Colbert Ridge Trail and Buncombe Horse Range Trail loop - Pisgah National Forest, NC
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2020
- Hike #4 for the Black Mountains Hiking Challenge
nchighpeaks.org/challenge
This hike took place on Thursday, July 4, 2019 in the Appalachian Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest and Mount Mitchell State Park, NC.
After 2 months I returned to the Black Mountains for my 4th hike of the challenge. On this day I would tackle what I consider the hardest, practical day hike in the Blacks and one of the hardest day hikes in North Carolina. That hike would be the Colbert Ridge, Black Mountain Crest, Big Tom Gap, and Buncombe Horse Range Trails loop. Starting at the Colbert Ridge Trailhead, I began the hike climbing west towards the heights of Colbert Ridge. At first it is a moderate grade, then gets much steeper a mile in as the trail condition deteriorates below two prominent knobs. These two knobs around 4,100 feet elevation have decent views north and south. The upper knob has a more open view south of the South Toe River valley.
The Colbert Ridge Trail levels out for a spell and passes by campsites and a connector to FR 239, then begins an assault on Deep Gap climbing 1,050 feet over 1.1 miles. This last section of the trail is filled with large boulders and roots covered in moss, making every step treacherous whether you are hiking uphill or downhill. The trail ends at Deep Gap, where I turned south on the Black Mountain Crest Trail passing by 2 excellent grassy campsites before the state park boundary. Then I continued climbing up to Potato Hill, another difficult climb of 730 feet in 0.8 miles. In total, the climb from the Colbert Ridge Trailhead to Potato Hill is a nearly continuous ascent of 3,700 feet over 4.9 miles. You will be hard-pressed to find an ascent as long and grueling as this in the Southeast.
The Black Mountain Crest Trail/Deep Gap Trail descends steeply from Potato Hill into a narrow gap with interesting views and forest features. After passing through the saddle the BMCT climbs gradually around the west side of Cattail Peak without ever touching the summit. It then continues on a more level path across the summit of Balsam Cone before descending to Big Tom Gap. There, I left the BMCT and the state park on the Big Tom Gap Trail, which was steep and rocky. This is the first time I've descended this trail, and it is hazardous when the rocks are wet and grasses cover the path. Fortunately it is short, and I followed the Buncombe Horse Range Trail out to Maple Camp Bald. Here I snacked and drank the last of my water, admiring the views of the South Toe River valley and the highest peaks in the East rising above.
Unfortunately, I still had almost half the hike remaining to reach my car. The BHRT below Maple Camp Bald descends quickly, 1,200 feet over 1.2 miles on numerous switchbacks. Surprisingly, this section was well-maintained and blazed, thanks NC High Peaks Trail Association! But after the switchbacks ended the BHRT follows an old forest road chock full of small rocks. It also began to rain. The last 4 miles took 2 hours as it rained heavily and made the road slippery and hazardous. The BHRT ends at Colberts Creek Rd, which required a 0.7-mile road walk to finish. This loop definitely lived up to its reputation, it is indeed one of the toughest day hikes in NC.
Distance - 13.6 miles
Elevation gain - 4,400 feet
Time - 9 hours and 40 minutes
Trails completed:
Colbert Ridge Trail [178]
Big Tom Gap Trail [191A]
Black Mountain Crest Trail [179], section 179c
Buncombe Horse Range Trail [191], section 191a
Hike location
goo.gl/maps/i4HuZYdLJiP2rAis5
Maps for this hike:
U.S. Forest Service
store.usgs.gov/product/229515
Pisgah Map Company
www.pisgahmapcompany.com/shop...
National Geographic
www.natgeomaps.com/ti-779-lin...
Mount Mitchell weather station and webcams
nchighpeaks.org/Webcams
Mount Mitchell State Park website
www.ncparks.gov/mount-mitchel...
Other hikes mentioned:
Setrock Creek Falls and South Toe River
• Setrock Creek Falls an...
Commissary, Buncombe Horse Range, Big Tom Gap, and Old Mitchell Trails loop
• Commissary, Buncombe H...
Please continue to "drone on".. you're explications are relevant, entertaining and super-informative. You craft a fine product. I consider your body of work a go-to reference library for planning hikes.. and great armchair adventure-log for rainy day bingeing.👍
Thanks David
Zachary, I really enjoy your commentary. I especially like it when you point to various mountains in the distance and tell us what their names are. It's very informative, and satisfies my curiosity. I like channels that I can learn from, and yours is definitely one of them (and entertaining too!!).
Thanks I'm glad you appreciate it
Complaints about droning on? I enjoy your narratives. These are your videos. You can say as much as you want.
I know, I get more comments from friends about it who watch my videos.
Whatever it's worth, I watch your videos because of the narration and level of detail you provide. I am doing the Black Mountains Challenge thanks to your bringing it to light, and your awesome videos. Thanks for sharing and don't change for the haters.
Thanks J, glad some other people are doing the challenge too. I was the 3rd person to finish it
@@bigzach322 wow nice to be at the top of the list. I just started and have a whole 3 hikes down. Taking my son to knock out 2 more Saturday. Life is better on the trail!
Very nice video. And I like the narratives that you give. In fact, the more detail the better. This hike is on my list, probably for the spring or summer of next year once the days get a little bit longer. I use your videos to plan hikes, and find them extremely useful. Keep them coming!
very informative !! Thanks a lot !!
Thanks wolfgang
@@bigzach322 how long does it take to do just the Colbert Ridge Trail one way Zach? thank you !
@@carlotta4441 Maybe 2-2.5 hours
I just did this hike on Monday, 4/26. And it is very difficult! But I have now finished the Black Mountain Hiking Challenge. Thanks for the video, it was very helpful to me prepare both mentally and physically. I was very careful to pick a very nice day, so the weather was stellar. It was a Monday so I only met two people on the trail for the entire distance.
Congrats on finishing, I bet there are less than 20 people who have completed it so far.
@@bigzach322 Per the administrator of the program, only about 6 have completed the challenge, with lots of folks getting close to completion. I just got my patch, and it's really nice.
@@davidconley4726 Oh word, I was the 2nd to finish. Figured it would've caught on more by now.
I always enjoy your videos. I saw your earlier comment about me enjoying ‘Wikipedia style information dumps’. I don’t consider what you share as Wikipedia style. Like I said, I always enjoy the information. Thanks for sharing.
Yup I was being a little sarcastic. My information overload is more of a combination of maps and hiking guide books. But I enjoy that aspect of being outdoors so I'm glad you and other appreciate the details that most people don't give in other videos.
Zachary, I have always loved maps! They are so underrated Lol. Keep up the good work for those of us who enjoy going on your adventures with you!
I have multiple maps for every area and get really annoyed when people ask questions on Facebook based on their limited knowledge of scanning hikes using AllTrails or similar apps. I bet it's easy to tell that's one of my pet peeves.
Zachary, now that you mention it. Lol. I’ll be very careful. 😂
@@lovewhitelake It's more of a Facebook thing, wouldn't worry about it here. I see the simplest questions asked daily on repeat.
Impressive hike indeed. What challenge after that?
Not quite sure what you are asking
do you recommend carrying bear spray with you on those kinds of hikes Zachary?
No, you'll never use it.
Zach have you ever been to pickens nose in nantahala NF
No I haven't, I live pretty far from that area so there is still a lot to see.
As an addendum to my previous comment, it looks to me like going in the other direction might be a little more desirable. I kind of promised myself never to come up Colbert Ridge again! Why not go in the other direction?
I always pick the hardest ascents for the challenge and so I can compare with other trails I've done. I see so many unknowledgeable posts on some variation of "the hardest hikes in the Southeast." At this point I know what is actually difficult for even a seasoned hiker and what trails are consistently overrated. Plus, if I have the choice I prefer going up the steeper route because steep descents contribute more to foot pain and falling injuries.