Mountains to Sea Trail Archives - Page 11 of 12

40 Hike Challenge: #10 – Cone Manor Carriage Trails – Shulls Mill Road to Flat Top Manor

Distance: 4.3 mile one way

Difficulty: Moderate

Elevation Change: gain = 1002 ft; loss = 717 ft

Mike Hike: 4.3 miles one way (picked up at Flat Top Manor)

source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

This hike is in the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park area. The first 0.5 mile of the hike is much different than the rest of the hike. The difficulty rating in the guide is “moderate”, but this is primarily for the first 0.5 mile of the trail.

40 Hike Challenge: #3 – The Balsams – Waterrock Knob to Fork Ridge Overlook

Distance: 2.5 mile one way

Difficulty: Moderate

Elevation Change: gain = 656 ft; loss = 1202 ft

My Hike: 7.2 miles (round trip) Out-and-back plus trip to summit of Waterrock Knob

source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

I solo hiked this trail early on a Friday morning in April. I arrived at the Waterrock Knob Overlook parking area about 9am and I was the only one in the parking lot. I basically had the trail to myself for several hours.

40 Hike Challenge: #2 – The Oconaluftee River Trail – Oconaluftee Visitor Center to the Blue Ridge Parkway

Distance: 0.7 mile one way

Difficulty: Easy

Elevation Change: gain = 0 ft; loss = 7 ft

My Hike: 1.6 miles (round trip) Out-and-Back

source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

The Oconaluftee trail is a short day hike (Hike #2 of the 40 Hike Challenge), only 0.6 miles one way. The trail follows the Oconaluftee river to the South terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

40 Hike Challenge: #5 – The Shut-in Trail – Pisgah Inn to Mills River Valley Overlook

Distance: 4.5 mile one way (for Challenge Hike) 9.7 Miles for this hike

Difficulty: Moderate

Elevation Change (for Challenge Hike): gain = 1116 ft; loss = 1956 ft

My Hike: 9.7 miles (Pisgah Inn to Bent Creek Gap)

source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Hike #5 of the 40 Hike Challenge begins at the north end of the Pisgah Inn parking lot and continues down a moderate trail for 4.5 miles to the Mills River Valley Overlook. On a typical day, this hike has wonderful views to the east.

40 Hike Challenge: #14 – Elkin and the E&A Rail-Trail – Downtown Elkin to US 21 at Collins Rd

Distance: 3.3 mile one way

Difficulty: Easy

Elevation Change: gain = 404 ft; loss = 169 ft

My Hike: 3.3 miles (from Collins rd to Elkin “tree sign”)

source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

This was actually the 3rd hike I completed on my 40 Hike Challenge for the MST. Our family had been staying in an area nearby and on the way back home, my wife dropped me off so I could explore this area. This was my first hike in the Piedmont section of the MST.