Big Cataloochee Mountain and Mount Sterling - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- A cold front with strong winds and 0.5-1.5" of snow passed through the mountains Saturday night, so I headed off Sunday to hike in the northeast corner Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My goal was to bushwhack to Big Cataloochee Mountain, a 6K peak, and hike to Mt. Sterling to check out the lookout tower. I began at Mt. Sterling Gap and followed the Mt. Sterling Trail which steeply climbs close to 2000' in 2.3 miles to the Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail. At first the snow was intermittent, the southern sides of the ridge were melting below 4,500 feet. After climbing above that elevation the snow coverage was almost full, with around an inch on the trail for most of the hike. Since it was so windy and the rain gradually changed to snow the night before, a lot of snow and ice stuck on the sides of trees creating a beautiful setting.
I followed the Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail southwest dropping into Pretty Hollow Gap then skirting around the ridge. There's no easy way to reach Big Cataloochee Mountain, so when I reached a point on the trail where I was close to the peak and the forest was thin I left the trail. It was a steep 600-foot climb but fortunately the undergrowth was never an issue. Big Cataloochee Mountain stands at 6,155 feet, the highest peak on Mt. Sterling Ridge. Being behind schedule I quickly hiked the ~5 miles to Mt. Sterling before sunset. Mt. Sterling stands at 5,842 feet and features the highest elevation true lookout tower in the East. The steel Aermotor tower is 60 feet tall and the top cab is accessible, but the stairs have better views. Unfortunately the clouds blew in when I reached the tower, and I only had intermittent views of the region. It was frigid on the tower and was getting dark, so I couldn't wait. Since it got dark soon after I left the tower I did not shoot an outro segment because I had no light, and I didn't think it was necessary to film one days after the fact. I'll have to return another time using the Baxter Creek Trail.
Hike was 15.1 miles in 7 hours and 20 minutes.
Hike location
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Hike report
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Really enjoyed this video. I’ll overdue to get back to that section of the park.
Thanks Bob! I also need to get back as well and knock out a few more trails.
Did this hike to Big Cataloochee today. Big Butt was littered with downfall, but complete solitude up there was nice.
Good to know, didn't make that side trip
Awesome, some fresh snow..looked beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, there's really nothing better than fresh snowfall.
Awesome Video! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this video! Really enjoyed the Mt.Sterling views. I haven't been there in many years. You are really getting close to finishing you goals. After I finished hiking all 900 miles in the GSMNP in 1998 it was bitter, sweet. So I decided to hike all the trails in the near by wildernesses, including Cohutta, Big Frog, Little Frog, Citico Creek, Joyce Kilmer - Slickrock Creek, Bald River Gorge, Shining Rock and Middle Prong. Also finished most of the trails in the Mt. Rogers high country, about 60% of the trails at Big South Fork NRRA and the AT from Springer to near Blacksburg, VA. Now days I just go out and have fun and haven't really established any new goals.
Originally I was going to hike every trail in Pisgah, but there's just some I don't really care to visit at the moment. These challenges seemed more attainable. You definitely have accomplished a lot hiking all those wildernesses. This summer I'm planning on hitting 5+ state high points out west on a road trip, should be fun.
The footage from Mt. Sterling was beautiful. Too bad about the clouds rolling in but it was pretty dramatic with the setting sun and snow.
How was the night hike out? Fingers eventually warm up?
Yeah I was up there around 20 minutes, I wish I could've filmed more but I spent half the time with my hands in my pants warming up. The wind was 20-30 mph which is what was getting to them. There was a lot of great lighting from sunset. The night hike sucked at first because my headlamp batteries were dying. It took a while to replace the batteries in darkness, it was fine afterwards.
What would be your suggestion for the best hike with the best views? I’ve done pilot and hanging rock and table rock and the one closest to table rock. Looking for a two day hike locations in the mountains with great views. Not looking to camp but looking to do one hike one day and then spend the night in a hotel and then do a different hike the next day. My best friend and I always hike out the old year and hike the new one in. So looking in the mountains of North Carolina. We are from southern Virginia
The hotels in the small mountain towns are very cheap during the winter. I just stayed in Bryson City for $52 on Saturday. I've also found good deals in Waynesville, Franklin, Cherokee, and Maggie Valley. You can also look at the Gatlinburg area. I'd pick a town you'd like to stay in, then it's easier to narrow down hiking choices.
What is a good overnight hike
Where? There are so many options, I'm not sure where you live or how many miles you want to do.
We are in sweetwater 100
Miles
Not sure where that is either. I would look at Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness or the Standing Indian loop.
Okay thanks
We can make our town any of the towns to stay overnight in. We just want to know the spot with the best views. Do you have suggestions?
Hemphill Bald, Black Balsam Knob, Sam Knob, Max Patch, Wesser Bald, Shuckstack, Mount LeConte, Mount Cammerer, Gregory Bald
Waynesville/Maggie Valley or Brevard/Hendersonville. Waynesville/Maggie Valley area is cheaper this time of year since they're more dependent on tourism.
Zachary Robbins thanks!!
Zachary Robbins, Black Balsam Knob was amazing!!!! We also went to Lookout Mt in Montreat while we were in the Asheville area. Thank you for your recommendations!
You picked two good ones, glad it worked out well.