Pisgah 400: Untangling A Knot & Black Mountain Trail

Pisgah 400: Untangling A Knot & Black Mountain Trail - 7/20/22 – 10.3 Miles

Deep in the heart of Pisgah National Forest

My hike plan in Pisgah NF started from Turkey Pen Gap. I’ve driven the gravel road to the Gap before, but today was a whole ‘nother level of “rough.” After an eternity of dodging bathtub-sized potholes (also bouncing in and out of a few) I arrived at the empty parking area. My spidey sense told me that maybe leaving my car at the end of a bad road on a deserted weekday wasn’t a good choice.

Go to Plan B. (On this multi-day visit to Pisgah NF, I’d left multiple hike plans with Jim and kept him advised of what I was doing and where my car would be at all times.)

The Black Mountain trailhead parking is off Highway 276, just before the Visitor Center and nearly opposite the entrance to Davidson River Campground. It’s a busy lot, the launching pad for mountain bikers as well as hikers.

The parking was easy but this hike plan was less straightforward, as I soon learned that the tangle of trails on the ground was more complicated than depicted on my paper maps. Even my GAIA maps contained inaccuracies. I recorded my route so that if confusion came up, I could get myself back to my car.

Starting on a gravel track that GAIA calls Starnes Branch Road [should be “Starens.”]
There’s a Black Mountain Trail sign somewhere in the weeds.

Bikes have been here

At a U-shaped bend, the roadbed goes right and becomes Thrift Cove Trail (#603), while Black Mountain Trail (#127) continues straight. I stuck with Thrift Cove Trail as it makes a nice loop intersecting Black Mountain Trail further up. 

The fungus show was still in town

I discovered Starens Branch Trail (#127A). On GAIA it’s called “Black Mountain Connector.”
A very nice hiking-only shortcut that I walked out-and-back to Thrift Cove Trail.

Next I turned right onto Grassy Road Trail (#364) and walked to its intersection with Sycamore
 Cove Trail. I enjoyed this sweet, level, solitary trail. Again I retraced steps to Thrift Cove Trail.

Now that the knot of intersecting trails was untangled, it was time to climb the mountain.

Thrift Cove Trail is a wide, undulating old roadbed that climbs about 2 miles to connect to Black Mountain Trail. A lone mountain biker started up just ahead of me. 

Nodding lady’s tresses (orchid family)

As I walked up Thrift Cove I made mental calculations of time and distance. Instead of turning left at the Black Mountain Trail junction and looping back to the parking lot, could I turn right and ascend to Pressley Gap, adding about 3.5 more miles to the day's total? I’m already here, right?

Decision time at high noon! At the junction I decided to go for it, continue up Black Mountain Trail
 for one hour and see how far I get 

Did I mention that this is a steep, steep, relentlessly steep trail? Ugly, too, but it serves a purpose. Let's look at some more fungi.

The trail mercifully flattens out for a minute, cruising through mountain laurel tunnels as it curves around below the summit of Hickory Knob.

I began to encounter mountain bikers coming my way. They’d worked hard to climb up and were now careening carelessly down the roller coaster. One called out “hiker!” and said there were just two of them (helpful heads-up). A few minutes after they passed, another rider popped around a curve and I asked, “Anyone else?” He answered, “Probably.” (Not helpful.)

From Hickory Knob, I descended the short distance to Pressley Gap, dripping with sweat but pleased that I’d made my turnaround point in 40 minutes. Time now to reverse course for the home stretch.

Three cyclists passed me and soon stopped to regroup, and we chatted for a minute about how humid it was (still better than being inside) and having these great trails to share. Nice fellows.

I ended at the parking lot feeling hot but accomplished, another bite out of the Pisgah 400 Challenge in exactly 4 hours and 10.3 miles.

“I may not be there yet,
but I'm closer than I was yesterday.”
  ~Author Unknown