There's the easy way to get to Mount Mitchell, the hard way, and then there's the Black Mountain Crest. A 12 mile trek across 10 peaks over 6,000 ft in elevation with the HIGHEST one this side of the Mississippi as the reward. You can probably guess which way I chose...
Thanks so much for watching!
Check out the itinerary I put together from this trip! Route details, resources I used to plan the trip, campsite and water source descriptions, elevation profiles, info for local shuttle providers, and MORE all in one neatly organized PDF. (While it isn’t a substitute for doing your own research and preparation, hopefully it will take the guess work out of planning your own trip.) seagrasstosassafras.com/product-page/bmc-itinerary
Music featured in this video: "Crystal Echoes" by Sergey Cheremisinov, "Two Mountains at a Time (instrumental)" by Pachyderm, "" Heartless Man" by Normcore, "Return to Normal" by Waterthrush, "Be Back Soon" by David Mumford, "Wedding Music" by Arulo, "Candlelight" by Jahzzar.
Note: Although the trail doesn't go directly over the summit of all 10 peaks, it comes close. I did my best to label about where the trail passes by each peak or the scramble trails up to the true summits. There was also a lot of conflicting information about the exact height of some of the peaks. So once again, I did my best to label accurately.
Black Mountain Crest Trail
Is it really a "Death March"?
I'll go ahead and address this before anything else. The Black Mountain Crest has a gnarly reputation. Lovingly or I guess not so lovingly referred to as "North Carolina's death march". It's definitely not for beginners or the faint of heart. But I think experienced backpackers and adventurers will really enjoy it. Especially if they break it up over a couple days like I did. Nora (my dog) and I hiked to Deep Gap the first day, base camped making the trek to Mitchell and back with just the essentials the second day, then returned to the trailhead the third day. I felt each day posed the perfect amount of challenge. It was tough and we slept like rocks both nights, but it didn't feel like more than we could handle. While I'm sure I could have done it, I knew hiking all 12 miles in one day was not my idea of fun. And trying to do out and back in one day was out of the question. So I made a three day trip of it, brought my dog along, and got to experience the Black Mountain Crest without it being a total suffer-fest.
Hike Overview
Type of hike: Out and Back
Trails hiked: Black Mountain Crest / Deep Gap trail
Time span: 3 days 2 nights
Total Mileage: 24.2 miles
Day 1
This trail hit us with its toughest climb (in my opinion) right away gaining over 2,900 ft in elevation within the first four miles! One steep incline after another, the trek up to Celo Knob felt endless. Those first miles were well shaded though, offering some relief from the sweat inducing climb. Nora stopped at just about every creek along the way up to get a drink and cool off.
I was absolutely awestruck by the views at the top. A sea of blue mountains to the left and massive Fall colored peaks directly in front of us. Talk about an incredible pay off! The views continued as the trail followed a grassy ridge for about two miles. We reached three sets of ropes a little ways passed Gibbs Mountain. One going up and two going down. Nora did fine climbing up the first one and down the third, but she needed a little help from me getting down the second rope (more about that in the section below)
The climb up Winter Star Mountain was a breeze compared to the initial climb up Celo Knob. We ended the day with a sharp descent into Deep Gap. Being a more popular option and the last place along the route to freely camp, Deep Gap is known to have bear encounters. But we camped there two consecutive nights and did not have any problems with bears. Another thing to note about Deep Gap is it's a dry camp. Passed Celo Knob the only water source was a spring on Colbert Ridge trail not far from where we camped. I initially planned to go all the way (0.4 mile one way) down to the spring to get water, but the trail was so rough and steep I turned around after 0.25 mile. There was a small trickle flowing from a rock about 0.15 mile in, so I decided to get water there instead. I figured it would take about the same amount of time waiting on everything to fill up with a whole lot less effort.
Day 2
Instead of packing up the plan was to leave the bulk of our camp behind to summit Mount Mitchell. Which was a really smart move. After making the trek all the way out and back we were both pooped. It was such a relief not having a camp to set up at the end of the day. So, I packed up the essentials, hung the food bag, and we continued on the BMC toward Mount Mitchell.
That first mile of climbing up Potato Hill was a little tough, but having fresh legs and a good night's sleep it wasn't too bad. The rest of the way still had some obstacles. Especially Big Tom, with two very steep upward rope climbs. It followed an up and down pattern though never rising and falling more than a couple hundred feet at a time.
I really enjoyed the frequent changes in scenery. Following ridges with far and wide views of the Blue Ridge was great don't get me wrong, but I think us hikers can take for granted the beauty in walking through dense hardwood forests. At one point in a patch of forest, I stopped us both to listen... the silence was almost deafening and everything around us was completely still. Nora did not appreciate the observation, and whined at me to keep moving down the trail.
I was disappointed to find the water fountains in the picnic area inoperable. I was really banking on refilling at the state park since there were no water sources along the way. Thankfully, there was water for sale in the gift shop and a sweet lady with a Schnauzer offered to watch Nora while I went in. I asked an employee and they said there hasn't been running water for years due to the mines freezing one Winter. A construction project was taking place while I was there. It looked like they were building restroom facilities, which in the future may bring running water back to the park.
Even on a weekday the park was fairly crowded, but we still got to enjoy the observation tower and get a good picture by the summit sign. I was considering taking Buncombe Horse Trail for part of the return journey, but since I knew exactly what to expect I felt more confident taking the BMC back the way we came.
When we made it back to Deep Gap our camp was undisturbed, and the food bag was still in the tree. Nora took a long pre dinner nap as well as a pre bedtime nap. I made a second attempt at reaching the spring on Colbert Ridge. I got a little bit further than the last time, before turning around. It just continued to get muddier and steeper. I wasn't sure I would have the energy to carry the water all the way back up that. So after giving up again, I waited patiently with my water bottle by the same little trickle from the night before. (I also refilled the three half liter bottles I bought at the gift shop.)
Day 3
Ordinarily, I don't really like out and back trips. I guess, since I've seen everything on the trail once before, going back the way I came can be kind of boring. As I'm sure you can guess that was NOT the case this time. I couldn't wait to revisit all the beautiful scenery on the way back. Especially along the ridge between Gibbs Mountain and Celo Knob. There were actually a lot of views I didn't catch the first time through.
I thought since we would be going downhill the whole time the last few miles back to the trailhead would fly by. Boy was I wrong. Just like on the way up, that part of the trail felt like it went on forever. Admittedly, I was moving pretty slowly to avoid slipping on the loose rocks and gravel. About halfway, the trees thought it would be funny to pelt us with acorns. They came pouring down with every breeze. Nora kept stopping to look up. I guess she was expecting to see a mischievous squirrel with a bucket sitting on a limb.
We successfully made it to Mount Mitchell and back. This trip was incredibly fun. I'm glad we attempted it as a three-day out and back venture rather than trying to schedule a shuttle and do it as a point-to-point day hike. I've even heard of hikers doing the whole thing out and back in one day. That's too extreme from my liking. Now that's a sure-fire way to turn it into a death march.
A Note About Parking
A common complaint with this trail is the limited parking at the trailhead. Down Water Shed Rd there was a small area on the right to park just before the road split into a private drive. There was barely enough room for two vehicles especially since someone decided to park parallel to the road. (Lookin' at you short-shorts trail runner guy) However there was a private parking lot on Stanley's Trail directly next to Water Shed Rd. The landowner charges $5 per day and payment procedures were posted on a tree near the payment box.
I actually felt a lot better knowing my car was in that private lot. Not only because chances are someone would come check the payment box and notice if I didn't return to my car by the 3rd day, but also there was a much lower risk of someone accidentally hitting my car trying to squeeze in next to it at the trailhead.
Was this a dog friendly trip?
So, I brought my dog Nora with me on this trip. Knowing there would be ropes along the hike I was a little worried she wouldn't be able to maneuver up and down them safely. I won't say she had an easy time. She did struggle once or twice, but nothing to be concerned about. Over all it was fine. For both the up and down rope climbs I guided her a few feet at a time pointing to and commanding where I wanted her to stand next. I barely used the ropes myself. We mostly stayed to the sides on those sections. Now in the Winter when everything is iced over, that's a completely different situation!
The ropes were the only part I felt wasn't Nora friendly. There were lots of steep inclines, declines, and rocky areas to scramble over, but that didn't seem to slow her down. She's a natural athlete that way. Whenever we came to a place where I needed to use my hands to get a boost up she would just hop right up leaving me in the dust. Even though my dog didn't have as difficult a time navigating this trail that doesn't mean it would be appropriate for all dogs. Use good judgement. You know your dog better than anyone and what they are capable of.
To give more perspective, Nora is a very active 1 year old German Shepherd (about 75 lbs) She's been hiking with me in some capacity since she was 5 months old. A day hike here, an overnight there slowly working up to big adventures like this. She's definitely no stranger to the outdoors. I've also spent a lot of time working with her on commands like sit, stay, up, and leave it in an outdoor setting. In short, I don't think this hike would be suitable for smaller dogs, dogs without hiking experience, and dogs who don't listen very well.
Be sure to check out HikingUpward Black Mountain Crest guide by Zach Robbins. While it is several years old I found it incredibly helpful in planning my hike.