It had been over a year since I had added any peaks to my SB6K list...time flies when you're having fun I guess. To kick off what I hope to be a rather productive summer of 6-er's I decided to head over to the crown of the Appalachians, the Black Mountain Range. My goal for this day would be to knock off four peaks along the southern end of the range...Mount Gibbes (6,571'), Mount Hallback (6,391'), Mount Craig (6,648'), and the big guy Mount Mitchell (6,684').

The 9-miles required to hit all these peaks is, all things considered, pretty straight forward despite two of the peaks involving bushwhacks. Starting at Steppes Gap, I'd make the loop south to Mt. Gibbes (which involves an optional downhill bushwhack). I'd then head north via the Old Mitchell Trail, making the short bushwhack up to Hallback before continuing on good trail to the summit of Mitchell. I wasn't originally planning on including Mt. Craig on this hike but it was such a nice day and I was feeling pretty good so I figured why not do a bonus peak?! From the Mt. Mitchell summit parking lot its only a 2-mile out and back to Craig which, in my opinion, is not a lot of effort for what your rewarded with at its summit! I'd then backtrack as far as the Camp Alice Trail at which point I'd drop down to the Commissary Trail for the hike out. With the exception of a couple very short stretches, this entire hike stays above the 6,000-foot contour for its entirety...a perfect escape when temps in the valley's start to get uncomfortable. That and, despite a chance of rain in the forecast, I stayed dry and enjoyed more than a little sun and blue sky on the way. Come on along as I knock off #18, 19, 20, and 21...passing the halfway mark on my South Beyond 6000 quest...

Route Type: Double Loop & Out-and-back

Hike Length: 9.0 miles Hike Duration: 4:15

Trailhead Temp: 60'F Trail Traffic: 50-100 people

Min. Elevation: 5,770' Max. Elevation: 6,684'

Total Vertical Gain: 2,450' Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 272'

Mt. Gibbes, Mt. Hallback, Mt. Mitchell, & Mt. Craig, NC (6-4-14)

Old Mitchell Trail (6,120')
One of the steeper drops along this section proves a nice view of Mount Mitchell (6,684') ahead...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,080')
A short flight of steps marks the end of the downward portion of the Old Mitchell Trail...it'd be all uphill from here...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,100')
Passing the power lines which continue up to the summit buildings offered a view of Commissary Ridge across the way which I had hiked a couple weeks prior...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,100')
This section of the Old Mitchell Trail doesn't pull any punches. There's no such thing as a switchback here, its just straight up the mountain...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,200')
The Old Mitchell Trail meets the Camp Alice Trail about a half mile below the summit...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,200')
The Old Mitchell trail as it leaves the junction with the Camp Alice Trail...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,250')
For its last half mile the trail makes a rugged bee-line for the top...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,380')
A better name for this forest type might be spruce-fir-moss...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,400')
Making a right turn at the spur trail which heads down to the campground...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,450')
Heading towards the light...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,540')
Nearing the upper end of the Old Mitchell Trail a bit more than a tenth of a mile beneath the summit...
Old Mitchell Trail (6,640')
I see pavement ahead...arriving at the summit trail...
Mount Mitchell Summit Trail (6,640')
Aliens are landing on Mt. Mitchell!!! Actually it was just hordes of tiny flies, one of which managed to get really close to my lens at just the right moment...
Mount Mitchell Summit Trail (6,650')
Joining the throngs of drive-up summit-ers...
state park pisgah national forest Black Mountains sprucefir Elisha Mitchell South Beyond 6000 Mountains to Sea Trail Camp Alice high point Blue Ridge Parkway wildflower Deep Gap
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
The Big Guy in more ways than one...as #20 on my list, it marks the halfway point of my South Beyond 6000 quest...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
Stepping onto the tower I could look back south over the landscape I had traveled today. Mt. Gibbes, now 4-ish miles away by trail can be seen in the distance to the right of the Clingmans Peak Towers...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
The panorama south and west from the top of Mount Mitchell...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
Elisha Mitchell gravesite...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
Looking down onto the top of North Carolina...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
Not sure that its an official benchmark, but it is pretty...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
The best view for my money, from the top of Mitchell, is looking north over the South Toe Valley, some 4,000-feet below...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
It was at about this point, feeling good and with time to spare, I decided that a bonus peak was in order...Mt. Craig (6,648'), rising just a mile beyond the parking lot, would fit the bill nicely...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
Looking 4,000-feet down to the valley of the South Toe...
Mount Mitchell Summit (6,684')
With #20 under my belt it was time to go bag #21...
Mount Mitchell Summit Trail (6,670')
Yeah its a paved trail but at this point did I care...not a bit...
Mount Mitchell Summit Parking Lot (6,578')
Next in line...Mount Craig (6,648')...
Deep Gap Trail (6,500')
I'd be using the first mile of the Deep Gap Trail to get to Craig. The trail starts from the picnic area below the summit parking lot...
Deep Gap Trail (6,500')
Not a bad place for a picnic...
Deep Gap Trail (6,500')
The trail heads north through one of the densest stands red spruce I've ever seen...
Deep Gap Trail (6,350')
Passing through the gap separating Mitchell and Craig after a rather steep but brief descent...
Deep Gap Trail (6,350')
The saddest part of the death of this forest is that it will never return. Other species will quickly take over now that the firs are gone and change this ecosystem forever. There's only around half of the spruce-fir environment left compared to only a hundred years ago and all we have left is all we ever will have. The time for protection and preservation of these habitats has never been more critical than it is now, before it's too late...
Deep Gap Trail (6,400')
As the trail began its climb of Craig it starts passing over and around some very interesting rock outcroppings...
Deep Gap Trail (6,450')
Mt. Mitchell appears over my shoulder as I really start to climb once again...
Deep Gap Trail (6,450')
Alternating between open rock and dark forest...
Deep Gap Trail (6,550')
Dropping down off a 10' high slab as I near the summit...
Deep Gap Trail (6,600')
Emerging from the trees signs along the path warn hikers not to stray out onto the sensitive vegetation alongside the trail...
Deep Gap Trail (6,610')
Welcome to the summit of Mount Craig...
Deep Gap Trail (6,630')
Ascending the summit lawn of Mt. Craig, Mt. Mitchell and the rest of the southern Black Mountain Range spread out along the horizon behind me...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
Number 21: COMPLETE...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
Mount Craig summit benchmark...#21...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
The view west was incredible, overlooking the Cane River valley some 3,000-feet below...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
There was a small hippie convention going on at the summit so I had to bide my time for any photographs. I therefore wandered off to the north end of the summit where there were some nice, albeit limited, views of the Black Mountain Range to the north. From right to left are: Balsam Cone (6,596'), Potato Hill (6,440'), Cattail Peak (6,584'), and Celo Knob (6,327')...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
The Mount Craig summit panorama in all its glory...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
Looking back on today's four-some of Southern Sixer's from the top of Mount Craig with Mount Mitchell (6,684') looming large in the fore, Mount Gibbes (6,571') jutting up next to the towers of Clingmans Peak, and the tiny pyramid of Mount Hallback (6,391') looking rather diminutive in between...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
The summit rocks of Mount Craig...
Mount Craig Summit (6,648')
The jaw-dropping view to the west from atop Mount Craig...
Camp Alice Trail (6,200')
Fast-forward a mile-and-a-half from the last photo atop Mt. Craig...I backtracked my way along the Deep Gap and Old Mitchell Trails back to the tangled junction with the Camp Alice Trail which I'd be following steeply down to Commissary Ridge to close the loop...

dwhike

Mt. Gibbes, Mt. Hallback, Mt. Mitchell, & Mt. Craig, NC (6-4-14)

Mt. Gibbes, Mt. Hallback, Mt. Mitchell, & Mt. Craig, NC (6-4-14)