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The
anticipation of reaching our first 6000 ft summit was getting the best
of us. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
At 6684 ft, this was to be a major achievement in our adventures.
Just before Asheville we noticed a sign for the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We figured this would be a much more scenic route than the highway so
we decided to take it. As soon as we turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway
we knew exactly why this was one of the most-visited national attractions
in the U.S.
We
took the parkway some 20 miles when we came across a barrier which blocked
our path. For some reason the parkway was closed from Bull Gap to Mt.
Mitchell State Park. Unfortunately for us there was no detour sign to
point us in the right direction. Again we would have to use our map
and navigational skills to lead us to our destination. At the barrier
was a road that led north which we decided to take. On this route we
passed the birthplace of Zebulon B. Vance, a prominent governor of North
Carolina from the 1800's.
Essentially,
we traveled a complete ring around Mt. Mitchell State Park. Signs for
Mt. Mitchell led us to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Turning right onto the
parkway, it took us 15-20 minutes to come upon 128, which is the access
road to Mt. Mitchell State Park. About 2 miles up 128 is a ranger station,
which helped us a great deal. The ranger we spoke with told us where
could camp. She told us that the Blue Ridge Parkway is protected by
the National Park Service and that Mt. Mitchell was a State Park. Camping
is not permitted in either of these areas but the area between is Pisgah
National Forest, where we were free to camp anywhere we pleased.
After
the stop at the ranger station we decided to make our first summit upon
Mt. Mitchell. 128 ends at a parking lot for the summit. There were no
more than six people at the park at the time. During our five-minute
hike to the summit, we encountered a sign, which stated that we were
now 1¼ miles above sea level. On the summit there is an observation
tower and the grave of Rev. Elisha Mitchell DD, for whom the mountain
was named. The tower is a stone structure with a metal stairwell inside.
Every sound in the stairwell echoed with great resonation. It sounded
as if an entire football team was running up the stairwell though it
was only the two of us. Once on top, the spectacular view was breathtaking.
On each of the four sides was a photo of the view from which we were
looking. Each photo marked points of interests and other various mountains,
each with a full description. We were informed that an airstrip could
be seen to the east, which amazed us seeing as how there wasn't much
flat land anywhere in sight. After staying on the summit for 30 minutes
or so we decided to head to town, gather some food and finally set up
camp.
The
closest city, with the most diverse choices for food was Spruce Pine.
Spruce Pine is northeast of Mt. Mitchell on 226 about 20 minutes away.
Mt. Mitchell State Park was closing at 7:00pm so we needed to expedite
our journey to be able to make a final ascent and see the sun set.
After
picking up our food, we went to set up camp. This was the first time
either of us had ever seen Eric's tent let alone put it together. .
Thankfully, it was very simple to assemble. Now that we had our sleeping
arrangements settled we started out second and final summit of Mt. Mitchell.
We
arrived at the top shortly after 6:00. Soon after we arrived, a couple
from Missoula, Montana greeted us. We found that they too were attempting
to summit all of the highpoints in the United States. This quickly sparked
our interest. The man stated that he had completed most of the western
states (he even made an unsuccessful bid to summit Mt. McKinley), and
was eager to finish a great deal of the eastern states on this trip.
We traded some stories and left the summit together minutes before 7:00.
At the parking lot, a ranger was waiting to clear all people from the
park. We headed to our campsite with a great sense of accomplishment
even thought the oncoming clouds had obscured most of the sunset.
The
rest of the night was no less eventful. As night fell upon us we decided
to start a small campfire. The winds were relentless and made our task
quite difficult. We were forced to start a fire in a paper cup that
we saved from Hardee's which we then used to ignite the kindling. The
fire lasted long enough for us to cook 2 bratwursts and a few s'mores.
The winds really started to pick up at this time. We had bought a gallon
of water, which was then used to douse our feeble fire. Soon after,
we headed to the tent where we would get some much needed rest. As we
were trying to sleep we heard in the distance the eerie cry of coyotes.
Scott quickly fell into a deep slumber. Chris, a noted insomniac to
begin with, had much difficulty trying to sleep. To make matters worse
for him a storm blew in from out of nowhere. Lightning lit the tent
like a sun-filled summer day. The crash of thunder shook the tent and
70 mile per hour winds ravaged the walls. Chris recollects that after
the sounds of thunder he kept hearing the annoying sound of Scott's
snoring. More than once the thunder woke Scott from his slumber. The
storm lasted much of the night, which ruined Chris' chances for a good
night's sleep.
We
headed out of the tent just before sunrise. We were able to then take
some amazing photos of the beautiful North Carolina sky. We broke camp
for our final day of the trip. Tennessee was now in our sites.
5
down, 45 highpoints to go.
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