Cold Mountain

Rd. (SR 1129) and proceed 4 The hike starts at the northern miles until it deadends into end of the . At Camp Daniel Boone. Once Deep Gap, it heads north on the Trail to in the camp stay to the left, the top of the mountain. On drive past the buildings and this hike, you will travel from onto the forest road, and park 3,200 ft. elev. at the trailhead on the right side of the road. to 6,030 ft. at the top, through The trail starts at the Forest several zones of vegetation. Service sign on the left. Your hike up is like going back to an earlier season. Type of hike: Out and back In spring, flowers past their Distance: 9.8 miles prime at lower elevations are still waiting to bloom up top. Total ascent: 3,500 ft. In early autumn, trees at the Highlights: Views, flowers, summit have already changed literary reference, SB6K in color, while foliage is still green the Wilderness Area at the trailhead. Since this hike is in a USGS map: Waynesville, Wilderness Area, the trails are Cruso, NC not blazed. However, because of the increased fame of Cold Trail map: Pisgah Ranger Mountain brought on by the District, Pisgah National book and movie, there is now Forest, National Geographic a wand and sign at the Forest Trails Illustrated #780 Service information board. Land managed by: , Pisgah District Related book & movie: Cold Getting to the trailhead: Mountain by From Waynesville, take US and the 2003 film of the same 276 south for 6.5 miles. Turn name, with Nicole Kidman right onto NC 215 south in Bethel. Drive 5.3 miles and The Hike turn left on Little East Fork The Art Loeb Trail [#146 – no trail blazes in this section] US 74 starts out rocky and steep. Waynesville =Start Umbrella leaf, mayapple, trillium, ferns, bluet-like U S 2 7 houstonia, Vasey trillium, 6 Camp Daniel bloodroot, and squaw root Boone BSA Little are plentiful at the start—and E Fork Rd so is poison ivy. You’ll pass 15 2

C N a large boulder with rock Pkwy tripe on your left as the trail Ridge Blue switchbacks. Shortly after, the trail flattens among

Cold Mountain 197 rhododendron, mountain At 1.7 miles and 4,080 ft. laurel, hemlock, and oak, and elev., you’ll cross Sorrel Creek, crosses a creek at 0.3 mile. whose water cascades down As you go up, bellwort, to Sorrel Creek Rd. You may speckled wood lilies, and see an almond millipede, yellow mandarin appear along so named because of the with flame azalea. You’ll reach almond smell it emits when an old road bed at 0.9 mile; it feels threatened, crawling make a left turn to stay on the across a trail. Pass two large Art Loeb Trail. At 1.1 miles, go chestnut oaks on the right down a wooden step ladder. and another one close by. You may see some Jack-in-the- Cross a minor creek at 1.9 miles pulpit. At 1.4 miles, the trail among Carolina silverbells. makes a left as an overgrown At 4,100 ft. elev., the trail road comes in from the right. turns north and changes

Legend = main route Cold Mtn = other trail 6030’ = paved road = dirt road = summit = of interest

Cold Mtn Tr

Deep Gap

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Camp Daniel Sorrel Creek Boone Stairs Mtn

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198 Hiking the Carolina Mountains The upper reaches of Cold Mountain are rugged, with many unusual rock outcroppings. direction. The wildflowers decreases. Before you turn seem to have left the trail for a right, there are good but moment as you walk through obstructed views to the west. a galax, rhododendron, and At 4,700 ft. elev., striped mountain laurel thicket. maples and ramps grow close Soon you have an to a muddy and rocky spot. obstructed eastern view of As you get close to Deep one end of Cold Mountain. At Gap, mint and blackberry 2.3 miles, you’ll cross a minor cane abound. You’ll reach creek. The trail meanders, Deep Gap at 3.4 miles (5,010 then climbs steeply, heading ft. elev.)—a large flat area, north as the vegetation once a grassy bald where

ColdHike Mountain Name 199 cattle grazed in the summer. blackberry cane and Turk’s- It has not been kept cleared cap lilies. Look to your right for years, and hardwood trees (due east) for Mt. Pisgah have moved in. Several trails with its identifying tower. fan out of the gap in different When the trees have not directions. The Art Loeb Trail completely leafed out, you takes off southwest and can see your goal. This can goes through the Narrows seem daunting because it’s a (the spine between Cold long way up to the summit. Mountain and ), More flowers—cinquefoil, leading to Shining Rock Gap. stonecrop, wild strawberries, Make a left on the Cold and purple violets flank the Mountain Trail [#141], an trail. Turk’s-cap lilies and lobelia obvious but unmarked trail. bloom in the second half of The Cold Mountain Trail is August at 5,350 ft. elev. steeper than the Art Loeb You’ll climb over some Trail: over 1,000 ft. of climbing downed tree trunks; in 1.5 miles. Here you pass maintenance is more difficult because trail crews can’t use Frazier’s Cold Mountain chainsaws in the Shining Inman had pointed out to Rock Wilderness. Notice the Swimmer that he had orange markers, which are climbed Cold Mountain to the wilderness boundaries. its top…Mountains did not Enjoy a flat section with get much higher than southern views on your left. those, and Inman had On the right, you’ll pass a rock seen no upper realm from formation with its “finger” their summits. pointing up at 4.1 miles (5,600 ft. elev.), as you continue —from Cold Mountain by climbing. A spring, also on Charles Frazier the right, supplies water for We now know there are at the campsites further up. least 30 mountains in western The trail makes a right higher than turn, and several good Cold Mountain. However, thanks to Charles Frazier’s campsites are evident on the best-selling book, no mountain left. Make your last climb is more famous. Most content in this heath bald. Walk themselves with seeing it from through mint in a meadow the at filling in with heath plants. the Cold Mountain Overlook At last you’ll reach the (milepost 411.8). Hikers ridge on the summit with reaching the top will enjoy three rocky outcrops, located 180-degree views deep into to the right of the trail, the . looking south. The first view is just as you get to the top.

200 Hiking the Carolina Mountains Fraser firs look like soldiers marching on the ridge as you view south across Shining Rock Wilderness from atop Cold Mountain.

The Narrows looks wild and No roads are visible except for seems to go on forever. the faint cut of the Blue Ridge Continue on the trail to Parkway. You are in the heart a second rock outcropping; of a green wilderness with you’ll have the best views its many ridges and spines. from here. If it’s not too windy Continue on the trail and you haven’t already for the third view and the eaten lunch, this is the place official summit at 6,030 ft. As for it. With good binoculars you turn into a small, rocky and a good imagination, outcropping that is not very you can see some rock that obvious from the trail, look for shines at the end of the a survey marker embedded Narrows—Shining Rock. The in a bare flat rock at ground two peaks of Sam Knob are level. Congratulations! You’ve clearly visible; Mt. Pisgah is at climbed another SB6K. the far left. Dark balsam trees, Retrace your steps to the classic Christmas trees, the trailhead to finish the dot the near landscape like hike. As you return, notice Ents, the walking trees in Lord another peak close up in of the Rings. The magnificent front of you. That’s the panorama makes all the other top of Cold Mountain, climbing effort worthwhile. located on private land.

ColdHike Mountain Name 201