be at least one or two cars in this parking lot...it was almost eerie being the only one here...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
From the parking lot I still had a bit under a half mile walk to get to the top...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Paved paths certainly aren't my favorite but considering the crowds that visit in the summer putting one here is entirely appropriate...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Just north of where the path makes a right turn up to the summit is the Devils Courthouse Tunnel...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
I originally just planned to head straight to the top but the closed road offered a unique opportunity to walk through a Blue Ridge Parkway tunnel...how could I pass that up?!
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The tunnel seemed a lot longer on foot than it does in my car... :)
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Exiting the north end of the Devils Courthouse Tunnel...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
After walking through my first Parkway tunnel I thought it'd be the perfect time to climb above my first Parkway tunnel...here I'm standing atop the north end of the Devils Courthouse Tunnel...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The Devils Courthouse Tunnel is one of 26 such tunnels along the Blue Ridge Parkway. At 350' long its one of the shorter Parkway tunnels. Constructed in the early 1940's, this particular tunnel is unique in that it was the first to incorporate an inner concrete lining to reduce cave-ins and water seepage. This lining worked so well that it was eventually used in all Parkway Tunnels. Also, the fancy stonework you see at the entrances of this and other Parkway tunnels wasn't part of the original road design, they were added at a later date by Italian stonemasons...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
OK, enough tunnel fun for now...let's get back to the trail... (Note the big mound of ice created by water seepage in the tunnel. Despite the sun and warm temperatures outside, in the shaded confines of the Parkway tunnels these major road hazards can persist all winter)
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Another sure sign of a normally overcrowded peak...Off-Trail closure notices...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The path to the top is short but remarkably steep, I'm always huffing a bit by the time I reach the summit...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
What I'm sure is a well-used bench in the summer...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
At the summit ridge the trail makes a hard right and offers up its first views, looking south in the general direction of Brevard, NC...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The last stretch of trail along the summit ridge is much flatter thus erosion isn't as big a concern so the surface has been left natural...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Bigger isn't at all better on these windy ridgetops, as this large toppled tree so dramatically demonstrates...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Nearing the top there was a good amount of frozen groundwater seepage that forced me to keep a close eye on each step...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
A last flight of stairs before the top...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
It takes a loooong time for nature to recover from disturbances at these elevations...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Making my way up the last few steps to the summit of Devils Courthouse...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
...and just like that the world opens up around me...the summit of Devils Courthouse...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
A handful of these unique plaques help you identify some of the major peaks visible from the Courthouse...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
NC-215, which I used to get up here, slices its way up the Tanasee Ridge to the west...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The sweeping panorama from atop Devils Courthouse (5,720')...much of the Great Balsam Range can be seen from here, including 6 peaks over 6,000'...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
A closer look at the peaks to the west. Beech Gap, where I started, sits on the far side of the rocky ridge in the foreground while beyond rises the spruce-speckled slopes of 6,110' Mt. Hardy. Peeking over the ridge to the right, the dark summit of Richland Balsam (at 6,410' it's the highest of the Great Balsams) can be seen...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
Looking north from Devils Courthouse are the ridges surrounding the Pigeon River Valley. A cloud-shadowed Sam Knob (6,050') can be seen to the right...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
A 4-foot cairn marks what most people think to be the summit of Devils Courthouse however...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
The true summit benchmark is located a few dozen feet to the east on a rock outcrop surrounded by thick shrubs...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania
As this was a midday visit, photo's to the south meant shooting directly into the sun...this was the best I could manage. The lake gleaming in the far distance is Lake Jocassee in South Carolina...
PisgahNational ForestBlue Ridge ParkwayGreat Balsam RangetunnelBrevardWaynesvilleTransylvania