Three Top Mountain caught my attention when I climbed nearby Elk Knob the week before. It looked like a fairly rugged peak from a distance and when I got home and checked out the peak on Topozone I was excited to find a mountain with lots of tightly packed contours. I found out quickly why I had never heard of Three Top Mountain. Try doing a search online for it and see what you come up with. I didn't find squat. I finally ended up contacting an online friend who let me in on the tightly guarded secret directions to the peak (which you can find HERE, on a subsequent visit to the peak). It was a great hike that I would highly recommend to anyone. The peak looks like it is rarely visited and there is a lot of fun scrambling to be done on the summit ridge. Weather forced me down early so I'm sure there are a number of places I missed. I'll hopefully be back someday to do more exploring...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates:   36.421857, -81.597780

Route Type: Out-and-back      Difficulty: CHALLENGING (Petzoldt Rating: 6.80 )      Hike Length: 3.5 miles      Hike Duration: 1:30      Trailhead Temp: 30'F      Trail Traffic: NONE!!      Min. Elevation: 3,580'      Max. Elevation: 5,100'      Total Vertical Gain: 1,650'      Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 943' (ascent)

Trails Used (blaze color): Three Top Mountain Trail (unblazed)

12-7-2006