Turkeypen Gap/Black Mountain Trail Junction -- 4,120'

The western terminus of the Turkeypen Gap Trail is here, high up on the Black Mountain Trail (left-right, out of frame). The closest road access to this point is via the Black Mountain Trail from US-276, about 3.5-miles away...

Turkeypen Gap/Black Mountain Trail Junction -- 4,120'

The Turkeypen Gap Trail welcome sign at its western terminus...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 4,070'

Departing the Black Mountain Trail, it is immediately apparent that this is a trail which sees far less foot (and/or bike) traffic...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 4,000'

Massive trees and a sea of ferns at the start of the Turkeypen Gap Trail will no-doubt make for a positive first impression...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,950'

The route is now on a moderately-steep downhill grade as the trail descends the crest of Black Mountains eastern ridge...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,900'

It's always impressed how tall the trees can sometimes manage to grow, despite being located on these high, exposed ridgelines...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,800'

The descent gets serious as the trail gets closer to Muleshoe Gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,750'

Flattening out a bit now...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,700'

Then one final drop to the gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ Muleshoe Gap -- 3,660'

The Turkeypen Gap Trail as it crosses the thickly wooded Muleshoe Gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,550'

Beyond Muleshoe Gap the trail continues on its steady descent as it rounds the north side of Horse Knob...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,450'

Don't expect great diversity in the scenery along this trail....it's a wooded walk the entire way...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,400'

Continuing with the steady descent, alternating between hardwood forest and laurel groves...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,350'

Two neighboring laurels create a single delicate arch over the trail...no doubt this is a pretty spot during the spring bloom...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,300'

The Turkeypen Gap Trail as it nears Deep Gap from the west...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ Deep Gap -- 3,250'

Deep Gap is most noticeable as the spot where the ridge widens again...that, and the forest here is incredibly beautiful...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,260'

Departing east from Deep Gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,280'

For the next 2/3-mile the trail will be bouncing along the ridge crest between Deep Gap and Poplar Lick Gap. This undulating terrain is what eventually makes this trail so tiresome, as the climbing is never really over...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,300'

The foliage frequently presses in along this seldom-traveled section of trail...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,250'

After crossing the high point between the gaps, the trail once again begins a moderate descent down an increasingly narrow section of the ridge...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,200'

Straight down the ridge...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,150'

Looking down into Poplar Lick Gap, as the trail drops into it from the west...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ Poplar Lick Gap -- 3,100'

Poplar Lick Gap is a bit ugly, with fallen trees and disheveled rhododendron everywhere...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,150'

Now begins another significant climb...this time up the west side of McCall Mountain...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,250'

It's only a 250-foot climb up McCall from Poplar Lick Gap but it feels like double that...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ McCall Mountain -- 3,320'

As with every summit the trail crosses along Turkeypen Ridge...McCall Mountain sports absolutely no view as a reward for climbing it...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,250'

From the summit of McCall the trail now begins another extended period of downhill travel, as the route now heads for Wagon Road Gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,200'

The unending green tunnel...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,150'

At least, on warm days, the thick forest along the Turkeypen Gap Trail provides an abundance of shade...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,100'

Another stunning bit of woodland...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,050'

The Turkeypen Gap Trail as it approaches Wagon Road Gap from the west...

Turkeypen Gap/Wagon Road Gap Trail Junction -- 3,020'

Wagon Road Gap, where the Wagon Road Gap Trail departs north, marks the rough midway point of the path...

Turkeypen Gap/Wagon Road Gap Trail Junction -- 3,020'

Looking at the Wagon Road Gap Trail, as it departs north from the Turkeypen Gap Trail at Wagon Road Gap...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,060'

The next major landmark will now be Sandy Gap, a half-mile east along the undulating crest of the ridge...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,100'

All these ups and downs are quite minor but they really start adding up by this point...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,060'

Down again...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,080'

...and up again...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,040'

...and down again...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ Sandy Gap -- 3,000'

Though Sandy Gap is a named landmark along the ridge, you'll likely not even make note of it...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,050'

Heading east from Sandy Gap, the trail is now staring down the barrel of one more big climb...up the steep west ridge of Sharpy Mountain...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,100'

Grinding uphill under thick cover of rhododendron...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,150'

Don't start looking for the top yet...it's still 200 vertical feet up...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,200'

On the grind up the west side of Sharpy Mountain...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,250'

Low hanging branches make for an even more tiresome ascent, as it forces one to crouch as they climb...

Turkeypen Gap Trail @ Sharpy Mountain -- 3,323'

With no fanfare other than offering a small patch of flat ground, the trail crosses the top of Sharpy Mountain...it's as anticlimactic as you might expect...

Sharpy Mountain Summit -- 3,323'

The Sharpy Mountain summit benchmark...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,250'

Once again the trail has a big descent ahead...and this one is the steepest of its entire route, losing nearly 600-feet in a bit under a half-mile...

Turkeypen Gap Trail -- 3,100'

The trail as it drops off the east side of Sharpy Mountain...